There is a broad debate in contemporary philosophy of logic on the informativeness of proofs. In this context, informative proofs are demonstrations whose premises do not include the content of the conclusion. D’Agostino and Floridi (Synthese 167(2):271–315, 2009) claimed that proofs are informative if they use _virtual information_. In their terminology, this is the data carried by _dischargeable hypotheses_, assumptions entertained during proof and eliminated before concluding. Although these authors capture several cases of informative demonstrations, they do not explain the (...) nature of virtual information. Why does the use of dischargeable hypotheses increase the informativeness of a demonstration? Following a Kantian inspiration, D’Agostino and Floridi claim that virtual information adds a synthetic feature to our proofs. However, this appeal to Kantianism is misleading: for Kant, mathematics is synthetic because it requires the construction of concepts in pure intuition. On the other hand, the entertainment of provisional hypotheses does not seem to involve the construction of figures in (transcendental) imagination. Exploring a _dialogical_ characterization of logic, I suggest that virtual information results from the dynamics between a reasoner and her audience. When a reasoner provisionally assumes _P_, she enacts potential interlocutors who commit to _P_. Thus, “virtual information” denotes the content of some assumptions of the possible audience of a demonstration. This process of departing from one’s original premises to embrace the suppositions of other people is informative, but it is not synthetic: in this way, the reasoner does not entertain intuitions but only needs to reason through the conceptual content of other people’s premises. (shrink)

In this article, I review the new book by C. D. Novaes, The Dialogical Roots of Deduction: Historical, Cognitive, and Philosophical Perspectives on Reasoning. I reconstruct the main themes and arguments presented in the work and critically assess its results.

Short historical and cultural sketch of France’s decisive years during the Second World War, between occupation and resistance, re f racted by the prism of the Sartrean figure of the engagé intellectual, which was born out of this conjuncture of sharp political crisis. This sketch, however, is extracted out of my analysis of the int e r nal organization of what seems to be, at first sig ht, Sartre’s most d i s e ng a ged work, one that was (...) cons e c rated by tradition as a cons t e l l a t ion of ideas shining on the sky of ‘pure’ philosophy – ‘Being and Nothingness’. (shrink)

It is argued that the theories of the modern cognitive psychology of perception and recognition show, under rigorous logical analysis, the same problems which arise in the philosophical theories of knowledge of Descartes and Locke and lead to relativistic and solipsistic consequences. Through examination of the approachs of D. Sanders, E. B. Goldstein and J. Fodor it is shown that the perceptible world in these theories dissolves in internal representations so that despite its realistic starting-point modern cognitive psychology runs into (...) epistemological idealism or solipsism. (shrink)

Na conferência que pronunciou no Brasil, em Araraquara, Sartre, na linha direta de Questão de Método, retoma o tema - que a Resistência colocara na ordem do dia - das relações entre a teoria e a prática. Ora, cabe perguntar por que o autor, no umbral dos anos 60, reativa, de maneira tão decisiva, uma problemática que privilegiara nos idos do pós-guerra. A resposta a esta questão deve ser buscada, a nosso ver, nos desdobramentos da célebre polêmica dos anos 50 (...) em torno dos ensaios de Sartre "Os Comunistas e a Paz" e, portanto, no cenário político-filosófico da época.Dans sa Conférence prononcée au Brésil, à Araraquara, Sartre, dans la même ligne de pensée de Question de Méthode, reprend le thème - que la Résistance avait mis à l'ordre du jour - des rapports entre la théorie et la pratique. Or, on pourrait se demander pourquoi l'auteur, au seuil des années 60, reprend, d'une manière si décisive, un sujet qu'il avait privilegié dans les années de l'après-guerre. La réponse à cette question, à notre avis, doit être cherchée dans les développements de la célèbre polémique des années 50 autour des essais de Sartre "Les Communistes et la Paix" et, par conséquent, dans le cadre politique et philosophique de l'époque. (shrink)

L'auteur distingue, dans les.travaux sur l'intelligence artifi- cielle, deux approches : l'approche technologique et l'approche cognitiviste. Il montre que les rapprochements faits, dans l'approche cognitiviste, entre l'intelligence humaine et l'intelligence artificielle, ne vont pas de soi, et que les thèses sur l'intelligence artificielle sont largement tributaires de certaines spéculations rationalistes et empi- ristes de la philosophie classique. Il expose la principale difficulté que rencontre alors une compréhension de l'intelligence humaine à partir de l'approche cognitiviste, à savoir la nécessité d'oblitérer la (...) dimension sémantique et de professer un solipsisme radical, et il plaide en faveur d'une compréhension de l'intelligence humaine selon ce qu'elle est dans la culture plutôt que dans les machines.In the literature on artificial intelligence, the author distinguishes two approaches : the technological approach and the cognitivist approach. He shows that the parallels made between human intelligence and artificial intelligence within the cognitivist approach do not go without saying, and that the theses on artificial intelligence are largely dependent upon certain rationalist and empiricist speculations of classical philosophy. He exposes the principal problem that then encounters an understanding of human intelligence in the light of the cognitivist approach, namely the necessity to obliterate the semantic dimension and to profess a radical solipsism, and he pleads for an understanding of human intelligence commensurable with what it is in culture rather than in machines. (shrink)

En redonnant vie au problème de la transformation des formes tout au long de l'itinéraire de la pensée de Sartre - de la "philosophie pure" à la "monographie historique concrète" -, cette étude essaie de reconstituer quelques moments du processus de gestation de la synthèse sartrienne entre Philosophie, Roman et Révolution. La "monographie historique concrète" aurait-elle chez Sartre la fonction de succédané pour la "Philosophie Traditionnelle" et pour le "Roman Traditionnel"? Ce qui semble conduire l'itinéraire sartrien - de L'être et (...) le néant à L'idiot de la famille -, c'est la recherche d'une forme philosophique, littéraire et historique qui présuppose, sous-jacente, une Théorie du Roman indissolublement liée à une Théorie de la Révolution, plus précisément, à une théorie de la temporalité révolutionnaire qui recèle en elle-même la marque décisive de l'expérience politique de la Guerre, de Occupation et de la Résistance.Reativando o problema da transformação das formas ao longo do itinerário do pensamento de Sartre-da "filosofia pura" à "monografia histórica concreta"-, o presente estudo procura reconstituir alguns momentos do processo de gestação da síntese sartriana entre Filosofia, Romance e Revolução. Teria a "monografia histórica concreta", para Sartre, a função de sucedâneo da "Filosofia Tradicional" e do "Romance Tradicional"? O que parece norteara trajetória sartriana - de L'Être et le Néant a L'Idiot de la famille - é a busca de uma forma filosófica, literária e histórica que pressupõe, subjacente, uma teoria do romance indissoluvelmente ligada a uma teoria da revolução, mais precisamente, a uma teoria da temporalidade revolucionária que encerra em si mesma a marca decisiva da experiência política da Guerra, da Ocupação e da Resistência. (shrink)

Pobreza e educação: diálogos entre o passado e o presente, entre conformações e resistências docentes Resumo: Desde o século XIX, a pobreza tem sido objeto de governo em todos os âmbitos do Estado Brasileiro. No entanto, desde lá, a seu modo, a área educacional tem assumido fortemente essa tarefa para si, quer seja na política educacional ou na experiência docente. De fato, essa é uma questão importante, mas paradoxal. Por um lado, governam-se os pobres visando a sua liberdade; por outro, (...) para subjugá-los. A partir de aportes teórico-metodológicos de Michel Foucault, mas também de recortes analíticos de pesquisadores do campo da sociologia da educação e da história da educação brasileira, este artigo procura estabelecer diálogo com alguns aspectos atuais da experiência docente brasileira, tentando responder se, na prática, ela é capaz de analisar esse paradoxo e de agir frente a ele. Como conclusão, o artigo sugere que a analítica de tal questão depende, enormemente, da perspicácia da política educacional e dos professores para diagnosticarem o presente e o passado da educação, para, quem sabe, experimentar novas formas de educação com as populações pobres. Palavras-chave: Pobreza; Educação; Experiência docente. Poverty and education: dialogues between past and present, between conformations and resistance of teachers Abstract: Since the 19th century, poverty has been an object of government in all spheres of the Brazilian State. However, since then, the educational area has strongly assumed this task for itself in its own way, both in educational policy and in teaching experience. Indeed, this is an important but paradoxical issue. The poor are ruled with their freedom in mind on the one hand, and on the other, with their subjugation as an objective. Based on Michel Foucault's theoretical-methodological contributions, but also on analytical pieces by researchers in the field of sociology of education and the history of Brazilian education, this paper seeks to establish a dialogue with current aspects of the Brazilian teaching experience, trying to answer whether it is capable of analyzing this paradox and acting upon it in practice. In conclusion, the paper suggests that the analysis of such a matter greatly depends on the perspicacity of educational policy and teachers to diagnose the present and past of education in order to possibly experiment new forms of education with poor populations. Keywords: Poverty; Education; Teaching experience. Pauvreté et éducation: dialogues entre le passé et le présent, entre conformations et résistances des enseignants Résumé: Depuis le 19ème siècle, la question de la pauvreté a été l’objet du gouvernement dans tous les domaines de l’État brésilien. Cependant, depuis lors, à sa manière, le domaine de l'éducation a fortement assumé cette tâche, que ce soit en matière de politique éducative ou d'expérience d’enseignement. En fait, c'est une question importante, mais paradoxale. D'une part, les pauvres sont gouvernés pour leur liberté; mais aussi d'autre part, pour les soumettre. À partir des contributions théoriques et méthodologiques de Michel Foucault, mais également d'extraits analytiques de chercheurs dans le domaine de la sociologie de l'éducation et de l'histoire de l'éducation brésilienne, cet article cherche à établir un dialogue avec certains aspects actuels de l'expérience d'enseignement au Brésil, en essayant de répondre si, dans la pratique, elle est capable d'analyser ce paradoxe et d'agir face à ce dernier. En conclusion, l'article suggère que l'analyse d'une telle question depend, énormément, de la perspicacité de la politique éducative et des professeurs à diagnostiquer le présent et le passé de l'éducation, pour, on ne sait jamais, essayer de nouvelles formes d'éducation avec les populations pauvres. Mots-clés: Pauvreté; Éducation; Expérience d'enseignement. Data de registro: 14/05/2020 Data de aceite: 02/10/2020. (shrink)

Logical omniscience states that the knowledge set of ordinary rational agents is closed for its logical consequences. Although epistemic logicians in general judge this principle unrealistic, there is no consensus on how it should be restrained. The challenge is conceptual: we must find adequate criteria for separating obvious logical consequences from non-obvious ones. Non-classical game-theoretic semantics has been employed in this discussion with relative success. On the one hand, with urn semantics [15], an expressive fragment of classical game semantics that (...) weakens the dependence relations between quantifiers occurring in a formula, we can formalize, for a broad array of examples, epistemic scenarios in which an individual ignores the validity of some first-order sentence. On the other hand, urn semantics offers a disproportionate restriction of logical omniscience. Therefore, an improvement of this system is needed to obtain a better solution of the problem. In this paper, I argue that our linguistic competence in using quantifiers requires a sort of basic hypothetical logical knowledge that can be formulated as follows: when inquiring after the truth-value of ∀xφ, an individual might be unaware of all substitutional instances this sentence accepts, but at least she must know that, if an element a is given, then ∀xφ holds only if φ is true. This thesis accepts game-theoretic formalization in terms of a refinement of urn semantics. I maintain that the system so obtained affords an improved solution of the logical omniscience problem. To do this, I characterize first-order theoremhood in US+. As a consequence of this result, we will see that the ideal reasoner depicted by US+ only knows the validity of first-order formulas whose Herbrand witnesses can be trivially found, a fact that provides strong evidence that our refinement of urn semantics captures a relevant sense of logical obviousness. (shrink)

A RELEVÂNCIA DO PRÉVIO ESGOTAMENTO DAS INSTÂNCIAS DESPORTIVAS E AS SANÇÕES AO SEU DESCUMPRIMENTO.

Resenha do novo livro de Israel Finkelstein, publicado em inglês em 2013. Israel Finkelstein apresenta nova visão acerca do reino do Norte Israel, apontando a compilação e redação final das narrativas bíblicas pelos judaítas, depois da queda do reino do Norte Israel. É uma bela obra que resume o desenvolvimento das pesquisas arqueológicas do autor.

A substantial guide providing an overview of both physicalism and metaphysical naturalism, reviewing both questions of formulation and justification for both doctrines. Includes a diagnostic strategy for understanding talk of naturalism as a metaphysical thesis.

In this paper we study in details a system of two weakly coupled harmonic oscillators from the point of view of Bohm's interpretation of quantum mechanics. This system may be viewed as a simple model for the interaction between a photon and a photodetector. We obtain exact solutions for the general case. We then compute approximate solutions for the case where one oscillator is initially in its first excited state (a single photon) reaching the other oscillator in its ground state (...) (the photodetector). The approximate solutions represent the state of both oscillators after the interaction, which is not an eigenstate of the individual hamiltonians for each oscillator, and therefore the energies for each oscillator do not exist in the Copenhagen interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. We use the approximate solutions that we obtained to compute Bohmian trajectories and to study the energy transfer between the oscillators. We conclude that, even using the Bohmian view, the energy of each individual oscillator is not well defined, as the nonlocal quantum potential is not negligible even after the coupling is turned off. (shrink)

O artigo "Educação moral: a busca da excelência a partir de virtudes aristotélicas e a formação do educador" coloca em relevo a necessidade do cultivo de virtudes para a construção da excelência moral do homem. Discutimos a importância da compreensão do termo filosófico. Os resultados esperados consistem na possibilidade do educador de conseguir compreender, dentre os valores clássicos, em específico, o da justiça e o da amizade, como sendo a base para a discussão da educação moral. Se a educação moral (...) exerce algum papel na formação da personalidade humana, então, é preciso examinar quais virtudes são efetivamente necessárias para o desenvolvimento do caráter do homem. A educação moral, tal como temos concebido, possibilita a construção da autonomia do educando para que ele se torne um cidadão emancipado, independente, crítico e, antes, autocrítico. Com efeito, o problema desta investigação consiste na pergunta: quais são os desafios para a formação do educador no processo de conquista da excelência a partir de virtudes aristotélicas em se tratando de educação moral? Nesse sentido, o objetivo principal deste trabalho é compreender a excelência humana a partir do desenvolvimento de virtudes aristotélicas, especialmente a justiça e aamizade, com vistas aos desafios que se colocam aos educadores. Do ponto de vista do método, o trabalho é realizado a partir de revisão bibliográfica e procura problematizar, conceituar e argumentar características típicas do método de forma mais rigorosa, virtudes fundamentais para a formação do caráter do homem. (shrink)

O que se pretende neste artigo é mostrar antes de tudo que revoluçáo galilena é fruto de uma mudança de mentalidade, de visáo de mundo, decorrente da própria crise por que passava o paradigma aristotélico . Um bom exemplo desta mudança e das dificuldades de livrar-se dos quadros tradicionais do pensamento filosofico é o matematismo(universo de precisáo) e a crença galileana em orbitas circulares, respectivamente. Com efeito, como poderá Galileu ser um dos fundadores da fisica moderna, se esta é fundamentada (...) no principio de inércia e na preponderancia da reta em relaçáo ao circulo? A resposta é a presentada a partir da analise do racíonio de Galileu no tocante a ideia de movimento. (shrink)

Is an ethical leader an oxymoron? Society demands and expects greater accountability from organizational leaders. The literature on leadership, especially business leadership, has neglected ethical issues by focusing only on those approaches and strategies that emphasize self-centred, individualistic concerns. How ever, true and effective leadership is one in which the leader's behaviour and the exercise of the leadership influence process are consistent with ethical and moral values. The authors argue that our understanding of leadership is incomplete, if not deformed, if (...) it does not include the three critical dimensions of ethical leadership. (shrink)

In this paper, I analyse EE I 6, where Aristotle presented a famous methodological digression. Many interpreters have taken this chapter as advocating a dialectical procedure of enquiry. My claim is that Aristotle does not keep a dialectical attitude towards endoxa or phainomena in this chapter. In order to accomplish my goal, I shall show that EE I 6 does not provide enough evidence for the dialectical construal of it, and that this construal, in turn, hangs on some assumptions brought (...) out from other Aristotelian works (EN and Top.), which do not provide good evidence as well. By the analysis of these assumptions, I intend to show that Aristotle is not carrying out any sort of dialectic, especially dialectic conceived as conceptual analysis seeking the salvage of phainomena or endoxa. (shrink)

This article discusses the importance of metaemotions (emotions about emotions), showing their undeniable existence and how they are a critical and essential part of emotion life. The article begins by placing reflexivity of emotions within the general reflexivity of human beings. Then, the article presents the literature on metaemotion, showing some of the problems that surround them, which ultimately will lead to ask if the concept of metaemotion is really necessary. The second part of the article argues for the usefulness (...) of the concept, pointing out its role in establishing distinctions among emotional states as well as further clarifying the nature of emotion, and concludes on pointing out some of the directions for future research on metaemotions. (shrink)

We perceive smells as perduring complex entities within a distal array that might be conceived of as smellscapes. However, the philosophical orthodoxy of Odor Theories has been to deny that smells are perceived as having a distal location. Recent challenges have been mounted to Odor Theories’ veracity in handling the timescale of olfactory perception, how it individuates odors as a distal entities, and their claim that olfactory perception is not spatial. The paper does not aim to dispute these criticisms. Rather, (...) what will be shown is that Molecular Structure Theory, a refinement of Odor Theory, can be further developed to handle these challenges. The theory is further refined by focusing on distal perception that requires considering the perceptual object as mereologically complex persisting odor against a background scene conceived of as a smellscape. What will be offered is an expansion of Molecular Structure Theory to account for distal smell perception within natural environments. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is an attempt to delimitate what the dialectical syllogism looks like in Aristotle’s Topics. Aristotle never gave an example of a dialectical syllogism, but we have some clues spread over books I and VIII of the Topics which make it possible to understand at least what within a dialectical debate is a dialectical syllogism. The interpretation advanced here distinguishes the logical order of the dialectical argumentation from the order of the debate. This distinction enables us (...) to have a better understand of what is and how the dialectical syllogism is identified in the debate. In addition, we can solve some interpretative difficulties other interpretations could not solve, and have a more solid grasp of how endoxa are used in a dialectical debate. (shrink)

Inside What Would Plato Do?, you'll find the basics of philosophy, written in an easy, digestible way we can all understand, along with questions to help you apply these important theories to your own life. So, after you've learned about a philosophical concept, you'll then be challenged to test yourself and see how the results can impact your daily life. For instance, after learning about Kant's theory of morality and the importance of intention you're challenged with questions like: Can good (...) people do bad things? Was there a time when you intended to do something helpful that ended up being hurtful? Does that make you a good person (because you intended to do good) or a bad person (because the results were bad)? What Would Plato Do? will not only help you better understand some of the greatest thinkers ever but will also help you think of the world around you in a whole new way! (shrink)

As result of the ongoing doctoral research, this paper composes the Communication delivered at the First National Post-Graduate Meeting in Philosophy of the University of Brasilia. The thesis relates to the real political action arising from liberty and immanent power. Structured in two moments of the Gramscian thought, that is: a) the juvenile phase (1914-1919), correspondent to the initial period of political engagement towards adherence to the Turin labor movement; and b) the analysis of the 48th § of Volume 3 (...) Prison Notebooks (Q 3, 48, 197) about the real political action. The whole problematic of the research relies in the investigation about Gramscian philosophical demands of the real political action that distinguishes it from the utopian idealism. In this sense, which are Gramscian´s contributions towards the Philosophy of praxis? The research indicates that the praxis requires a critical consciousness – passed through intellectual action in the formation of the people –, since the historical conditions are already given. (shrink)

Este livro é uma apresentação das teorias e sistemas da psicologia contemporânea articuladas numa visão de conjunto em que podem ser estabelecidas suas afinidades e incompatibilidades. O texto compõe-se de doze capítulos. O primeiro trata de como se formou o campo específico da psicologia. No segundo, mostra-se como este espaço foi ocupado por diferentes doutrinas cientificistas, românticas e pós-românticas. Os demais capítulos apresentam as matrizes do pensamento psicológico e as teorias de surgimento.

We defend J. Kim's principle of explanatory exclusion from a recent criticism advanced by A Marras. We show that the principle follows from a less controversial principle of causal exclusion together with the assumption that claims of explanation are factual. We resolve the tension produced by Marras' argument by drawing a distinction between causal and explanatory relevance. In cross-level explanations (mental-to-physical and physical-to-mental) the explanans property is not causally but explanatorily relevant to the explanandum. This calls for an account of (...) how explanatorily relevant properties are grounded in causally relevant properties which in turn ultimately depend on causally efficacious properties. A. (shrink)

Defende-se que a análise da produção do conhecimento orientada pela perspectiva da concepção materialista e dialética da história deve pautar-se: pela percepção da realidade como totalidade pré-existente e independente da sua fragmentação em disciplinas; pelo entendimento de que a produção do conhecimento expressa no plano das ideias o embate travado no âmbito das relações de produção, por forças que disputam o controle e a direção das forças produtivas. Defende-se que não é suficiente classificar a produção do conhecimento conforme as orientações (...) epistemológica mas necessário e urgente situar esta produção na realidade que a produz. (shrink)

O artigo "Educação moral: a busca da excelência a partir de virtudes aristotélicas e a formação do educador" coloca em relevo a necessidade do cultivo de virtudes para a construção da excelência moral do homem. Discutimos a importância da compreensão do termo filosófico. Os resultados esperados consistem na possibilidade do educador de conseguir compreender, dentre os valores clássicos, em específico, o da justiça e o da amizade, como sendo a base para a discussão da educação moral. Se a educação moral (...) exerce algum papel na formação da personalidade humana, então, é preciso examinar quais virtudes são efetivamente necessárias para o desenvolvimento do caráter do homem. A educação moral, tal como temos concebido, possibilita a construção da autonomia do educando para que ele se torne um cidadão emancipado, independente, crítico e, antes, autocrítico. Com efeito, o problema desta investigação consiste na pergunta: quais são os desafios para a formação do educador no processo de conquista da excelência a partir de virtudes aristotélicas em se tratando de educação moral? Nesse sentido, o objetivo principal deste trabalho é compreender a excelência humana a partir do desenvolvimento de virtudes aristotélicas, especialmente a justiça e aamizade, com vistas aos desafios que se colocam aos educadores. Do ponto de vista do método, o trabalho é realizado a partir de revisão bibliográfica e procura problematizar, conceituar e argumentar características típicas do método de forma mais rigorosa, virtudes fundamentais para a formação do caráter do homem. (shrink)

A general consensus has been reached in health care organizations that the disclosure of medical errors can be a very powerful way to improve patients and physicians well-being and serves as a core component to high quality health care. This practice strongly encourages transparent communication with patients after medical errors or unanticipated outcomes. However, many countries, such as Brazil, do not have a culture of disclosing harmful errors to patients or standards emphasizing the importance of disclosing, taking responsibility, apologizing, and (...) discussing the prevention of recurrences. Medical error is not discussed or approached during medical school. The stigma of error has a strong connection with value judgments, and emotional support for physicians does not exist. This paper suggests that open communication with the patient is essential. Guidance about error disclosure from health care organizations would be helpful for quality and patient safety and for health care professionals in countries like Brazil. (shrink)

A introdução da filosofia do direito na educação busca ampliar a compreensão dos alunos sobre os fundamentos teóricos, éticos e políticos do direito. Ela visa desenvolver habilidades de pensamento crítico e promover uma consciência cívica e ética em relação ao sistema jurídico e seu papel na sociedade. Os instrumentos essenciais do estudo filosófico são assuntos muito frequentes e indispensáveis, como; o sentido da aparição humana, como a origem e exício, a alegria e tristeza, o certo e o errado, a felicidade (...) e a dor, o amor, a capacidade, entre outros, que iluminam a relação entre todas as pessoas na sociedade aprendizagem e coexistência. Ao adotar essas abordagens, as instituições de ensino têm a oportunidade de enriquecer a experiência educacional, estimulando o desenvolvimento de competências críticas, a habilidade para resolver desafios complexos e a capacidade de tomar decisões éticas. Portanto esse estudo tem como objetivo articular sobre a compreensão dos fundamentos teóricos, desenvolvimento do pensamento crítico, reflexão ética e moral e consciência dos direitos e responsabilidades na educação de maneira comum. (shrink)

This paper follows a Deweyan suggestion and proposes a structure for emotional activity – pattern of sentiment –as a way to grasp emotional experience in its live occurrence by building upon Dewey’s crucial notion of situation. The first part outlines Dewey’s criticisms of James’s idea of emotion, and verifies the ways in which the recent developments of neuroscience overcome Dewey’s criticisms of James. Given that Dewey’s work is a propitious ground for continuing to renew the discourse about the activities of (...) mind (Mendonça 2003), the second part of the paper outlines a pattern for emotional activity, setting up the first steps for a situational approach of Deweyan inspiration to the nature of emotion. I conclude by pointing out how such a pattern may be a unifying tool for the different emotion theories briefly describing some of the rich directions it provides for future research on philosophy of emotion. (shrink)

We are immersed within an odorous sea of chemical currents that we parse into individual odors with complex structures. Odors have been posited as determined by the structural relation between the molecules that compose the chemical compounds and their interactions with the receptor site. But, naturally occurring smells are parsed from gaseous odor plumes. To give a comprehensive account of the nature of odors the chemosciences must account for these large distributed entities as well. We offer a focused review of (...) what is known about the perception of odor plumes for olfactory navigation and tracking, which we then connect to what is known about the role odorants play as properties of the plume in determining odor identity with respect to odor quality. We end by motivating our central claim that more research needs to be conducted on the role that odorants play within the odor plume in determining odor identity. (shrink)

The paper aims to better identify the relationship between moods and emotions showing their link to the overall environment. Adopting a Situated Approach to Emotions, 209–227, 2012; Stephan Emotion Review, 4, 157–162, 2012; Stephen et al. Philosophical Psychology, 27, 65–81 2014) enables showing that the link to emotions to the environment is best understood using the term situation, while moods’ link to the environment is best captured by the notion of context. Exploring the difference points out that what is selected (...) as the situation versus the context in a given environment may explain the relationship between emotions and moods, and clarify why, for instance, certain emotions can alter a mood while others do not. The paper begins putting forward the general take on emotions from a Situated Approach to Emotions in line with contemporary discussions of the Situated Approach to Mind. Then, following John Dewey’s conception of situation, the paper distinguishes situation from context, and reviews the hypothesis of equating them with emotions and moods respectively. The analysis is then connected to previous research done on the difference between emotions and moods and, given the insightful outcomes of connecting moods and emotions to other theoretical aspects of the mind, it shows how the link to the environment is a crucial trait to understand emotions and moods dynamics. (shrink)

Reflection Principles are commonly thought to produce only strong axioms of infinity consistent with V = L. It would be desirable to have some notion of strong reflection to remedy this, and we have proposed Global Reflection Principles based on a somewhat Cantorian view of the universe. Such principles justify the kind of cardinals needed for, inter alia , Woodin’s Ω-Logic.

When it originated in the late 19th century, psychometrics was a field with both a scientific and a social mission: psychometrics provided new methods for research into individual differences, and at the same time, these psychometric instruments were considered a means to create a new social order. In contrast, contemporary psychometrics - due to its highly technical nature and its limited involvement in substantive psychological research - has created the impression of being a value-free discipline. In this article, we develop (...) a contrasting characterization of contemporary psychometrics as a value-laden discipline. We expose four such values: that individual differences are quantitative (rather than qualitative), that measurement should be objective in a specific sense, that test items should be fair, and that utility of a model is more important than its truth. Our goal is not to criticize psychometrics for employing these values, but rather to bring them into the open and to show that these values are not inevitable and are in need of systematic evaluation. (shrink)

The article explores how a new dimension of emotion – depth – is crucially important for a better understanding of emotion and its connection to rationality. It begins by identifying that depth is trapped in a circularity in which deep emotions are important because they refer to deep and important aspects of people’s lives. Following Danto’s discussion of deep interpretation (1981), it suggests that it is the contrast between deep and superficial that grants emotional perspective and the ability to identify (...) levels of emotional depth. After arguing that the emotional perspective is grasped by the narrative structure of emotion, it raises several objections that provide the ground to establish a difference between deep and profound. Then the paper concludes that the meaning of emotional depth is only fully understood in the ongoing contrast with the superficial described before, and states how further research on depth of emotion may provide the key to understanding the ambivalent status of emotions regarding their link to rationality. (shrink)

The chapter shows how the recognition of reflexivity of emotions is crucial for understanding the role of emotions in reasoning because it highlights the regulatory role of emotion in emotional experience. The chapter begins by showing that to attain a conception of rationality that incorporates feelings, emotions, and sentiments as parts of the reasoning processes requires capturing the emotional landscape in all its complexity, and that integrating the role of meta-emotions is a contribution in that direction. Then introducing the notion (...) of meta-emotions and showing how emotional reflexivity modifies the nature of our emotional world, it is shown how emotions also have a regulatory mechanism that can either be maladaptive or at the center of emotional health. In addition, because meta-emotions provide a test for the more general assumptions of theories of emotions, the chapter ends by showing how adopting a Situated Approach to Emotions is well-suited for explaining the refinement and complexity of emotion regulation. The final reflection of the chapter explains why adopting such theoretical frame of work makes it possible to use the term situation in a technical manner, which then reveals that emotions sometimes are described as causes while other times as reasons in connection to their regulative mechanisms. (shrink)