Negative self-referential processing has fruitfully been studied in unipolar depressed patients, but remarkably less in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). This exploratory study examines the relation between task-based self-referential processing and depressive symptoms in BD and their possible importance to the working mechanism of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for BD. The study population consisted of a subsample of patients with BD (n = 49) participating in an RCT of MBCT for BD, who were assigned to MBCT + TAU (n = (...) 23) or treatment as usual (TAU) (n = 26). Patients performed the self-referential encoding task (SRET), which measures (1) positive and (2) negative attributions to oneself as well as (3) negative self-referential memory bias, before and after MBCT + TAU or TAU. At baseline, all three SRET measures were significantly related to depressive symptoms in patients with BD. Moreover, repeated measures analyses of variance revealed that negative self-referential memory bias diminished over time in the MBCT + TAU group, compared with the TAU group. Given the preliminary nature of our findings, future research should explore the possibly mediating role of reducing negative self-referential memory bias in preventing and treating depressive symptoms in BD through MBCT. (shrink)

The introduction of new energy technologies may lead to public resistance and contestation. It is often argued that this phenomenon is caused by an inadequate inclusion of relevant public values in the design of technology. In this paper we examine the applicability of the value sensitive design approach. While VSD was primarily introduced for incorporating values in technological design, our focus in this paper is expanded towards the design of the institutions surrounding these technologies, as well as the design of (...) stakeholder participation. One important methodological challenge of VSD is to identify the relevant values related to new technological developments. In this paper, we argue that the public debate can form a rich source from which to retrieve the values at stake. To demonstrate this, we have examined the arguments used in the public debate regarding the exploration and exploitation of shale gas in the Netherlands. We identified two important sets of the underlying values, namely substantive and procedural values. This paper concludes with two key findings. Firstly, contrary to what is often suggested in the literature, both proponents and opponents seem to endorse the same values. Secondly, contestation seems to arise in the precise operationalization of these values among the different stakeholders. In other words, contestation in the Dutch shale gas debate does not arise from inter-value conflict but rather from intra-value conflicts. This multi-interpretability should be incorporated in VSD processes. (shrink)

This article has as its objective to analyze the relationship between the human decision making processes and self-regulating capacity / in the development of top-down regulation, in this particular case, by means of contemplative practices, principally mindfulness meditation. This debate is supported upon the nexus established between the cognitive and emotional processes, searching for comprehension of the casual bases of human decision making and the cognitive and affective process. From this theoretical perspective, emotions exercise the role of prominent neurobiological mechanisms (...) in the decision-making process, thus revoking very influential rationalist and dualist Cartesian logic that have held sway until the present day. Through such characteristics, the dichotomous perspective between emotional and cognitive processes loses impact and augmentative influence, whereas the collaborative and integrative role between these two mechanisms that regulate the decision making behavior of individuals is reinforced. The theoretical foundation that supports the approach defended in this study is sustained upon neurophenomenology, which interacts synergistically with phenomenological approaches, modern discoveries from neuroscience and the oriental contemplative practices. In another sense, the interdisciplinarity between philosophy and the practical sciences provides the means for a conceptual proposal that produces a consistent dialogue with that of experimental, cognitive and neural discoveries. Thus producing the groundwork for a meaningful analysis of neurobiological and philosophical hypotheses of the classic problems related to our capacity for self-determination, self-government and voluntary control over our actions. In summary, through an examination of the current situation, few academic discussions propose such a broad and interdisciplinary debate on this theme, thus falling time and time again upon old conceptual paradigms, which are today already noticeably outweighed by empirical findings of the mind. Therefore, by incorporating into the philosophical debate cognition, millenary practices and scientific experience, we will produce a short theoretical conceptual revision concerning decision making until our arrival at the modern experiments performed with experienced meditators. Through this journey we will propose a philosophical discussion that presents new academic perspectives congruent with the debates on modern decision making and our capacity to self-regulate. (shrink)

Neste artigo pretender-se-á estabelecer as bases sobre as quais Martín de Azpilcueta demonstra sua fundamentação da autoridade política no intuito de refletir sobre como este pensador articula sua argumentação no intuito de apresentar o povo como detentor originário, por direito natural, do poder civil. Para que este objetivo possa ser alcançado buscar-se-á apresentar como o autor relaciona e distingue o poder eclesiástico do poder laico ou civil. Em seguida demonstrar-se-á como o pensador espanhol estabelece sua fundamentação da autoridade civil popular (...) ao defender que o poder civil se legitima por ter sua origem em Deus, por ser de ordem natural e ser dado de forma imediata à comunidade dos mortais. A partir disso é possível considerar que a autoridade política laica, conforme o pensamento de Martín de Azpilcueta, tem o povo como seu legítimo depositário e que disso decorre a igualdade original primária de todos os homens na vida pública. Para que se possa realizar o objetivo apresentado neste trabalho estudar-se-á, de maneira específica, a Notabile tertium presente na obra Martín de Azpilcueta chamada Relectio C. Novit de Iudiciis publicada pela primeira vez em Coimbra no ano de 1548. (shrink)

O artigo busca examinar, no pensamento de Martín de Azpilcueta (1492- 1586), a questão da justificação moral da prática comercial. Na intenção de alcançar este objetivo, buscar-se-á explorar a compreensão da moralidade envolvendo a atividade comercial em pensadores anteriores a Azpilcueta que trataram do tema e, que de certa forma, o influenciaram na abordagem da questão. Nessa perspectiva, será destacada a discussão trazida por Tomás de Aquino (1225-1274) e João Duns Scotus (1265-1308). Assim, se investigará como o legado destes dois (...) grandes filósofos medievais influenciaram a compreensão de Azpilcueta sobre o tema da defesa da legitimidade moral da prática comercial, discussão essa que o pensador trata em sua obra Commentaria in septem distinctiones de poenitentia. (shrink)

The literary form De viris illustribus , first used by contemporaries of Cicero, enjoyed a widespread popularity in the Renaissance. The theme became so popular that the Florentine humanist Matteo Palmieri wrote that “history is nothing but the celebration of illustrious men.”1 During the second half of the fifteenth and first half of the sixteenth century, various Carthusians, Cistercians, Benedictines, Carmelites and Dominicans adopted the same title for institutional writings on their respective orders. Strangely enough, the Observant Franciscans, while engaging (...) in various types of institutional history around the same time, were more hesitant to adopt the title for such institutional .. (shrink)

Reductive intellectualists hold that knowledge-how is a kind of knowledge-that. For this thesis to hold water, it is obviously important that knowledge-how and knowledge-that have the same epistemic properties. In particular, knowledge-how ought to be compatible with epistemic luck to the same extent as knowledge-that. It is argued, contra reductive intellectualism, that knowledge-how is compatible with a species of epistemic luck which is not compatible with knowledge-that, and thus it is claimed that knowledge-how and knowledge-that come apart.

The conscious awareness of voluntary action is associated with systematic changes in time perception: The interval between actions and outcomes is experienced as compressed in time. Although this temporal binding is thought to result from voluntary movement and provides a window to the sense of agency, recent studies challenge this idea by demonstrating binding in involuntary movement. We offer a potential account for these findings by proposing that binding between involuntary actions and effects can occur when self-causation is implied. Participants (...) made temporal judgements concerning a key press and a tone, while they learned to consider themselves as the cause of the effect or not. Results showed that implied self-causation increased temporal binding. Since intrinsic motor cues of movement were absent, these results suggest that sensory evidence about the key press caused binding in retrospect and in line with the participant’s sense of being an agent. (shrink)

Aristotle is widely regarded as the greatest of all philosophers; indeed, he is traditionally referred to simply as `the philosopher'. Today, after more than two millennia, his arguments and ideas continue to stimulate philosophers and provoke them to controversy. In this book J.L. Ackrill conveys the force and excitement of Aristotle's philosophical investigations, thereby showing why contemporary philosophers still draw from him and return to him. He quotes extensively from Aristotle's works in his own notably clear English translation, and a (...) picture emerges of a lucid, lively, subtle and tough-minded thinker of astonishing range and penetration. Professor Ackrill identifies many striking connections between Aristotle's ideas and ideas in recent philosophy; he also raises philosophical questions of his own, and exemplifies the way in which Aristotle can still be argued with and learned from. (shrink)

Whether you were part of the scene or are just fascinated by different modes of expression, this book will transport you to another time and place.

Small tandem DNA duplications in the range of 15 to 300 base‐pairs play an important role in the aetiology of human disease and contribute to genome diversity. Here, we discuss different proposed mechanisms for their occurrence and argue that this type of structural variation mainly results from mutagenic repair of chromosomal breaks. This hypothesis is supported by both bioinformatical analysis of insertions occurring in the genome of different species and disease alleles, as well as by CRISPR/Cas9‐based experimental data from different (...) model systems. Recent work points to fill‐in synthesis at double‐stranded DNA breaks with complementary sequences, regulated by end‐joining mechanisms, to account for small tandem duplications. We will review the prevalence of small tandem duplications in the population, and we will speculate on the potential sources of DNA damage that could give rise to this mutational signature. With the development of novel algorithms to analyse sequencing data, small tandem duplications are now more frequently detected in the human genome and identified as oncogenic gain‐of‐function mutations. Understanding their origin could lead to optimized treatment regimens to prevent therapy‐induced activation of oncogenes and might expose novel vulnerabilities in cancer. (shrink)

According to Conceptual Metaphor Theory , the Source-Path-Goal schema constitutes a central concept in cognition. Apart from literally structuring “movement“, SPG also shapes our understanding of “purposive activity“, including questing and story-telling. A problem in CMT, however, is that the existence of image schemas is almost exclusively postulated on the basis of verbal expressions. To examine the claim that people recruit image schemas such as SPG to make sense of life, it is essential to examine non-verbal modalities. Animation has highly (...) medium-specific opportunities to exploit SPG by its emphasis on “manner of movement“ and “balance“. Three animation films exemplifying MOVEMENT, QUEST, and STORY are analyzed in terms of SPG to chart how they exploit this schema. We end the paper by positioning our findings with respect to recent discussions about image schemas in Hampe and by suggesting avenues for further research. (shrink)

According to Conceptual Metaphor Theory, the Source-Path-Goal schema constitutes a central concept in cognition. Apart from literally structuring “movement”, SPG also shapes our understanding of “purposive activity”, including questing and story-telling. A problem in CMT, however, is that the existence of image schemas is almost exclusively postulated on the basis of verbal expressions. To examine the claim that people recruit image schemas such as SPG to make sense of life, it is essential to examine non-verbal modalities. Animation has highly medium-specific (...) opportunities to exploit SPG by its emphasis on “manner of movement” and “balance”. Three animation films exemplifying MOVEMENT, QUEST, and STORY are analyzed in terms of SPG to chart how they exploit this schema. We end the paper by positioning our findings with respect to recent discussions about image schemas in Hampe and by suggesting avenues for further research. (shrink)

Drawing on Dutch mortgage orientation consultations, the present study uncovers how mortgage advisors communicate information packages to laypersons. These information packages are jointly constructed by advisors and customers as a distinct activity within a professional advisory setting. We name this activity ‘explicative telling’. Through a systematic analysis of 57 of such explicative tellings we will demonstrate that this explicative telling activity consists of doing preliminary work; a body in which general, official information about a specific mortgage topic is given and (...) information is applied to the customer’s situation; and closing sequences. Essential to the explicative telling activity is the recipient orientation of mortgage information, and also the advisors’ display of accountability for providing eligible information. This is supported by the irreversibility of the preliminary phase and by the presence of news deliverer upshot formulations during the body of the telling. (shrink)

A historical investigation of the exclusion of Africa and Asia from modern histories of philosophy.

This comprehensive and important volume includes contributions by activists, journalists, lawyers and scholars from twenty-one countries. The essays map the directions the movement for women's rights is taking--and will take in the coming decades--and the concomittant transformation of prevailing notions of rights and issues. They address topics such as the rapes in former Yugoslavia and efforts to see that a War Crimes Tribunal responds; domestic violence; trafficking of women into the sex trade; the persecution of lesbians; female genital mutilation; and (...) reproductive rights. (shrink)

Presents general information about meteorology, weather, and climate and includes more than thirty activities to help study these topics, including making a ...

This paper argues that for the purposes of any sort of serious discussion about immoral conduct in sport very little is illuminated by claiming that the conduct in question is cheating. In fact, describing some behavior as cheating is typically little more than expressing strong, but thoroughly vague and imprecise, moral disapproval or condemnation of another person or institution about a wide and ill-defined range of improper advantage-seeking behavior. Such expressions of disapproval fail to distinguish cheating from many other types (...) of immoral conduct. The discussion shows that we should set the concept aside and assess the moral disapproval implied by claims of cheating by reference to the moral and other principles that underlie the practice of sport. This allows us to consider carefully the complexity of the issues that are raised when allegations of cheating are made and not be distracted by the emotionally loaded, conversation-stopping tendency of the concept. This means that some types of disputes in sport will be messy and demand more effort to resolve, but the payoff will be better informed and more thoughtful discussions and greater awareness of the moral complexity of sport and of its principled underpinnings. (shrink)

Isaac Newton wrote the manuscript Questiones quaedam philosophicae at the very beginning of his scientific career. This small notebook thus affords rare insight into the beginnings of Newton's thought and the foundations of his subsequent intellectual development. The Questiones contains a series of entries in Newton's hand that range over many topics in science, philosophy, psychology, theology, and the foundations of mathematics. These notes, written in English, provide a very detailed picture of Newton's early interests, and record his critical appraisal (...) of contemporary issues in natural philosophy. Written predominantly in 1664-5, they give a significant perspective on Newton's thought just prior to his annus mirabilis, 1666. This volume provides a complete transcription of the Questiones, together with an 'expansion' into modern English, and a full editorial commentary on the content and significance of the notebook in the development of Newton's thought. It will be essential reading for all those interested in Newton and the intellectual foundations of science. (shrink)

The first English translation of Fichte’s second set of 1804 lectures on the Wissenschaftslehre.

Some authors have called for increased research on various forms of geoengineering as a means to address global climate change. This paper focuses on the question of whether a particular form of geoengineering, namely deploying sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere to counteract some of the effects of increased greenhouse gas concentrations, would be a just response to climate change. In particular, we examine problems sulfate aerosol geoengineering (SAG) faces in meeting the requirements of distributive, intergenerational, and procedural justice. We argue (...) that SAG faces obstacles to meeting the requirements of all three considered kinds of justice, because its impacts can harm some persons and communities much more than others; it poses serious risks to future generations; and SAG is especially prone to unilateral implementation. While we do not claim that SAG ought not to be implemented, we argue that it is the responsibility of proponents of SAG to recognize and address these ethical obstacles before advocating its implementation. (shrink)

v. 1. Nicomachean ethics. Politics. The Athenian Constitution. Rhetoric. On Poetics.--v. 2. Logic.--v. 3. Physics. Metaphysics. On the soul. Short physical treaties.--v. 4. On the heavens. On generation and corruption. Meteorology. Biological treatises.

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is the most likely site where egocentric spatial relationships are represented in the brain. PPC cells receive visual, auditory, somaesthetic, and vestibular sensory inputs; oculomotor, head, limb, and body motor signals; and strong motivational projections from the limbic system. Their discharge increases not only when an animal moves towards a sensory target, but also when it directs its attention to it. PPC lesions have the opposite effect: sensory inattention and neglect. The PPC does not seem (...) to contain a “map” of the location of objects in space but a distributed neural network for transforming one set of sensory vectors into other sensory reference frames or into various motor coordinate systems. Which set of transformation rules is used probably depends on attention, which selectively enhances the synapses needed for making a particular sensory comparison or aiming a particular movement. (shrink)

Orthologic is defined by weakening the axioms and rules of inference of the classical propositional calculus. The resulting Lindenbaum-Tarski quotient algebra is an orthoimplication algebra which generalizes the author's implication algebra. The associated order structure is a semi-orthomodular lattice. The theory of orthomodular lattices is obtained by adjoining a falsity symbol to the underlying orthologic or a least element to the orthoimplication algebra.