No single theory so far proposed gives a wholly satisfactory account of the origin and maintenance of bird-song dialects. This failure is the consequence of a weak comparative literature that precludes careful comparisons among species or studies, and of the complexity of the issues involved. Complexity arises because dialects seem to bear upon a wide range of features in the life history of bird species. We give an account of the principal issues in bird-song dialects: evolution of vocal learning, experimental (...) findings on song ontogeny, dialect descriptions, female and male reactions to differences in dialect, and population genetics and dispersal.We present a synthetic theory of the origin and maintenance of song dialects, one that accommodates most of the different systems reported in the literature. The few data available suggest that large, regional dialect populations are genetically differentiated; this pattern is correlated with reduced dispersal between dialects, assortative mating by females, and male-male exclusion. At the same time, “subdialects” may be formed within regional dialects. Subdialect clusters are usually small and may represent vocal mimicry among a few adjacent territorial males. The relative importance of genetic and social adaptation may contribute to the emergence of subdialects; their distinctiveness may be correlated with the degree of polygyny, for example. Thus, subdialect formation is linked to one theory of the evolution of repertoire size, but data are too fragmentary to examine this idea critically. (shrink)

_Explores questions concerning animals from a continental perspective._.

Explores questions concerning animals from a continental perspective.

Pour faire parler le Mvett, la philosophique devait de faire pratique, pour que la pensée se conjugue avec l'action, tant il est vrai que le Mvett, par-delà l'épopée, est au fond la vie pensée par l'Etre. D'où une approche phénoménologique et éthique, qui permet de montrer comment le Mvett met en oeuvre, à sa manière, les deux catégories fondamentales de l'Altérité et de la Transcendance. Ce qui se vit sur le mode initiatique peut alors se conceptualiser avec le concours de (...) Platon, Aristote, Hegel, Husserl et Ricoeur. (shrink)

Painting, seeing, concepts -- Gone, missing -- Arshile's heel, Gorky's line -- You are here and not here: the concept of conceptual art -- Moving pictures & memory -- The doubling of death in the films of Michael Haneke -- Yep, Gaston's gay: Disney and the beauty of a beastly love -- And say the zombie responded -- Other animal others -- The man who mistook his meal for a hot dog -- Rachel Rosenthal was an animal -- Laughing beyond (...) modernity -- It's just a bunch of stuff that happened -- Quantum Andy. (shrink)

Steeve Bélanger | : Depuis le xixe siècle, la question de la « séparation » entre le « judaïsme » et le « christianisme » anciens a soulevé de nombreux débats entre spécialistes. Pour tenter d’expliquer ce phénomène historique complexe, les chercheurs n’ont pas hésité à recourir à de nombreuses métaphores et à divers paradigmes interprétatifs. Or, la recherche des trois dernières décennies a contribué à renouveler et à nuancer notre connaissance du « judaïsme » et du « christianisme » (...) anciens obligeant alors à revoir les métaphores et paradigmes par lesquels on a tenté d’expliquer la « séparation » entre ces deux entités religieuses. | : Since the 19th century, the question of the “separation” between the “Judaism” and “Christianity” in Antiquity has raised many debates among specialists. Many researchers have tried to explain this complex historical phenomenon, and they did not hesitate to use many metaphors and various interpretative paradigms. The research during the three last decades contributed to renew and to moderate our knowledge of “Judaism” and “Christianity.” The community then had to re-examine the metaphors and paradigms by which the “separation” between these two religious entities has been there explained. (shrink)

Steeve Bélanger,Frédérique Bonenfant | : Le concept d’« innovation religieuse » est rarement, mais surtout particulièrement mal défini dans la recherche actuelle. De plus, il est souvent associé aux nouveaux mouvements religieux qui ont émergé à l’époque contemporaine, ce qui limite indéniablement son utilisation comme outil et catégorie d’analyse des phénomènes de changement, de nouveauté, de transformation et de mutation religieux d’hier comme d’aujourd’hui. Afin de la distinguer d’une nouveauté, d’une mode ou d’une tendance religieuse passagère, nous proposons de considérer (...) que l’innovation religieuse consiste en un processus collectif qui, par volonté et/ou par désir de changement face à une situation considérée comme ne répondant pas ou plus aux besoins ou aux aspirations actuelles, introduit une nouveauté religieuse et qui conduit, par négociation ou par imposition au moyen d’un réseau de communication, à un changement socioreligieux significatif, effectif et durable des pratiques et/ou du système de significations. Cette proposition de définition, qui se veut ouverte et englobante, permet de considérer que toute nouveauté introduite dans le domaine religieux peut se transformer en innovation religieuse à condition de traverser les quatre phases qui caractérisent, selon nous, les processus d’innovation religieuse, soit celle de proposition d’une nouveauté, celle de diffusion de la nouveauté, celle d’appropriation de la nouveauté puis celle d’adoption de la nouveauté par changement des pratiques et/ou du système de significations. | : The concept of “religious innovation” is seldom, but most of all very badly defined in current research. Furthermore, it is often associated to new religious movements that have emerged in the contemporary period. This undeniably limits its use as a tool and a category of analysis of the phenomena of religious change, novelty, transformation and mutation yesterday as today. With a view to distinguish it from a novelty, a fashion or a passing religious tendency, we propose to consider that religious innovation consists in a collective process which, either willingly or through a desire for change in the face of a situation deemed not or no longer to answer to actual needs or aspirations, introduces a religious novelty, and which leads, through negotiation or imposition by means of a network of communication, to a socio-religious change, significant, effective and durable, of practices and/or of the system of meanings. This proposed definition, intended as it is to be open and inclusive, allows one to consider that every novelty introduced into the religious domain may be transformed into a religious innovation provided it passes through the four phases characterizing, according to us, the processes of religious innovation, namely that of a proposition of novelty, that of a diffusion of the novelty, that of an appropriation of the novelty and that of an adoption of the novelty through a change of practices and/or of the system of meanings. (shrink)

In a recent paper, Guy Kahane asks whether God’s existence is something we should want to be true. Expanding on some cryptic remarks from Thomas Nagel, Kahane’s informative and wide-ranging piece eventually addresses whether personal anti-theism is justified, where personal anti-theism is the view that God’s existence would make things worse overall for oneself. In what follows, I develop, defend, but ultimately reject the Meaningful Life Argument, according to which if God’s existence precludes the realization of certain goods that seem (...) to an agent to constitute a meaningful life, it is rational for an agent both to believe that personal anti-theism is true and to prefer that God not exist. (shrink)

Moral gilt gemeinhin als ein System prosozialer Einstellungen, Werte und Normen. Wer moralisch handelt, der entscheidet darüber, ob er geltenden Werten gemäß leben und wie weit er sich herrschenden Normen anpassen oder ihnen zuwider handeln will. Damit ein Akteur bestimmte moralische Handlungen vollzieht, muss eine gegebene Moral als Ganze überzeugen. Dies gelingt ihr, wenn sie es schafft, Freiheit und Heteronomie in einer Balance zu halten. Es gibt jedoch moralimmanente Schwierigkeiten, die die Reichweite der Moral begrenzen: Wann ist es legitim, einen (...) anderen moralisch zu sanktionieren? Gelten moralische Normen unbedingt und muss ich mich allen herrschenden Werten anpassen? Können Tugenden und andere prosoziale Einstellungen Normen und Sanktionen ersetzen? Und schließlich: Welche Moral ist eigentlich die beste Moral? (shrink)

No serious scholar in Christian Social Ethics today can introduce students to his or her field without taking into account the contributions of African American scholarship. The long traditions of Christian Social Ethics in the black church, and the innovative research and writing performed by African-American scholars in recent years are now essential components of a critical study of Ethics. Yet up to now, knowing how best to introduce the fruits of African American ethical scholarship to students, particularly those in (...) the survey class, has been difficult. Good resources exist, yet too often they were not written with the needs of introductory students in mind. This book meets that need by providing an overview of the most important developments in African American approaches to Christian Social Ethics. Written with the needs of beginning students in mind, it will offer insight into the particular ways that African American scholarship has shaped the world of Christian Ethics. (shrink)

The direction of this text is both phenomenological and prescriptive as it attempts to provide a phenomenological foundation for communitarian ethical theory. It argues that the Ego and the Other arise together in sense and we are committed to community in a foundational way.

In this study, researchers examined the assumption that senior-level undergraduate students from private colleges universities possess higher levels of moral and ethical development than students from public institutions. In addition, the researchers sought to determine (a) if there was a relationship between narcissistic personality traits and the level of moral reasoning, and (b) there was a difference in the level of narcissistic personality tendencies of business students from private vs. public institutions based on demographic and textual variables. A cluster sampling (...) approach was used in the sample selection. The sample was limited to students majoring in general business at seven public and six private universities in North Dakota and Minnesota. A total of 269 subjects participated in the research project: 145 at private institutions and 124 at public institutions. The Defining Issues Test version 2 (DIT-2) and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) were used to collect data at seven public and six private institutions. Students from public and private universities scored similarly on the DIT-2. A significant difference between the NPI scores of the private college students and the public college students was found. No significant relationship was found between the NPI score and level of moral reasoning. Business educators should be concerned that an increase in the number of business ethics courses completed did not significantly impact students' moral reasoning or narcissistic traits. (shrink)

Selon Kirk Lougheed, favoriser une version objective de l’argument du sens de la vie établit une sorte d’antithéisme, c’est-à-dire une perspective qui maintient que l’existence d’un Dieu théiste aggraverait les choses et qu’il est donc plus rationnel de préférer que Dieu n’existe pas. Cette version objective est présentée par Lougheed comme une amélioration par rapport à ma version subjective de l’argument du sens de la vie. Je soutiens que la version de Lougheed ne réussit pas mieux que la version subjective (...) que j’ai développée, puis rejetée. (shrink)

Pro-theism is the view that God’s existence would be good in that God’s existence increases the value of a world. Anti-theism is the view that God’s existence would decrease the value of a world. We develop and defend the morally good agent argument for pro-theism. The basic idea is that morally good agents tend to add value to states of affairs, and God, moral agent par excellence is no exception. Thus, we argue that the existence of God would be, on (...) balance, a good thing and therefore something that one can rationally desire to be true. (shrink)

The recently proposed ``infinite decision puzzle'' is based on incorrect mathematics.

Previous research has proposed the exploratory hypotheses that hostility could differ from anger in the sense that it involves higher possibility for inflicting physical harm while anger could invo...

We find many embedded letters in ancient historiographic narratives. These letters are not simply literary ornaments, but truly historical causes of the narrated events. In other words, they contribute significantly to the course of the plot. Pioneer in Christian historiography, the author of Luke-Acts also uses embedded letters in the second part of his diptych. By reconsidering the embedded letters in the Acts of the Apostles, this paper will question their narrative functions and credibility.

RésuméDepuis le début des années 1990, les recherches interdisciplinaires au croisement entre philosophie et psychiatrie ont connu un formidable regain d’intérêt sur le plan international. Elles ont été stimulées par la mise en place d’une association, d’un journal, et même d’une collection spécifiquement dédiée. Cet article cherche à reconstituer, à travers la profusion et la grande diversité des travaux individuels, la dynamique intellectuelle de ce qu’il est désormais convenu d’appeler « la nouvelle philosophie de la psychiatrie ». Il s’agit là (...) de cerner les lignes de force, mais aussi les rejets silencieux qui structurent de l’intérieur ce champ d’études devenu très prolifique depuis 25 ans. (shrink)

The World Health Organization states that depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and predicts that by 2030 the epidemic of depression raging across the world will be the single biggest contributor to the overall burden of disease of all health conditions. Yet this gloomy picture masks a number of paradoxes concerning the diagnosis and cultural interpretation of depression that appear to challenge the claimed prevalence rates on which it is based. This book's essays by some of the world's (...) leading researchers and scholars on depression explores these anomalies in detail from multidisciplinary and multicultural perspectives, and in doing so reshapes the debate on the nature of depression that is currently under way in the US and abroad. At the book's core is the exploration from the multiple perspectives of a key dilemma: is the epidemic of depression real or is it just apparent? In particular, could it be the result of criteria laid down in the official American classification system of mental disorders, the DSM, interacting with cultural changes to reshape our view of melancholy, pathologizing what were formerly normal symptoms of grief or intense sadness? The debate over the DSM's conception of depression has an international relevance, with the WHO's upcoming revisions to its International Classification of Diseases requiring coordination with the DSM. This collection of perspectives has an unprecedented international dimension, as scholars from Europe and around the world join US academics to explore a central and controversial element of contemporary psychiatric diagnosis - and one that has enormous practical implications for the future of mental health care and how we view our emotions. The book's accessible essays will make it useful to scholars, practitioners, and students across a wide range of disciplines. (shrink)

BackgroundStigma refers to a distinguishing personal trait that is perceived as or actually is physically, socially, or psychologically disadvantageous. Little is known about the opinion of those who have more or less stigmatizing health conditions regarding the need for consent for use of their personal information for health research.MethodsWe surveyed the opinions of people 18 years and older with seven health conditions. Participants were drawn from: physicians' offices and clinics in southern Ontario; and from a cross-Canada marketing panel of individuals (...) with the target health conditions. For each of five research scenarios presented, respondents chose one of five consent choices: (1) no need for me to know; (2) notice with opt-out; (3) broad opt-in; (4) project-specific permission; and (5) this information should not be used. Consent choices were regressed onto: demographics; health condition; and attitude measures of privacy, disclosure concern, and the benefits of health research. We conducted focus groups to discuss possible reasons for observed consent choices.ResultsWe observed substantial variation in the control that people wish to have over use of their personal information for research. However, consent choice profiles were similar across health conditions, possibly due to sampling bias. Research involving profit or requiring linkage of health information with income, education, or occupation were associated with more restrictive consent choices. People were more willing to link their health information with biological samples than with information about their income, occupation, or education.ConclusionsThe heterogeneity in consent choices suggests individuals should be offered some choice in use of their information for different types of health research, even if limited to selectively opting-out. Some of the implementation challenges could be designed into the interoperable electronic health record. However, many questions remain, including how best to capture the opinions of those who are more privacy sensitive. (shrink)

In this paper, we explore whether masked emotional faces can elicit changes in physiology without awareness. We also explore whether emotional miss-discrimination involves the physiological correla...

The attempt to relate distinctions in perceptual theory to different physiological systems leads to numerous exceptions and inconsistencies. A more promising approach to the reconciliation of constructivist theory and direct perception is to recognize that perception does involve inference, as the constructivists insist, but that inference is a process in logic that does not require unconscious reasoning and need be no more thought-like than resonance.