I examine different arguments that could be used to establish indeterminism of neurological processes. Even though scenarios where single events at the molecular level make the difference in the outcome of such processes are realistic, this falls short of establishing indeterminism, because it is not clear that these molecular events are subject to quantum mechanical uncertainty. Furthermore, attempts to argue for indeterminism autonomously (i.e., independently of quantum mechanics) fail, because both deterministic and indeterministic models can account for the empirically observed (...) behavior of ion channels. (shrink)

The initial problem which motivated the writing of this thesis arose from reading of Emile by Rousseau. In this work, it was possible to detect the influence of different theoretical approaches, such as rationalism and empiricism, inspiring the development of the educational plan designed by Rousseau for his imaginary student (Emile). The very core question of the present thesis regards to whether there was a theory of knowledge pertaining to Rousseau’s philosophical thinking and, if so, how it was related to (...) his theories of education. In the set of his oeuvre, Rousseau’s affiliation to authors like Descartes, Leibniz, Locke and Malebranche, as well as Condillac, Diderot, D’Holbach and Helvétius was discovered. As the reading of the great philosophical work of Rousseau progressed, an original knowledge theory was discovered, of the kind which accepts the coexistence of opposite thoughts. Pedagogy, in the context of (the work) Emile, arose out of the miscellany of such theories and also for the intense philosophical maturing process on the core of Rousseau’s thinking. This study intended, therefore, to understand the origin and development of Rousseau’s theory of knowledge, and also to figure out how the philosopher formulated his theories on Education, especially in Emile. The object of this research, materialized through the extensive bibliography of the Swiss philosopher, was intensively read and analyzed. The methodology used was that of comparative, descriptive and critical documentary research of the mentioned authors. This research is divided into three sections: the first one intends to investigate the philosophical influence from different authors on the foundations of Rousseau’s epistemology; the second section addresses Rousseau’s theories of Education; the third and final part investigates the link between theory of knowledge and Education within Rousseau’s philosophical thought. -/- . (shrink)

The recent literature on causality has seen the introduction of several distinctions within causality, which are thought to be important for understanding the widespread scientific practice of focusing causal explanations on a subset of the factors that are causally relevant for a phenomenon. Concepts used to draw such distinctions include, among others, stability, specificity, proportionality, or actual-difference making. In this contribution, I propose a new distinction that picks out an explanatorily salient class of causes in biological systems. Some select causes (...) in complex biological systems, I argue, have the property of enabling coherent causal control of these systems. Examples of such control variables include hormones and other signaling molecules, e.g., TOR (target of rapamycin), morphogens or the products of homeotic selector genes in embryonic pattern formation. I propose an analysis of this notion based on concepts borrowed from causal graph theory. (shrink)

Darwin famously held that his use of the term "chance" in evolutionary theory merely "serves to acknowledge plainly our ignorance of the causes of each particular variation". Is this a tenable view today? Or should we revise our thinking about chance in evolution in light of the more advanced, quantitative models of Neo-Darwinian theory, which make substantial use of statistical reasoning and the concept of probability? Is determinism still a viable metaphysical doctrine about biological reality after the quantum revolution in (...) physics, or dowe have to abandon it in favor of an objective indeterminism? In light of such reflections, what is the relevant interpretation of probability in evolutionary theory? Do biologists use the concept of probability because they are finite cognitive agents or because the evolutionary process is fundamentally probabilistic? In this paper, I will show that we do not yet fully understand the nature of chance in evolution. (shrink)

Several authors have used the notion of causal specificity in order to defend non-parity about genetic causes (Waters 2007, Woodward 2010, Weber 2017, forthcoming). Non-parity in this context is the idea that DNA and some other biomolecules that are often described as information-bearers by biologists play a unique role in life processes, an idea that has been challenged by Developmental Systems Theory (e.g., Oyama 2000). Indeed, it has proven to be quite difficult to state clearly what the alleged special role (...) of genetic causes consists in. In this paper, I show that the set of biomolecules that are normally considered to be information-bearers (DNA, mRNA) can be shown to be the most specific causes of protein primary structure, provided that causal specificity is measured over a relevant space of biological possibilities, disregarding physical as well as logically possible states of the causal variables. (shrink)

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo desenvolver reflexão sobre a problemática gerada com a pandemia do Covid-19, sua relação com ensino tecnológico enquanto um direito humano, assim como os limites e contradições. Revelam-se algumas situações que comprometem o acesso à educação de qualidade como um direito de todos, tais como: dificuldades de domínio do professor para com a ferramenta Teams; questões ideológicas, falta de flexibilidade como verdade absoluta e dificuldade de acesso do aluno ao sistema on-line. Isso pode comprometer a (...) garantia da educação como direito humano, em tempos de pandemia: Covid-19. (shrink)

Studies of religion in Renaissance and Enlightenment modernity were always under the conditions of the emancipatory promises of secular knowledge, technology experimental and critical traditions, aiming at social emancipation from the old ways of thinking and society. However, the disasters of the great wars and the problems arising from political and economic forms of technical and bureaucratic characteristics favored painful ailments and even bloody in the twentieth century. Religion has always been treated in the size of traditional societies, of which (...) modernity struggled to get free. This article deals with a study written by Adorno and Horkheimer, which is critical to the ideological and germinal aspects of modernity. Between reading and analysis of the Frankfurt School thinkers, this article focuses on further implications to religious studies in which the Frankfurt School thinkers weave an archetypal genealogy and sociopsicanalítica of modernity, aiming, above all, at the possibilities of social emancipation. (shrink)

Este artículo es un estudio sobre la relación entre teoría y praxis en el marxismo occidental y en el joven Horkheimer.

O texto tem como objetivo desenvolver reflexão atualizada em relação à pedagogia das competências como tendência pós-moderna à luz da pedagogia histórico-crítica. É apresentado em três partes além da introdução e conclusão. Na primeira, pretende-se caracterizar a pedagogia histórico-crítica; segunda, algumas críticas à pedagogia das competências; terceira, revelar a relação entre a pedagogia das competências e a educação do estado de São Paulo; na conclusão, a necessidade urgente de resgatar a concepção de educação pautada na totalidade, superação da visão individualista, (...) defesa dos interesses planetários e universais, as questões éticas, ambientais, justiça social e valorização da vida. (shrink)

" Si, après Auschwitz, croire en un Dieu-raison n'est plus possible, reste, d'un côté, la foi simple - la foi qui n'est qu'un cri -, de l'autre la raison, pure de religion. Philosopher comme avant, on ne le peut, mais seulement mieux qu'avant - ou pas du tout. Refermée, pour la philosophie, la parenthèse judéo-chrétienne ; fini le temps des castors - des Descartes, Kant, Hegel, des bâtisseurs de digues pour dompter le flot de la Libre Pensée issu de la (...) source grecque. L'heure est aux philosophies du refus. Refus de toute logicisation philosophico-théologique du monde, où le mal absolu n'est plus qu'un détail. De là une vision a-théiste et a-cosmique du monde, une vision déréalisante du " réel ", mais aussi, devant la vie, l'appel à un nouveau courage. Car, dans la défaite des absolus sécurisants, reste, comme corrélat du mal absolu, l'absolu de la mort et du Temps. " M. C. (shrink)

Neste artigo propomos discutir as trajetórias e encruzilhadas de mulheres negras adeptas do catolicismo e do candomblé, a partir da análise subsidiada por epistemologias situadas no campo do Ativismo Negr@, tomando como referência o feminismo negro e decolonial e a teologia feminista católica, procurando captar as narrativas sobre corpo, sexualidade, etnia, raça e religiosidade, de onde emergem intersecções. Para fazermos esse diálogo, contamos com as trajetórias de duas mulheres negras sul baianas, residentes no município de Canavieiras, autodeclaradas negras, com idades (...) de 53 e 62 anos, sendo uma católica e outra candomblecista, respectivamente. As “trajetórias em narrativas” das duas colaboradoras da pesquisa nos revelaram encruzilhadas de pontos de vista sobre corpo e sexualidade, em que a religiosidade norteava a mobilização de diferentes conceitos e representações sobre o gênero. Nesse sentido, o corpo aparece narrado de diferentes formas, sobretudo como ferramenta para o acesso e a manutenção das práticas religiosas, que através da legitimação de elementos sacralizados permitem a efetivação e veiculação de crenças e valores que atravessam o campo da moralidade, afetando, assim, as percepções sobre os desejos e as práticas sexuais de mulheres negras. (shrink)

O presente estudo pretende analisar a obra Cur Deus homo, de Santo Anselmo, a partir de uma perspectiva antropológica. Após examinar a peculiaridade do método e revisar seus argumentos fundamentais, será possível perceber que Anselmo revela uma perspectiva essencialmente boa da natureza humana, que, mesmo abalada, não sucumbe ao pecado original. A liberdade e o projeto amoroso do Logos originante fundamentam a concepção anselmiana em torno do homem e sua natureza. This study aims to analyze St. Anselm's Cur Deus Homo (...) from an anthropological perspective. After analyzing the method used in this work and reviewing its basic argumentation, it can be seen that Anselm reveals a perspective according to which human nature is essentially good. This nature, even when shaken, does not succumb to original sin. Freedom and the loving design of the originating Logos underlie the Anselmian conception of man and his nature. (shrink)

Com o fim do Império Romano, a estrutura educacional foi abalada. A religião cristã foi capaz de preservar a tradição da antiguidade. Pouco a pouco uma nova civilização vai surgindo, erguendo-se a partir de três bases: a cultura romana subsistente, o impacto dos bárbaros e a religião cristã. No reino dos francos, Carlos Magno faz renascer a cultura, através de sua aliança com a Igreja. Surgem novas escolas e há uma retomada das artes liberais; a dialética, particularmente, será a base (...) para a retomada dos debates filosóficos, mesmo inseridos em polêmicas teológicas, tais como a discussão em torno da predestinação divina que colocou em lados opostos Godescalco e Scoto Eriúgena. (shrink)

Resumo O presente artigo busca analisar uma das orações elaboradas por Anselmo de Aosta, mais precisamente, a Oração a São Nicolau, procurando mostrar como é possível encontrar, refletidos na prece, aspectos relevantes da produção filosófico-teológica do autor, sobretudo, em relação à situação do homem, marcado pelo pecado, uma vez que abandonou a retidão da vontade. Na prece, bem como em sua obra especulativa, Anselmo examina a situação do homem pecador, diante da graça e misericórdia divinas. Almejamos ressaltar a existência, na (...) obra anselmiana, de uma harmoniosa relação entre oração e trabalho especulativo, em conformidade com o ideal beneditino do ora et labora.This article analyzes one of the prayers of Anselm of Canterbury, namely, the Prayer to Saint Nicholas. We aim to show how it is possible to find relevant aspects of the author’s philosophical-theological output reflected in the prayer, mainly in relation to the situation of man, marked by sin, once rectitude and will are abandoned. In the prayer, as well as in his speculative work, Anselm examines the situation of sinful man in the face of divine grace and mercy. We highlight the existence in Anselm’s work of a harmonious relationship between prayer and speculation, in conformity with the Benedictine ideal of ora et labora. (shrink)

A recepção do pensamento greco-romano árabe e judaico pelo ocidente medieval.

O presente artigo quer investigar o problema do mal na perspectiva de Santo Anselmo, tomando como ponto de partida sua obra "De casu diaboli", onde o tema é abordado, a partir da íntima ligação entre mal e pecado. Ao enfocar o mal na perspectiva da queda diabólica, o Doutor Magnífico intenta mostrar a conexão entre vontade, liberdade e justiça. Sua preocupação é investigar o significado moral da má escolha, realizada por uma criatura racional e puramente espiritual, feita boa e para (...) ser boa. O pecado, consoante o autor, não está em almejar a felicidade, pois um tal desejo é dádiva divina; o mal praticado pelo anjo está, precisamente, em querer a felicidade fora da justiça, isto é, ao querer ser feliz, ele foi de encontro ao que ele deveria ser: quis ser semelhante a Deus, extrapolando a sua própria natureza, pois ele desejou algo que, enquanto criatura, não caberia a ele almejar. Este é o ponto de partida para analisar o mal e sua mais dramática consequência, o sofrimento. (shrink)

On taking Breviloquium as a guide, we can understand how St. Bonaventure analyses the issue of evil and its relation to sin. Man was created to be good and to live in a good world. By sinning, he interferes with the divine plan, establishing evil in the world. God, the first and most perfect principle, however, is perfect; then, He comes to man’s help so that he can overcome sin and evil. Upon reflecting on Philosophy and Theology, Bonaventure discusses the (...) issue of evil origin, transmission and breakthrough, pointing to man’s unique and affirmative role, as he has not lost his natural attraction to virtue; he is still able to do right. (shrink)

Philosophy of Experimental Biology explores some central philosophical issues concerning scientific research in experimental biology, including genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, developmental biology, neurobiology, and microbiology. It seeks to make sense of the explanatory strategies, concepts, ways of reasoning, approaches to discovery and problem solving, tools, models and experimental systems deployed by scientific life science researchers and also integrates developments in historical scholarship, in particular the New Experimentalism. It concludes that historical explanations of scientific change that are based on local laboratory (...) practice need to be supplemented with an account of the epistemic norms and standards that are operative in science. This book should be of interest to philosophers and historians of science as well as to scientists. (shrink)

This article examines the role of experimental generalizations and physical laws in neuroscientific explanations, using Hodgkin and Huxley’s electrophysiological model from 1952 as a test case. I show that the fact that the model was partly fitted to experimental data did not affect its explanatory status, nor did the false mechanistic assumptions made by Hodgkin and Huxley. The model satisfies two important criteria of explanatory status: it contains invariant generalizations and it is modular (both in James Woodward’s sense). Further, I (...) argue that there is a sense in which the explanatory heteronomy thesis holds true for this case. †To contact the author, please write to: SNF‐Professorship for Philosophy of Science, University of Basel, Missionsstrasse 21, 4003 Basel, Switzerland; e‐mail: marcel[email protected]. (shrink)

Il y a ainsi, sur ce premier aspect de l'individualisme juridique, sur ce problème des fins individuelles ou sociales du droit, deux conceptions violemment opposées: la conception chrétienne à laquelle se rattachent finalement les régimes libéraux et même peut-être, malgré les apparences, le régime soviétique lui-même, d'une part, la conception fasciste et surtout national-socialiste, d'autre part. Entre ces deux conceptions, il ne m'appartient pas de prendre parti en tant que juriste, car, si c'est une question capitale pour la construction du (...) Droit, ce n'est pas moins, en soi, une question métajuridique.[...] Une autre question est celle de savoir laquelle de ces conceptions triomphera; la réponse se donnera sur les champs de bataille; c'est l'un des enjeux, et non le moindre, de la guerre actuelle. Ce que l'on peut dire, c'est que toute la conception traditionnelle imposée par le christianisme, des rapports sociaux, est aux prises avec une Weltanschauung radicalement opposée; le sens profond des combats actuels, c'est la lutte de la croix du Christ et de la croix gammée. (shrink)

Decision outcomes sometimes result in negative emotions. This can occur when a decision appears to be wrong in retrospect, and/or when the obtained decision outcome does not live up to expectations. Regret and disappointment are the two emotions that are of central interest in the present article. Although these emotions have a lot in common, they also differ in ways that are relevant to decision making. In this article we review theories and empirical findings concerning regret and disappointment. We first (...) discuss how regret and disappointment differ with respect to their antecedent conditions, appraisals, and phenomenology. We also discuss possible behavioural consequences of experiencing these emotions. Next, we consider how the anticipation of regret and disappointment may influence decision making. We use regret and disappointment theory, developed by the economists Bell (1982, 1985), and Loomes and Sugden (1982, 1986, 1987), as a framework for our discussion. Finally, we argue that combining the theoretical approaches and research paradigms of behavioural decision theory with emotion theories will significantly increase our knowledge of antecedents and consequences of emotions. (shrink)

Griffiths et al. (2015) have proposed a quantitative measure of causal specificity and used it to assess various attempts to single out genetic causes as being causally more specific than other cellular mechanisms, for example, alternative splicing. Focusing in particular on developmental processes, they have identified a number of important challenges for this project. In this discussion note, I would like to show how these challenges can be met.

John Searle has argued that functions owe their existence to the value that we put into life and survival. In this paper, I will provide a critique of Searle’s argument concerning the ontology of functions. I rely on a standard analysis of functional predicates as relating not only a biological entity, an activity that constitutes the function of this entity and a type of system but also a goal state. A functional attribution without specification of such a goal state has (...) no truth-value. But if completed with a goal state, functional attributions understood as four-place relations attain a truth-value. The truth conditions of all attributions of function involve a dependence claim of the goal state on the function bearer’s activity. The nature of this dependence may differ; I consider five different possibilities: causality, mechanistic constitution, mereology, supervenience and metaphysical grounding. If these dependency relations are objective, Searle’s central ontological thesis fails. What he ought to have said is that our valuing survival or other goal states may be the reason why biology seeks functional knowledge, but this has nothing to do with ontology. I will show further that Searle also raised an interesting challenge concerning the relationship of functional and causal truths, but it does not threaten the objectivity of functions either. At best, it could show that functional vocabulary is eliminable. However, I will show that functional vocabulary is not so eliminable. (shrink)

Experimental modeling in biology involves the use of living organisms (not necessarily so-called "model organisms") in order to model or simulate biological processes. I argue here that experimental modeling is a bona fide form of scientific modeling that plays an epistemic role that is distinct from that of ordinary biological experiments. What distinguishes them from ordinary experiments is that they use what I call "in vivo representations" where one kind of causal process is used to stand in for a physically (...) different kind of process. I discuss the advantages of this approach in the context of evolutionary biology. (shrink)

Regret and disappointment have in common the fact that they are experienced when the outcome of a decision is unfavourable: They both concern “what might have been”, had things been different. However, some regret and disappointment theorists regard the differences between these emotions as important, arguing that they differ with respect to the conditions under which they are felt, and how they affect decision making. The goal of the present research was to examine whether and how these emotions also differ (...) with respect to the way in which they are experienced. Participants were asked torecall aninstance of intense regret or disappointment andto indicate what they felt, thought, felt like doing, did, and were motivated to do during this experience (cf. Roseman, Wiest, & Swartz, 1994). Significant differences between regret and disappointment were found in every category. These differences were most pronounced for “action tendencies” (what participants felt like doing) and “emotivations” (what they were motivated to do). These results suggest that the two emotions have differential implications for future behaviour. (shrink)

Going back at least to Duhem, there is a tradition of thinking that crucial experiments are impossible in science. I analyse Duhem's arguments and show that they are based on the excessively strong assumption that only deductive reasoning is permissible in experimental science. This opens the possibility that some principle of inductive inference could provide a sufficient reason for preferring one among a group of hypotheses on the basis of an appropriately controlled experiment. To be sure, there are analogues to (...) Duhem's problems that pertain to inductive inference. Using a famous experiment from the history of molecular biology as an example, I show that an experimentalist version of inference to the best explanation (IBE) does a better job in handling these problems than other accounts of scientific inference. Furthermore, I introduce a concept of experimental mechanism and show that it can guide inferences from data within an IBE-based framework for induction. 1. Introduction2. Duhem on the Logic of Crucial Experiments3. ‘The Most Beautiful Experiment in Biology’4. Why Not Simple Elimination?5. Severe Testing6. An Experimentalist Version of IBE 6.1. Physiological and experimental mechanisms6.2. Explaining the data6.3. IBE and the problem of untested auxiliaries6.4. IBE-turtles all the way down7. Van Fraassen's ‘Bad Lot’ Argument8. IBE and Bayesianism9. Conclusions. (shrink)

ABSTRACTIn this article, we explore the debate on corporate citizenship and the role of business in global governance. In the debate on political corporate social responsibility it is assumed that under globalization business is taking up a greater political role. Apart from economic responsibilities firms assume political responsibilities taking up traditional governmental tasks such as regulation of business and provision of public goods. We contrast this with a subsidiarity-based approach to governance, in which firms are seen as intermediate actors who (...) have political co-responsibilities in society endowed upon them by national governmental institutions. We argue that both approaches face conceptual and empirical problems, and do not make clear the content and scope of political corporate responsibility. Based on Iris Marion Young’s account of political responsibility we argue that corporate actors and governmental actors have a shared responsibility to tackle societal problems. Taking political corporate responsibility not only entails engaging in private action or engaging in public–private partnerships, but it also includes aiding governmental actors to remedy injustice or even create public institutions where they do not yet exist. By adding this perspective we contribute to the debate on responsibility in corporate citizenship and clarify the political role business can play in global governance. (shrink)

Can the perception that one’s partner is investing effort generate a sense of commitment to a joint action? To test this, we developed a 2-player version of the classic snake game which became increasingly boring over the course of each round. This enabled us to operationalize commitment in terms of how long participants persisted before pressing a ‘finish’ button to conclude each round. Our results from three experiments reveal that participants persisted longer when they perceived what they believed to be (...) cues of their partner’s effortful contribution. Crucially, this effect was not observed when they knew their partner to be an algorithm, nor when it was their own effort that had been invested. These results support the hypothesis that the perception of a partner’s effort elicits a sense of commitment, leading to increased persistence in the face of a temptation to disengage. (shrink)

Marcel Gauchet has launched one of the most ambitious and controversial works of speculative history recently to appear, based on the contention that Christianity is "the religion of the end of religion." In The Disenchantment of the World, Gauchet reinterprets the development of the modern west, with all its political and psychological complexities, in terms of mankind's changing relation to religion. He views Western history as a movement away from religious society, beginning with prophetic Judaism, gaining tremendous momentum in (...) Christianity, and eventually leading to the rise of the political state. Gauchet's view that monotheistic religion itself was a form of social revolution is rich with implications for readers in fields across the humanities and social sciences. Life in religious society, Gauchet reminds us, involves a very different way of being than we know in our secular age: we must imagine prehistoric times where ever-present gods controlled every aspect of daily reality, and where ancestor worship grounded life's meaning in a far-off past. As prophecy-oriented religions shaped the concept of a single omnipotent God, one removed from the world and yet potentially knowable through prayer and reflection, human beings became increasingly free. Gauchet's paradoxical argument is that the development of human political and psychological autonomy must be understood against the backdrop of this double movement in religious consciousness--the growth of divine power and its increasing distance from human activity. In a fitting tribute to this passionate and brilliantly argued book, Charles Taylor offers an equally provocative foreword. Offering interpretations of key concepts proposed by Gauchet, Taylor also explores an important question: Does religion have a place in the future of Western society? The book does not close the door on religion but rather invites us to explore its socially constructive powers, which continue to shape Western politics and conceptions of the state. (shrink)