Neste artigo, discutimos o papel das explicações teleológicas na teoriaGaia. Mostramos que seu principal proponente, James Lovelock, pretendeevitá-las devido a uma interpretação equivocada da natureza de taisexplicações. Na tentativa de evitar compromissos com a teleologia,Lovelock recorre ao conceito de propriedades emergentes. Esta não é,contudo, uma saída consistente, porque os conceitos de propriedadesemergentes e teleologia não são mutuamente excludentes. Discutimostambém as dificuldades de uma interpretação de Gaia de uma perspectivateleonômica, considerando problemas como o da noção de superorganismo.Para avaliar o estatuto das (...) explicações teleológicas em Gaia, examinamoso caso da interação entre algas e nuvens, que resultou num novo campo depesquisas e expõe as contribuições teóricas e empíricas que Gaia podeoferecer. Com base nos argumentos apresentados ao longo do artigo,sugerimos uma reorganização da estrutura do programa de pesquisa Gaia,visando à continuação de seu progresso teórico e empírico.In this paper, we discuss the role of teleological explanations in Gaia theory.We show that its main proponent, James Lovelock, intends to avoid themdue to a misinterpretation of the nature of teleological explanations. Inorder to avoid a commitment to teleology, Lovelock appeals to the conceptof emergent properties. This is not a consistent solution, however, since the concepts of emergent properties and teleology are not mutuallyexclusive. We also discuss difficulties in an interpretation of Gaia from ateleonomic perspective, discussing problems such as that of the notion ofsuperorganism. In order to appraise the status of teleological explanationsin Gaia, we examine the case of the interaction between algae and clouds,which gave birth to a new research field and show the theoretical andempirical contributions that Gaia can bring. Based on the argumentsdeveloped in the paper, we suggest a reorganization of the structure ofGaia research program, in order to go on with its theoretical and empiricalprogress. (shrink)

Trobar la forma d’expressar quelcom per al qual no hi ha paraules fou un dels reptes que assumí Levi quan volgué explicar la cruel deshumanització que va sofrir com a presoner al Lager. Nogensmenys, hi va trobar la solució mitjançant el concepte d’animal. En aquest sentit, el seu testimoni és ple de metàfores faunístiques que representen el patiment de la seua reducció cap al fons i la crueltat de ser tractat com una bèstia a la qual podien assassinar i (...) que patia com un esclau castigat. Levi confirma amb les seues analogies que la deshumanització és una metamorfosi animal. Tanmateix, la tesi d’aquest assaig és que la deshumanització no és convertir-se en una bèstia, sinó transformar-se en allò que nosaltres hem fet dels animals. Una proposició que afirmem gràcies a l’etologia, que ens evidencia que el comportament real de les feres no equival a estar pres ni a ser humiliat. De fet, creiem que la raó principal per la qual Primo Levi pensava que la deshumanització era animalitzar-se sorgeix arran d’una ideologia antropocèntrica. (shrink)

EL propósito del presente trabajo es clarificar la coherencia y la validez de la clasificación de los apetitos innecesarios ilegales para la ubicación del hombre tiránico en la clasificación antropológica que Platón elabora en los libros VIII y IX de Republica. Especial énfasis se hará en la lujuria como el más eminente de los apetitos ilegales y como el concepto central para explicar la conducta tiránica. En tal sentido, examinaremos la naturaleza de la lujuria, sus características, su relación con (...) otros deseos y apetitos, y sus consecuencias políticas. Sc termina concluyendo que puede encontrarse una interpretación del tipo de desorden que la lujuria impone al alma que permite hacer de la clasificación antropológica algo coherente. Sin embargo, la lujuria hace de dicha clasificación con un criterio teórico de escasa aplicabilidad.The aim of this paper is to clarify the coherence and validity of Plato's anthropological classification of the illegal, unnecessary appetites that are characteristic of the tyrannical man, as set forth in Books VIII and IX of The Republic . Emphasis is made on lust as the most prominent of illegal appetites and as the central feature of tyrannical conduct. The nature and characteristics of lust, and its relation with other desires and appetites are examined from the point of view of their political consequences. The conclusion is reached that Plato's classification is coherent as an undemanding of the disorders that lust imposes on the soul. However, as based on lust, that classification itself turns to be a theoretical concept of scarce applicability. (shrink)

Vanguarda Socialista, a newspaper edited by Mário Pedrosa in Rio de Janeiro from 1945 to 1948 elaborates a socialist and democratic political proposal as an alternative to the bolshevik conception, which was believed surpassed by history. The "Russian question" lies thus at the center of the group's preoccupations. This paper tries not only to analyse the newspaper's explanation for the origins of bureaucracy in the USSR, bringing to light the contradictions which run through it, but also to establish the group's (...) affiliation to Rosa Luxemburg's ideas, in the attempt to clarify those contradictions.Vanguarda Socialista, jornal editado por Mário Pedrosa no Rio de Janeiro, de 1945 a 1948, elabora uma proposta política socialista e democrática como alternativa à concepção bolchevique, que acredita superada pela história. Nessa medida, a "questão russa" encontra-se no centro das preocupações do grupo. Este artigo procura não só analisar a explicação do jornal para as origens da burocracia na URSS, mostrando as contradições que a perpassam, como também estabelecer a filiação do grupo às idéias de Rosa Luxemburgo, na tentativa de esclarecer as referidas contradições. (shrink)

The “power of the real”, which Zubiri conceptualized in the final period of his philosophy, is “inspired” in the creation concept of the Greek Fathers, according to Zubiri’sexposition of Greek Patristics in “Supernatural Being: God and Deification in Pauline Theology”. In addition, Zubiri makes that concept his own in a course on Christianity, published posthumously. That inspiration can be detected when Zubiri radicalizes his philosophical approach. This implies purifying his philosophy of elements from Latin theology,whose notions he contrasts with those (...) of Greek theology in the aforementioned work. InOn Essence, these elements do not permit Zubiri to elude the horizon of nihility, in hisview in force in Western thought from St. Augustine to Hegel, but not genuinely philosophical because it originates with Revelation. A consequence of this radicalization is toconside r “creation” as a revealed datum. At the same time, and insofar as this radicalization implies sticking only to the facts, Zubiri elaborates a proof of the reality of God, fromwhich follow as intellectually legitimate non-theistic options.El “poder de lo real”, que Zubiri conceptualiza en el último período de su filosofía, está “inspirado” en el concepto de creación propio de los Padres griegos, según la exposiciónque hace de la Patrística griega en “El ser sobrenatural: Dios y la deificación en la teologíapaulina”. Además, hace suyo ese concepto en un curso sobre el Cristianismo, publicadopóstumamente. Dicha inspiración puede detectarse cuando se radicalizan sus planteamientos filosóficos. Esto implicó depurar su filosofía de elementos provenientes de la Teología latina, cuyas nociones contrapone a los de la Teología griega en el trabajo mencionado. A la altura de Sobre la esencia, esos elementos no le permitirán sustraerse al horizontede nihilidad, a su juicio vigente en el pensamiento occidental desde San Agustín hastaHegel, y no genuinamente filosófico porque se origina con la Revelación. Consecuencia deesa radicalidad es considerar la “creación” como un dato revelado. Al mismo tiempo, y en lamedida en que esa radicalización implica atenerse sólo a los hechos, Zubiri elabora unaprueba de la realidad de Dios desde la que resultan intelectualmente legítimas las opciones no teístas. (shrink)

RESUMEN El artículo presenta la “inmanencia práctica” como clave de la ética que G. Deleuze elabora a partir de B. Spinoza y F. Nietzsche. La noción involucra tres tesis que manifiestan la reivindicación incondicional de la inmanencia y la crítica a toda trascendencia: valorización del cuerpo en detrimento de la conciencia; apelación a lo bueno y lo malo, en lugar del bien y el mal; y apología de la alegría e inocencia del devenir. Se sostiene que esta ética naturalista (...) y pluralista se apoya en criterios de valoración ligados a la vida como punto fundamental de apreciación, y se propone la creación de nuevas maneras de ser como medio de enfrentar al sistema del juicio moral sobre el que descansa el nihilismo. ABSTRACT The article presents ‘practical immanence’ as the key to the ethics developed by G. Deleuze on the basis of B. Spinoza and F. Nietzsche. This notion involves three theses that show the unconditional vindication of immanence and the critique of all transcendence: affirmation of the body over consciousness; appealing to the good things and the bad things rather than to good and evil; and the defense of the joy and innocence of becoming. The article argues that this naturalistic and pluralistic ethics is grounded in assessment criteria linked to life as the focal point of appreciation, and suggests the creation of new ways of being as a means to tackle the system of moral judgment on which nihilism is based. (shrink)

En una obra admirable, el médico y novelista andaluz Ibn Tufail, identifica y elabora los problemas de la anatomía humana, la autopsia y la vivisección y, por lo tanto, constituye un auténtico científico. Scientart podría definirse como una interacción entre los mundos de la ciencia y el arte. Se pueden considerar tres tipos de estas interacciones: actividades científicas artísticamente inclinadas, actividades artísticas orientadas a la ciencia y actividades científicas y artísticas entrelazadas. Un ejemplo de actividades artísticas y científicas entrelazadas (...) se puede ver en Ibn Tufail, tal como describe la anatomía humana, la autopsia y la vivisección en Hay ibn Yaqzan. (shrink)

Aquest treball explora la concepció de l'anàlisi de Moore tot relacionant-la amb la sevadefensa del sentit comú i el llenguatge ordinari com el seu vehicle d'expressió. La secció 1 estudiael paper que l'anàlisi representa en la seva filosofia, així com la seva importància perafrontar problemes filosòfics. La secció 2 descriu en què consisteix l'anàlisi segons Moore, discuteixels criteris que ha de satisfer una anàlisi correcta, i classifica els diferents tipus d'anà-lisi trobats en els escrits de Moore, alhora que nega que (...) se'ls pugui considerar lingüístics oconceptuals. La secció 3 aclareix les nocions de sentit comú i llenguatge ordinari, subratllantla preeminència d'aquell. La discussió es proposa de resoldre dues qüestions: a ) c o mes pot reconèixer una proposició del sentit comú, i b ) com es pot reconèixer si tal proposicióés vertadera. Finalment, ens concentrem en el paper concedit al sentit comú i/o llenguatgeordinari com a pedra de toc a l'hora d'acceptar o rebutjar arguments filosòfics. (shrink)

Aquest treball explora la concepció de l'anàlisi de Moore tot relacionant-la amb la sevadefensa del sentit comú i el llenguatge ordinari com el seu vehicle d'expressió. La secció 1 estudiael paper que l'anàlisi representa en la seva filosofia, així com la seva importància perafrontar problemes filosòfics. La secció 2 descriu en què consisteix l'anàlisi segons Moore, discuteixels criteris que ha de satisfer una anàlisi correcta, i classifica els diferents tipus d'anà-lisi trobats en els escrits de Moore, alhora que nega que (...) se'ls pugui considerar lingüístics oconceptuals. La secció 3 aclareix les nocions de sentit comú i llenguatge ordinari, subratllantla preeminència d'aquell. La discussió es proposa de resoldre dues qüestions: a ) c o mes pot reconèixer una proposició del sentit comú, i b ) com es pot reconèixer si tal proposicióés vertadera. Finalment, ens concentrem en el paper concedit al sentit comú i/o llenguatgeordinari com a pedra de toc a l'hora d'acceptar o rebutjar arguments filosòfics. (shrink)

https://revistes.uab.cat/enrahonar/article/view/v35-gerhardt.

El misteri del mal no té un tractament específic en Martí Luter, però és a través dels seus múltiples escrits, com són les classes i comentaris bíblics, cartes i sermons, consells i respostes a qüestions que li plantejaren els seus contemporanis, que és possible de refer el seu pensament. Molt característic del seu estil és que, aquí com tots els altres temes que tracta, defuig tot tractament racional i filosòfic, amb la finalitat de posar més clarament al descobert allò (...) que, segons ell, professa una fe cristiana alimentada únicament per la Sagrada Escriptura. (shrink)

Taking as a starting point Taylor's concept about man as a being of meanings, this article examines, in particular, the way that Taylor elaborates his conception of the practical use of reason, recovering some fundamental notions of the phenomenological tradition and hermeneutics, relating to language, such as, the idea of the background, and the incarnated situation of man. Considering that, ultimately, the background is a horizon of previous reference, from the ontological point of view, to the subjective domain of reason (...) in the human agent, the analysis of Taylor ends up favoring certain approaches of contemporary philosophy such as, Heidegger’s existential analytic that aims at leaving aside, paradoxically, the premise of the subject. If we consider this indication, a challenge that remains, then, to the future development of the ways of understanding moral philosophy and philosophical anthropology, is how to link the analysis of the moral problem, in a subject of senses, with the ontological theory of the background that is, however, a-subjective. Tomando como punto de partida el concepto que tiene Taylor acerca del ser humano como un ser de significados, este artículo estudia el modo como Taylor elabora su concepción del uso práctico de la razón, recuperando ciertas nociones fundamentales de la tradición fenomenológica y hermenéutica relativas al lenguaje, como lo son la idea del trasfondo y la situación encarnada del hombre. Puesto que, en definitiva, el trasfondo constituye un horizonte de referencia anterior, desde el punto de vista ontológico, al dominio subjetivo de la razón en el agente humano, el análisis de Taylor termina por favorecer ciertos enfoques de la filosofía contemporánea como, por ejemplo, la analítica existenciaria de Heidegger, que buscan prescindir, paradójicamente, de la premisa del sujeto. Si atendemos a esta indicación, un desafío que resta, pues, al desarrollo futuro de los modos de comprensión de la filosofía moral, y de la antropología filosófica, es el de cómo vincular el análisis del problema moral, de un sujeto de sentidos, con una teoría ontológica del trasfondo que es, en cambio, a-subjetiva. (shrink)

RESUMEN Se investiga la metodología estructural deHistoire de la folie à l'ageclassique. Se sostiene que Michel Foucault, a partir de los trabajos de George Dumézil, elabora el concepto de experiencia para dar fundamento a las diversas experiencias históricas de la locura. La experiencia epocal, desarrollada en aquel texto, apela a una causalidad estructural que proviene del esquema de la trifuncionalidad ideológica indoeuropea de las obras de Dumézil. ABSTRACT The article inquires into the structural methodology of the Histoire de la (...) folie à Γ âge classique. It argues that Michel Foucault draws on the works of Georges Dumézil to develop the concept of experience that grounds the different historical expressions of madness. The epochal experience developed in the above-mentioned text resorts to a structural causality that has its source in the Indo-European trifunctional scheme of ideology found in the works of Dumézil. (shrink)

Para Rawls, el problema de la filosofía política es la existencia duradera de una sociedad democrática, cuyos ciudadanos, sin embargo, no dejan de estar “profundamente divididos” por doctrinas religiosas, filosóficas y morales razonables. La convivencia de tal pluralidad en un espacio jurídico-estatal, está conformada por ideas intuitivas básicas, decantadas en un consenso superpuesto, que expresa la historicidad cultural de tal sociedad. Pero la trascendentalidad reflexiva del concepto ético-político de ciudadano debe realizar una epokhé sobre los procesos culturales de identificación que (...) la posibilitan. La justicia constitucional como equidad establece la discriminante entre razón pública y razón privada. Pero para el A. la privatización de la racionalidad personal y cultural socava la durabilidad y estabilidad postuladas. Los procesos de identificación personal y cultural consistentes, no se resuelven en la mera privacidad ni progresan en la mutua extraneidad de la tolerancia pasiva e indiferente, que concentra la vida pública en el sólo horizonte del poder. Ricoeur elabora el concepto de tolerancia difícil o virtuosa. Implica autoconciencia de la propia identidad y diálogo crítico en el espacio público de la pluralidad como libertad cultural y educativa. La hipótesis de significado transmitida por el propio pasado histórico es una instancia fundamental de confrontación para identificaciones exigentes. Éstas consolidan la intercomunicación en el espacio público de la sociedad civil, generando una democracia viva y durable.According to Rawls, the problem of the political philosophy is the lasting existence of a democratic society whose citizens, however, do not stop being “deeply divided” by reasonable religious, philosophical and moral doctrines. The act of living together in such plurality in a juridical state space is conformed by intuitive basic ideas, decanted in an overlapping consent, that expresses the cultural historicity of such society. But the reflexive transcendentalism of the ethical-political concept of citizen, must achieve an epoché of the cultural process of identification that will make it possible. The constitutional justice as equity sets down the discrimination between public reason and private reason. But for the A. the privatization of the personal and cultural rationality undercuts the postulated durability and stability. The processes of consistent personal and cultural identifications cannot be solved in mere privacy and they do not progress in the mutual extraneity of the passive and indifferent tolerance that concentrates the public life only in power horizon. Ricoeur elaborates the concept of difficult or virtuous tolerance. It implicates self-consciousness of the proper identity and critical dialogue in the public space of the plurality, as cultural and educative freedom. The hypothesis of meaning transmitted by its own historical past is a fundamental instance of confrontation for exigent identifications. These consolidate the intercommunication in the public space of the civil society, generating a live and durable democracy. (shrink)

Resumen: El presente artículo se propone examinar la clausura del concepto benjaminiano de aura como noción válida para pensar la experiencia estética contemporánea. En este sentido, un primer objetivo consiste en rehabilitar tal concepto, cotejando su definición en el famoso ensayo sobre la reproductibilidad técnica con las diversas formulaciones que el mismo Benjamin elabora al respecto en otros ensayos, en los que la gravitación del aura se desplaza desde una cualidad objetiva, anidada en la obra misma, hacia una facultad (...) perceptual y memoriosa que organiza su experiencia histórica. A partir de lo anterior, un segundo objetivo consiste en pesquisar las huellas de un presunto modelo de historiografía del arte que Benjamin esboza en una carta dirigida a Florens Christian Rang y que afina en su ensayo sobre Eduard Fuchs. Establecidos los lineamientos de este modelo, el artículo concluye que el concepto de aura no remite tanto a una datación de origen de la obra de arte, circunscribiendo exclusivamente sus condiciones de producción, sino a las coordenadas variables en las que cada época recupera para sí una obra de arte determinada. Esta recuperación, imantada por el mecanismo de las correspondances, donde la singularidad de una obra de arte hace sistema con una situación histórica determinada, permite comprender finalmente el aura como un modo de experiencia de las imágenes del arte.: The following work attempts to examine Walter Benjamin’s concept of aura as a valid notion for thinking about contemporary aesthetic experience. In this regard, our first goal is to rehabilitate this concept, comparing its definition in the famous essay on technical reproducibility with other formulations developed by Benjamin in essays such as a “A short history of photography”, “The storyteller”, and “On some motifs in Baudelaire”, in which aura is not understood as an objective quality pertaining to the work of art itself, but as the perceptive and mnemonic faculty organizing its historical experience. Our second goal is to locate the traces of a model for the historiography art, which Benjamin outlines in a letter written to Florens Christian Rang and which he refines in his essay on Eduard Fuchs. Within this context, the article concludes that the concept of aura does not refer to a work of art’s time of origin, but to the variable coordinates that allow each epoch to make its own experience of that work of art. Through the mechanism of correspondences, by which a work of art’s singularity matches with a specific historical situation, we are able understand aura as a mode of experience of the images of art. (shrink)

El presente texto analiza la reflexión ontológica de Gilles Deleuze a partir de la noción de “univocidad del Ser”, con el objetivo de exponer su importancia para el pensamiento de la Diferencia que el filósofo francés propone. En su primer movimiento el trabajo expone, resumidamente y de modo cartográfico, la configuración general de la ontología deleuziana y sus principales ejes de reflexión. Enseguida acompaña el itinerario que Deleuze elabora para la determinación de la historia conceptual del pensamiento de la (...) univocidad. Finalmente, el texto aborda el concepto de univocidad según lo piensa y expone el propio Deleuze, verificando, por esta vía, su centralidad para la ontología de nuestra contemporaneidad que el pensador Francés moviliza. Palabras clave : deleuze; ontología; univocidad; diferencia; equivocidad. Centrality of the Notion of ‘Univocity’ in Gilles Deleuze’s OntologyThis paper analyzes Gilles Deleuze’s ontological reflection from the notion of “univocity of Being”, in order to expose its importance for the philosophy of Difference proposed by the French thinker. In its first movement the work briefly exposes the configuration of Deleuze’s ontology and its main axes of reflection. There immediately follows the itinerary set up by Deleuze to determine the conceptual history of the philosophy of univocity. Finally, the paper addresses the concept of univocity as Deleuze thinks of and exposes it, thus verifying its centrality to the ontology of our contemporary times which the French thinker has set in motion. Keywords : Deleuze;Ontology; Univocity; Difference; Equivocity. (shrink)

Dennett elabora una concepción del “yo” entendido como un centro de gravedad narrativo. Uno de los obstáculos principales para valorar esta propuesta radica en que resulta dificultoso entender cuál es la naturaleza del concepto dennettiano de “yo”: concretamente, cuáles son los compromisos ontológicos y epistemológicos que cabe atribuir al fenómeno en cuestión. En este artículo defendemos que el mejor modo de realizar una reconstrucción interpretativa de su noción de “yo” es apelando a la distinción elaborada por Reichenbach entre tres (...) clases de entidades, Concreta,a e Illata, y entendiendo a los centros de gravedad narrativos como un caso de Abstracta reichenbachiano. Sostenemos que resulta pertinente e iluminador entender los centros de gravedad narrativos como Abstracta en el sentido de Reichenbach, apoyándonos en que: i) aunque no la aplica directamente al problema de la naturaleza del “yo”, Dennett sí emplea la distinción de Reichenbach en otras partes de su obra; ii) Dennett traza explícitamente una analogía del “yo” con los centros de gravedad que son, justamente, uno de sus ejemplos de Abstracta; iii) este modo de entender al “yo” permite dar sentido y entender mejor ciertos aspectos de la teoría narrativista dennettiana. Además de permitirnos clarificar las metáforas empleadas por Dennett en la elaboración de su teoría narrativa, dicha elucidación conceptual permite comprender mejor la distinción entre las tres clases de psicología intencional trazada por Dennett y es útil para sugerir a cuál de estos tres tipos pertenece el concepto de “yo”. Dennett's theory of personal identity argues that the “self” is no more than a center of narrative gravity. One of the main hurdles to assessing this proposal lies in the fact that it is difficult to understand what the nature of Dennett's concept of "self" is; specifically, what are the ontological and epistemological commitments that can be attributed to the phenomenon in question. In this article, we claim that the best way to make an interpretative reconstruction of his notion of "self" is appealing to the distinction elaborated by Reichenbach between three classes of entities, Concreta, Abstracta, and Illata, and understanding the narrative centers of gravity as a case of Reichenbachian Abstracta. We defend that understanding the narrative centers of gravity as Abstracta in the sense of Reichenbach is pertinent and illuminating given that: i) although he does not apply it directly to the problem of the nature of the "self", Dennett does use Reichenbach's distinction in other parts of his work; ii) Dennett explicitly draws an analogy of the "self" with the centers of gravity that are, precisely, one of his examples of Abstracta; iii) this way of understanding the "self" allows us to give sense and better understand certain aspects of Dennett’s narrative theory. Besides allowing us to clarify the metaphors used by Dennett in the elaboration of his narrative theory, such conceptual elucidation allows us to better understand the distinction between the three classes of intentional psychology drawn by Dennett (1987) and is useful in suggesting to which of these three types the concept of "self" belongs. (shrink)

El método clínico surge desde las relaciones humanas más primitivas y aún cuando se encuentra en constante evolución no se consigue su adecuada aplicación. El estudio de este método científico constituye uno de los temas más importantes que guían la praxis médica, ostenta ciertos caracteres que se entrelazan dialécticamente imposibles de desligar, centrados esencialmente en la relación médico-paciente con el objetivo de arribar al diagnóstico de una enfermedad determinada, por lo cual, se brindan algunas consideraciones teóricas a partir del análisis (...) de sus conceptualizaciones y atributos más significativos y se elabora una definición de método clínico. The clinical method faces constant evolution, in spite of the issues that affect its application. The study of this scientific method constitutes one of the most important topics that lead medical praxis. It entails several characteristics dialectically intertwined that focus mainly on the doctor-patient relation for the diagnosis of a given disease. The objective of this article is to provide some theoretical considerations based on the analysis of its main concepts and attributes. (shrink)

El autor postula que el campo psicológico dista mucho de estar unificado, por lo que nos obliga a hablar de las psicologías y no de la psicología. Ellas remiten a una concepción de mundo, a una manera entender al hombre, a una concepción de la realidad y a una teoría sobre su cambio. El trabajo profundiza en temas tales como la relación sujeto/objeto, la especificación del objeto de estudio, el concepto de implicación y la producción de subjetividad. Elabora también (...) los conceptos de causalidad, conflicto y determinación estructural; y aborda los problemas de naturaleza y lenguaje, y de historicidad. Concluye proponiendo que se puede elegir diversas psicologías, pero no todas. (shrink)

Aristotle’s account of natural slavery as presented in his Politics is often treated by historians of philosophy as an account that can be analyzed purely internally in terms of its argumentative structure without referring to social factors. Against this view, Aristotle’s account of natural slavery is seen to be ideological according to at least one variant of the Marxist concept of ideology, and cannot be understood without reference to Aristotle’s socioeconomic context. The ideological nature of Aristotle’s account of natural slavery (...) is especially evident in his “proto-racialization” of the category of the “natural slave.” The Marxist concept of ideology is demonstrably useful in the historical study of philosophy, as compared with internalist historians of philosophy who claim that referring to nonphilosophical factors such as class interests inevitably obscures the philosophical content of the texts that are the objects of analysis. (shrink)

I argue that the reception of Hegel in the sub-field of history and philosophy of science has been in part impeded by a misunderstanding of his mature metaphilosophical views. I take Alan Richardson’s influential account of the rise of scientific philosophy as an illustration of such misunderstanding, I argue that the mature Hegel’s metaphilosophical views place him much closer to the philosophers who are commonly taken as paradigms of scientific philosophy than it is commonly thought. Hegel is commonly presented as (...) someone who conceived of philosophy as a science that relied on the solitary genius of the individual thinker, and as a science whose propositions could not and should not be made accessible to “the common people”. Against this view, I argue that Hegel in fact thought that philosophy was a thoroughly anti-individualistic activity, and that he emphasized the importance of the intersubjective accessibility of philosophical discourse. I argue that when we carefully reconstruct Hegel’s reasons for his break with Schelling, and if we pay close attention to his explicit metaphilosophical pronouncements, we can see that he in fact adhered to what I call a “proto-modernist” conception of philosophy as a science. I conclude by pointing out how the mischaracterization of Hegel has served to obscure the existence of a strand of scientific philosophy that emerged by way of an immanent critique of Hegel, namely Marxist philosophy. (shrink)

The intellectual legacy of Confucianism has loomed large in efforts to understand China's past, present, and future. While Confucian ethics has been thoroughly explored, the question remains: what exactly is Confucian political thought? Classical Confucian Political Thought returns to the classical texts of the Confucian tradition to answer this vital question. Showing how Confucian ethics and politics diverge, Loubna El Amine argues that Confucian political thought is not a direct application of Confucian moral philosophy. Instead, contrary to the conventional view (...) that Confucian rule aims to instill virtue in all members of society, El Amine demonstrates that its main aim is to promote political order. El Amine analyzes key aspects of the Confucian political vision, including the relationship between the ruler and the people, the typology of rulers, and the role of ministers and government officials. She also looks at Confucianism’s account of the mechanisms through which society is to be regulated, from welfare policies to rituals. She explains that the Confucian conception of the political leaves space open for the rule of those who are not virtuous if these rulers establish and maintain political order. She also contends that Confucians defend the duty to take part in government based on the benefits that such participation can bring to society. Classical Confucian Political Thought brings a new understanding to Confucian political theory by illustrating that it is not chiefly idealistic and centered on virtue, but rather realistic and driven by political concerns. (shrink)

Is genre film comparable to a thought experiment?Revising concepts of determinism and agency in three film noirs The philosophical approach of film genres, first popularized by authors like Stanley Cavell, allows to consider genre films as narrative variations as pertinent to philosophical discourse as can be a traditional thought experiment, since every question on the essence of a genre and every discussion related to its inner functions, its mechanisms and its themes, generate naturally a philosophical discourse on the way a (...) director uses filmic and narrative tools to transform his intentions into a specific system of meaning. This study adopts formalist and philosophical approaches to connect the narratives of the movies to the discourses it is prone to generate. The corpus draws on the ‘primitive scene' in three films noirs, Out of the Past, The Lady from Shanghai et Criss Cross : the tragic meeting of an anti-hero with the woman who will be responsible of his fall. Indeed, the sequence showing this first meeting becomes an exercise in style where forerunning signs of the two protagonists' fall organize the writing and the mise-en-scene, and explicitly shows how questions of agency and determinism are intimately articulated to the narrative and formal frame of the movies. (shrink)

Terms loaded with informational connotations are often employed to refer to genes and their dynamics. Indeed, genes are usually perceived by biologists as basically ‘the carriers of hereditary information.’ Nevertheless, a number of researchers consider such talk as inadequate and ‘just metaphorical,’ thus expressing a skepticism about the use of the term ‘information’ and its derivatives in biology as a natural science. First, because the meaning of that term in biology is not as precise as it is, for instance, in (...) the mathematical theory of communication. Second, because it seems to refer to a purported semantic property of genes without theoretically clarifying if any genuinely intrinsic semantics is involved. Biosemiotics, a field that attempts to analyze biological systems as semiotic systems, makes it possible to advance in the understanding of the concept of information in biology. From the perspective of Peircean biosemiotics, we develop here an account of genes as signs, including a detailed analysis of two fundamental processes in the genetic information system (transcription and protein synthesis) that have not been made so far in this field of research. Furthermore, we propose here an account of information based on Peircean semiotics and apply it to our analysis of transcription and protein synthesis. (shrink)

Experiments (E), computer simulations (CS) and thought experiments (TE) are usually seen as playing different roles in science and as having different epistemologies. Accordingly, they are usually analyzed separately. We argue in this paper that these activities can contribute to answering the same questions by playing the same epistemic role when they are used to unfold the content of a well-described scenario. We emphasize that in such cases, these three activities can be described by means of the same conceptual framework—even (...) if each of them, because they involve different types of processes, fall under these concepts in different ways. We further illustrate our claims by presenting a threefold case study describing how a TE, a CS and an E were indeed used in the same role at different periods to answer the same questions about the possibility of a physical Maxwellian demon. We also point at fluid dynamics as another field where these activities seem to be playing the same unfolding role. We analyze the importance of unfolding as a general task of science and highlight how our description in terms of epistemic functions articulates in a noncommittal way with the epistemology of these three activities and accounts for their similarities and the existence of hybrid forms of activities. We finally emphasize that picturing these activities as functionally substitutable does not imply that they are epistemologically substitutable. (shrink)

v. 1. L'estudiant. Vida oculta.--v. 2. Cicle apologètic i social. Cicle polític i filosófic.--v. 3. Documents balmesians.

ArgumentThe imitation of adults was the dominant educational early modern model, as it had been from the classical era. Yet, from 1500 onward, this traditional model clashed with new pedagogical ideals that explored if and how the youthful mind differed from the adult. To investigate this clash, I examine individual and aggregate cases – taken from the Dutch (illustrated) textual culture – representing conceptualizations of what has been labelled “the curiosity family” (concepts such as curiosity, inquisitiveness, invention). As previously established, (...) during the seventeenth century, curiosity turned from a vice to a virtue among adults. Textual evidence suggests that for the early modern Dutch youth, docility, long valued, remained the guiding ideal. Shortly after 1700, however, two changes can be detected: for youth, travel literature and travel as a metaphor became a means to explore the world without adults; and for adults, the experimental learning style of the young became a new learning model. (shrink)

BackgroundThe concept of ‘successful ageing’ has been a prominent focus within the field of gerontology for several decades. However, despite the widespread attention paid to this concept, its intersectional implications have not been fully explored yet. This paper aims to address this gap by analyzing the potential ageist and ableist biases in the discourse of successful ageing through an intersectional lens.MethodA critical feminist perspective is taken to examine the sensitivity of the discourse of successful ageing to diversity in societies. The (...) paper analyzes how ageist and ableist biases can manifest in the ways we conceptualize ageing, drawing on examples in the context of mental health.ResultsWe argue that the conventional approach to successful ageing is limited in its ability to account for the experiences of people who have faced intersectional discrimination throughout their lives. Drawing on examples in the context of mental health, we explore among others the link between depression and disabilities. Furthermore, we shed light on the negative impact of ageist and ableist attitudes concerning the diagnosis and treatment of dementia.DiscussionWe demonstrate how diversity is often overlooked in discussions of ageing well, and how ageist and ableist biases can manifest in the ways we conceptualize ageing. We argue that focusing solely on the health status as a means of achieving success fails to adequately counter ageism for all people. We further emphasize the role of structural factors, such as ageist attitudes, in shaping the experience of ageing and exacerbating health inequalities.ConclusionOverall, our findings emphasize the need for a more nuanced and inclusive understanding of ageing and therefore an intersectional approach to conceptions of ageing well that recognizes and addresses the biases and limitations of current discourses. Thereby, this paper offers valuable insights into the complex intersections between age and disabilities from a bioethical perspective, highlighting the need for a more inclusive and intersectional approach to ageing. (shrink)

In contrast to standardized guidelines, personalized medicine and person centered care are two notions that have recently developed and are aspiring for more individualized health care for each single patient. While having a similar drive toward individualized care, their sources are markedly different. While personalized medicine stems from a biomedical framework, person centered care originates from a caring perspective, and a wish for a more holistic view of patients. It is unclear to what extent these two concepts can be combined (...) or if they conflict at fundamental or pragmatic levels. This paper reviews existing literature in both medicine and related philosophy to analyze closer the meaning of the two notions, and to explore the extent to which they overlap or oppose each other, in theory or in practice, in particular regarding ethical assumptions and their respective practical implications. (shrink)

The tradition of pragmatism has, especially since Dewey, been characterized by a commitment to nonreductive naturalism. The notion of emergence, popular in the early decades of the twentieth century and currently re-emerging as a central concept in metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, may be useful in explicating that commitment. The present paper discusses the issue of the reality of emergent properties, drawing particular attention to a pragmatic way of approaching this issue. The reality of emergents can be defended as (...) a pragmatically-useful ontological commitment; hence, pragmatism can be employed as a tool in the debate over the structure and reality of emergence. This strategy of justifying ontological commitments is examined through historical and systematic discussions of the pragmatist tradition. It turns out, among other things, that while classical pragmatists did not specify any technical notion of emergence in the contemporary sense, their non-reductively naturalist views are relevant to the more recent emergence discussions -- especially because they rejected the metaphysical realism typical of today’s ontologically-oriented emergence theories. (shrink)

The Peircean semiotic approach to information that we developed in previous papers raises several new questions, and shows both similarities and differenceswith regard to other accounts of information. We do not intend to present here any exhaustive discussion about the relationships between our account and otherapproaches to information. Rather, our interest is mainly to address its relationship to ideas about information put forward by Gregory Bateson and Eva Jablonka. We conclude that all these authors offer quite broad concepts of information, (...) but we argue that they are just as broad as they should be, since information is in itself a sweeping concept. Furthermore, all of them suggest a processual approach to information, which departs from the treatment of information as something that is contained in some structure (e.g., in sequences of nucleotides) and moves towards an understanding of information as a process — in terms of our account, a semiotic process, i.e., semiosis. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that Hegel thought that systematicity was both a necessary condition for a body of thought to be recognized as philosophy and a normative principle by which progress in the history of philosophy can be evaluated. I argue that Hegel’s idiosyncrasies in the interpretation of thinkers who he considers to be philosophers can be explained by referring to the structure of his own philosophical system. I also argue that Hegel’s conception of philosophy as being essentially systematic (...) leads him to claim that traditions that do not have systematic philosophy do not have philosophy at all and this leads to their marginalization. Finally, I identify the role of Hegel’s assumptions in shaping the self-understanding of philosophers through the shaping of the philosophical canon. (shrink)

In the thirteenth century, the influential logician Afḍal al-Dīn al-Khūnajī departed from the Avicennan view that the subject matter of logic is “second intentions”. For al-Khūnajī, the subject matter of logic is “the objects of conception and assent”. His departure elicited intense and sometimes abstruse discussions in the course of subsequent centuries. Prominent supporters of Khūnajī's view on the subject matter of logic included Kātibī, Ibn Wāṣil and Taftāzānī. Defenders of Avicenna's view included Ṭūsī, Samarqandī and Quṭb al-Dīn al-Rāzī. This (...) article presents the outline of the development of this discussion down to the end of the fourteenth century and attempts to reconstruct the major arguments of both sides.Au xiiie siècle, l'influent logicien, Afḍal al-Dīn al-Khūnajī, se démarque du point de vue avicennien d'après lequel ce sont les “intentions secondes” qui forment le sujet de la logique. Pour al-Khūnajī, le sujet de la logique, ce sont “les objets des conceptions et des assentiments”. Cet écart par rapport à la formulation avicennienne va susciter, au cours des siècles suivants, d'intenses et parfois abstruses discussions. Dans le camp de ceux qui adhèrent au point de vue d'al-Khūnajī, on trouve des auteurs tels que Kātibī, Ibn Wāṣil et Taftāzānī. En revanche, Ṭūsī, Samarqandī et Quṭb al-Dīn al-Rāzī se rangent dans le camp des défenseurs du point de vue d'Avicenne. Cet article présente les grandes lignes qui marquent le développement de cette discussion jusqu'à la fin du xive siècle et tente de reconstruire les arguments des deux partis.Send article to KindleTo send this article to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about sending to your Kindle. Find out more about sending to your Kindle. Note you can select to send to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be sent to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply. Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.POST-AVICENNAN LOGICIANS ON THE SUBJECT MATTER OF LOGIC: SOME THIRTEENTH- AND FOURTEENTH-CENTURY DISCUSSIONSVolume 22, Issue 1Khaled El-Rouayheb DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0957423911000105Your Kindle email address Please provide your Kindle [email protected]@kindle.com Available formats PDF Please select a format to send. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services. Please confirm that you accept the terms of use. Cancel Send ×Send article to Dropbox To send this article to your Dropbox account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about sending content to Dropbox. POST-AVICENNAN LOGICIANS ON THE SUBJECT MATTER OF LOGIC: SOME THIRTEENTH- AND FOURTEENTH-CENTURY DISCUSSIONSVolume 22, Issue 1Khaled El-Rouayheb DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0957423911000105Available formats PDF Please select a format to send. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services. Please confirm that you accept the terms of use. Cancel Send ×Send article to Google Drive To send this article to your Google Drive account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about sending content to Google Drive. POST-AVICENNAN LOGICIANS ON THE SUBJECT MATTER OF LOGIC: SOME THIRTEENTH- AND FOURTEENTH-CENTURY DISCUSSIONSVolume 22, Issue 1Khaled El-Rouayheb DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0957423911000105Available formats PDF Please select a format to send. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them via Dropbox, Google Drive or other file sharing services. Please confirm that you accept the terms of use. Cancel Send ×Export citation Request permission. (shrink)

The article presents Richard Kilvington’s interpretation of Aristotle’s views on the concept of justice. Richard Kilvington was a fourteenth century philosopher and theologian who commented on various Aristotle’s works including Nicomachean Ethics. Kilvington’s commentary on Nicomachean Ethics was composed in 1325-1326 at Oxford University. It contains, among others, a question Utrum iustitia sit virtus moralis perfecta, which is devoted to the concept of justice. In his investigations Kilvington always uses logic as a major analytical tool, and mathematics as a method (...) to discuss the issues and settle between opposite points of view, which is common for Kilvington’s commentaries. These techniques allow him to indicate all the contradictions in Aristotle’s analyses. Kilvington’s concept of justice clearly points to twofold order: horizontal and vertical. In the horizontal one Kilvington’s distinguishes the virtue of absolute justice that is a perfect model for all kinds of justice. In the vertical one he presents a model of a just man that is such a man who is ‘perfectly harmonious’. He also indicates the order of justice existing in the world, visible in human relationships, and regulated by three kinds of justice viz. compensatory, distributive and political. Kilvington’s investigations complete Artistotle’s opinions on justice, however they remain in the field of Aristotelian analyses and his concept of morality implemented in society. In this question Kilvington consistently separates the supernatural order and the order of natural reason, and, in his ethics, he never refers to theological issues concerning the relation between God and created world, which was uncommon for medieval theoretical practice. (shrink)

By following the arguments developed by Vygotsky and employing the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) in addition to dialectical logic, this paper attempts to investigate the interaction between psychology and artificial intelligence (AI) to confront the epistemological and methodological challenges encountered in AI research. The paper proposes that AI is facing an epistemological and methodological crisis inherited from psychology based on dualist ontology. The roots of this crisis lie in the duality between rationalism and objectivism or in the mind-body rupture that (...) has governed the production of scientific thought and the proliferation of approaches. In addition, by highlighting the sociohistorical conditions of AI, this paper investigates the historical characteristics of the shift of the crisis from psychology to AI. Additionally, we examine the epistemological and methodological roots of the main challenges encountered in AI research by noting that empiricism is the dominant tendency in the field. Empiricism gives rise to methodological and practical challenges, including challenges related to the emergence of meaning, abstraction, generalization, the emergence of symbols, concept formation, functional reflection of reality, and the emergence of higher psychological functions. Furthermore, through discussing attempts to formalize dialectical logic, the paper, based on contradiction formation, proposes a qualitative epistemological, methodological, and formal alternative by using a preliminary algorithmic model that grasps the formation of meaning as an essential ability for the qualitative reflection of reality and the emergence of other mental functions. (shrink)

One of the central strengths of Salem's analysis of Nasserism is that she recognizes both its world-historical significance as a progressive nationalist movement, and its severe limitations. In the first section of this paper, I discuss Salem's notion of the "afterlives" of the Nasserist project by drawing attention to one of the most debilitating legacies of that project, namely the transformation of Egyptian politics into petty bourgeois politics. In the second section, I argue that while Salem does not explicitly draw (...) on Hegel's understanding of tragedy in her account of Nasserism, her analysis of Nasserism essentially amounts to depicting it as a Hegelian tragedy. By placing Salem's book in conversation with Hegel (and his philosophy of action), we can make explicit what I take to be one of the central claims made by Salem, namely that when passing judgment on past and present national liberation movements we should remember that innocence is "only non-action, like the mere being of a stone" [nur das Nichttun wie das Sein eines Steines] (Hegel 1986, 346). In the third section of this paper, I raise some critical points about Salem's characterization of the nationalism that was associated with the Nasserist project, as well as about the deployment of the concept of modernity in her analysis. I argue that her account of modernity in the book does not distinguish between the concept of modernity as it refers to a certain kind of normative philosophical discourse, and modernization theory qua theory of development. Finally, I draw on Salem's use of the concept of hegemony in order to pose a question regarding the political significance of the contemporary cultural hegemony of Islamist movements in Egypt. (shrink)

This paper examines the notion of emergence from the perspective of pragmatism, drawing special attention to Donald Davidson’s recent account of the emergence of thought and to Hilary Putnam’s pragmatic realism, which, we argue, can be applied to the question of the reality of emergent properties. Our overall conclusion is that the debate over the concept of emergence actively going on in contemporary metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science should be focused more strongly on the realism issue, even (...) though most emergentists tend to assume a rather straightforward metaphysical realism – a view that ought to be called into question on pragmatist grounds. (shrink)

The purpose of this introduction is two-fold. First, it is to provide readers unfamiliar with the debates on practice-dependence with the insight necessary to fully comprehend the different contributions to this volume. Second, it is to make readers already well versed in practice-dependence more sensible to the substantive nature of this view and to provide them with a workable typology. After establishing a first distinction between metaphysical, relational and practice-dependent conceptions of justice, I draw a line, among practice-dependent views, between (...) institutionalism and cultural conventionalism. I complete the typology by differentiating between three forms of institutionalism according to how they regard the institutional fact, namely the fact that individuals are always already placed in a state of submission to existing institutions. Whereas de facto institutionalism describes this fact as a mere factual reality which imposes itself upon human beings, de jure institutionalism regards it as a practical necessity that stands in need of justification to each and every individual. Finally, moral institutionalism accounts for the institutional fact in terms of moral duty , namely the duty to contribute to the emergence of a state of affairs in which everyone’s freedom of choice is respected. (shrink)

The study of Islamic philosophy has entered a new and exciting phase in the last few years. Both the received canon of Islamic philosophers and the narrative of the course of Islamic philosophy are in the process of being radically questioned and revised. Most twentieth-century Western scholarship on Arabic or Islamic philosophy has focused on the period from the ninth century to the twelfth. It is a measure of the transformation that is currently underway in the field that, unlike other (...) reference works, the Oxford Handbook has striven to give roughly equal weight to every century, from the ninth to the twentieth. The Handbook is also unique in that its 30 chapters are work-centered rather than person- or theme-centered, in particular taking advantage of recent new editions and translations that have renewed interest and debate around the Islamic philosophical canon. The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Philosophy gives both the advanced student and active scholar in Islamic philosophy, theology, and intellectual history, a strong sense of what a work in Islamic philosophy looks like and a deep view of the issues, concepts, and arguments that are at stake. Most importantly, it provides an up-to-date portrait of contemporary scholarship on Islamic philosophy. (shrink)

In attempting to address the heideggerian Seinsfrage, by way of situating it between the platonic conception of ̉όν in the Sophist and of χώρα in the Timaeus, this paper investigates the ontological possibilities that are opened up in terms of rethinking space. Asserting the intrinsic connection between the question of being and that of space, we argue that the maturation of ontology as phenomenology would not unfold in its furthermost potential unless the being of space gets clarified. This state of (...) affairs confronts us with the exacting ontological task to found a theory of space that contributes to an explication of the question of being beyond its associated temporocentric determinations. Consequently, our line of inquiry endeavors herein to constitute a prologmenon to the elucidation of the question of the being of space as “ontokhorology.”. (shrink)

Background Little is known about the attitudes and practices of intensivists working in Lebanon regarding withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatments. The objectives of the study were to assess the points of view and practices of intensivists in Lebanon along with the opinions of medical, legal and religious leaders regarding withholding withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments in Lebanese intensive care units. Methods A web-based survey was conducted among intensivists working in Lebanese adult ICUs. Interviews were also done with Lebanese medical, legal and (...) religious leaders. Results Of the 229 survey recipients, 83 intensivists completed it, i.e. a response rate of. Most respondents were between 30 and 49 years old, Catholic Christians, anesthesiologists, working in Beirut. Ninety-two percent of them were familiar with the withholding and withdrawal concepts and 80% applied them. Poor prognosis of the acute and chronic disease and futile therapy were the main reasons to consider withholding and withdrawal of treatments. Ninety-five percent of intensivists agreed with the “Principle of Double Effect”. The main withheld therapies were vasopressors, respiratory assistance and CPR. Most of the respondents reported the decision was often to always multidisciplinary, involving the family, and the patient, or his advance directives or his surrogate and the nurses. The interviewees agreed there was a law governing withholding and withdrawal decisions/practices in Lebanon. Christians and Muslim Sunni leaders declared accepting those practices. Conclusion Withholding and withdrawal of LSTs in the ICU are known concepts among intensivists working in Lebanon and are being practiced. Our results could be used to inform and optimize therapeutic limitation in ICUs in the country. (shrink)

© The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected] book examine the perennial question of Islam and democracy from an interesting angle. It focuses on seven case studies of relatively successful democracies in Muslim-majority countries. The objective is to uncover ‘relationships between political manifestations of Islam and competitive, democratic politics and [to explain] how interpretations more amenable to democracy can take root’. The author also (...) seeks ‘to determine how actors in Muslim majority states draw upon democratic concepts within Islam’. He then seeks to draw lessons from these successes for the fate of the struggling post-Arab Spring polities, mainly Egypt and Tunisia. This is a novel approach, seeking creatively to employ empirical data to answer important theoretical questions about impediments to/facilitators of democratization.Using indicators from Polity and... (shrink)

Currently there are persistent doubts about the meaning and contributions of the gene concept, mostly related to its interpretation as a stretch of DNA encoding a single functional product, i.e., the classical molecular gene concept. There is, however, much conceptual variation around genes, leading to important difficulties in genetics teaching. We investigated whether and how conceptual variation related to the gene concept and gene function models is present in school science and what potential problems it may bring to genetics teaching (...) and learning. Here, we report results on how ideas about genes and gene function are treated in textbooks and appear in students’ views and, also, about a teaching strategy for improving higher education students’ understanding of scientific models and conceptual variation around genes and their functions. (shrink)

This paper discusses the concept and the practice of multicultural education at an Indonesian Islamic educational institution, the Pesantren Modern Walisongo. This paper employed a qualitative approach using a phenomenological type of research, and the technique of purposive and snowball samplings in gaining the data. Spradley model was applied to analyze the data; whereas the triangulation strategy and member check were implemented to gain data validity. This study concludes, the formation of the multicultural characters of santri uses the approach of (...) integrating philosophical, spiritual, psycho philosophical, and socio religious-philosophical values. (shrink)

A new phenomenon emerged in Walisongo modern Islamic Boarding School, namely the process of integration of multicultural Islamic education values. Its become more established and plays more functions in the context of a global society. This paper focuses on the concept of multicultural education developed and implemented in the learning process of Walisongo modern pesantren. This paper employed a qualitative approach using a phenomenological type of research, and the technique of purposive and snowball samplings in gaining the data. Spradley model (...) was applied to analyze the data; whereas the triangulation strategy and member check were implemented to gain data validity. This study concludes, the formation of the multicultural characters of santri uses the approach of integrating philosophical, spiritual, psycho-philosophical, and socio religious-philosophical values. (shrink)