Phylogeography, a relatively new subdicipline of evolutionary biology that attempts to unify the fields of phylogenetics and population biology in an explicit geographical context, has hosted in recent years a highly polarized debate related to the purported benefits and limitations that qualitative versus quantitative methods might contribute or impose on inferential processes in evolutionary biology. Here we present a friendly, non-technical introduction to the conflicting methods underlying the controversy, and exemplify it with a balanced selection of quotes from the primary (...) biological literature, to invite the philosophy of biology community to pay attention to the elements that have played a primary role in its presumed resolution. We also present the basic features of our own metascientific take on the debate, and point out—as a preliminary step in preparation for upcoming, more detailed treatments—the importance that appeals to authority in fields external to phylogeography per se have played in the current status of this highly visible evolutionary biology dispute. (shrink)

Although there is increasing recognition that theory and practice in science are often inseparably intertwined, discussions of scientific controversies often continue to focus on theory, and not practice or methodologies. As a contribution to constructing a framework towards understanding controversies linked to scientific practices, we introduce the notion of borrowed epistemic credibility, to describe the situation in which scientists exploit fallacious similarities between accepted tenets in other fields to garner support for a given position in their own field. Our proposal (...) is based on the analysis of a recent controversy in phylogeography, a biological subdiscipline concerned with the study of the historical causes of variation in genetic diversity within species in concrete biogeographical locations. Through a review of the arguments that support the two conflicting phylogeographic schools, we show that ‘theory’ plays essentially no role as a foundation of the controversy, whereas both sides borrow epistemic credibility from sources such as formal logic, similarity of results to those in other scientific areas, the authority of prominent scientists, or the presumed superiority of quantitative vs. verbal reasoning. Our case study underscores the indivisibility of theory and practice and provide a means to re-examine important philosophical issues such as the meaning of inference, rationality, justification, and objectivity in scientific practice. (shrink)

Although there is increasing recognition that theory and practice in science are often inseparably intertwined, discussions of scientific controversies often continue to focus on theory, and not practice or methodologies. As a contribution to constructing a framework towards understanding controversies linked to scientific practices, we introduce the notion of borrowed epistemic credibility, to describe the situation in which scientists exploit fallacious similarities between accepted tenets in other fields to garner support for a given position in their own field. Our proposal (...) is based on the analysis of a recent controversy in phylogeography, a biological subdiscipline concerned with the study of the historical causes of variation in genetic diversity within species in concrete biogeographical locations. Through a review of the arguments that support the two conflicting phylogeographic schools, we show that ‘theory’ plays essentially no role as a foundation of the controversy, whereas both sides borrow epistemic credibility from sources such as formal logic, similarity of results to those in other scientific areas, the authority of prominent scientists, or the presumed superiority of quantitative vs. verbal reasoning. Our case study underscores the indivisibility of theory and practice and provide a means to re-examine important philosophical issues such as the meaning of inference, rationality, justification, and objectivity in scientific practice. (shrink)

We develop a new metaphor account where metaphors become surrogate variables for different but related phenomena. As we will argue, subrogation is the result of the interplay between the things inspired by the metaphor and the empirical dynamics that result from such inspiration. In particular, we focus on adaptive radiation, a major concept of evolutionary biology. Our study suggests that there is no distinct phenomenon, process, or pattern in nature than can be identified as adaptive radiation. What we have instead (...) is a grouping variable that has surrogated different evolutionary phenomena into one expansive label. We believe this analysis of metaphors helps better understand the value of metaphors for science not only as a provider of epistemic and cognitive virtues but most importantly, as a crucial research tool that can both help and divert scientific experimentation. (shrink)

Philosophical treatments of scientific controversies usually focus on theory, excluding important practice related aspects. However, scientists in conflict often appeal to extra-theoretical and extra-empirical elements. To understand better the role that non-empirical elements play in scientific controversies, we introduce the notion of borrowed epistemic credibility, illustrating our proposal with a recent controversy in a field of evolutionary biology known as phylogeography. Our analysis shows how scientific controversies that spring from disagreements about methodological issues potentially involve deeper debates regarding what constitutes (...) good science, prompting the re-examination of more general issues, such as the nature of inference, rationality, and objectivity. (shrink)

Some adaptationist explanations are regarded as maximally solid and others fanciful just-so stories. Just-so stories are explanations based on very little evidence. Lack of evidence leads to circular-sounding reasoning: “this trait was shaped by selection in unseen ancestral populations and this selection must have occurred because the trait is present.” Well-supported adaptationist explanations include evidence that is not only abundant but selected from comparative, populational, and optimality perspectives, the three adaptationist subdisciplines. Each subdiscipline obtains its broad relevance in evolutionary biology (...) via assumptions that can only be tested with the methods of the other subdisciplines. However, even in the best-supported explanations, assumptions regarding variation, heritability, and fitness in unseen ancestral populations are always present. These assumptions are accepted given how well they would explain the data if they were true. This means that some degree of “circularity” is present in all evolutionary explanations. Evolutionary explanation corresponds not to a deductive structure, as biologists usually assert, but instead to ones such as abduction or induction. With these structures in mind, we show the way to a healthier view of “circularity” in evolutionary biology, and why integration across the comparative, populational, and optimality approaches is necessary. (shrink)

Measuring neuronal activity with electrophysiological methods may be useful in detecting neurological dysfunctions, such as mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This approach may be particularly valuable for rapid detection in at-risk populations including military service members and athletes. Electrophysiological methods, such as quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) and recording event-related potentials (ERPs) may be promising; however, the field is nascent and significant controversy exists on the efficacy and accuracy of the approaches as diagnostic tools. For example, the specific measures derived from an (...) electroencephalogram (EEG) that are most suitable as markers of dysfunction have not been clearly established. A study was conducted to summarize and evaluate the statistical rigor of evidence on the overall utility of qEEG as an mTBI detection tool. The analysis evaluated qEEG measures/parameters that may be most suitable as fieldable diagnostic tools, identified other types of EEG measures and analysis methods of promise, recommended specific measures and analysis methods for further development as mTBI detection tools, identified research gaps in the field, and recommended future research and development thrust areas. The qEEG study group formed the following conclusions: 1. Individual qEEG measures provide limited diagnostic utility for mTBI. However, many measures can be important features of qEEG discriminant functions, which do show significant promise as mTBI detection tools. 2. ERPs offer utility in mTBI detection. In fact, evidence indicates that ERPs can identify abnormalities in cases where EEGs alone are nondisclosing. 3. The standard mathematical procedures used in the characterization of mTBI EEGs should be expanded to incorporate newer methods of analysis including nonlinear dynamical analysis, complexity measures, analysis of causal interactions, graph theory and information dynamics. 4. and 5. are too long to include here. (shrink)

‘‘Adaptive radiation’’ is an evocative metaphor for explosive evolutionary divergence, which for over 100 years has given a powerful heuristic to countless scientists working on all types of organisms at all phylogenetic levels. However, success has come at the price of making ‘‘adaptive radiation’’ so vague that it can no longer reflect the detailed results yielded by powerful new phylogeny-based techniques that quantify continuous adaptive radiation variables such as speciation rate, phylogenetic tree shape, and morphological diversity. Attempts to shoehorn the (...) results of these techniques into categorical ‘‘adaptive radiation: yes/no’’ schemes lead to reification, in which arbitrary quantitative thresholds are regarded as real. Our account of the life cycle of metaphors in science suggests that it is time to exchange the spent metaphor for new concepts that better represent the full range of diversity, disparity, and speciation rate across all of life. (shrink)

Riassunto : Questo articolo propone un confronto tra la teoria mente-corpo di Henri Bergson e gli ultimi sviluppi della filosofia della mente e, più specificamente, con il cosiddetto “esternalismo”. Lo scopo è duplice. In primo luogo, si vuole sostenere che l’opera del filosofo francese ha anticipato i principali punti teorici dell’esternalismo: la teoria della percezione di Bergson, infatti, ha molti e rilevanti tratti in comune con la cosiddetta 4E Cognition, che finora non sono stati adeguatamente riconosciuti. In secondo luogo, l’articolo (...) intende anche mostrare come il quadro ontologico in cui Bergson colloca la propria interpretazione dell’esperienza cosciente, possa fungere da utile riferimento per il modello esternalista, al fine di sistematizzare i dati sperimentali entro un orizzonte teorico coerente. La teoria della "percezione pura" di Bergson, infatti, supera il modello correlazionista dell’esperienza, rilevando come quest’ultima, allo stato puro, si collochi nelle cose stesse, a un livello di realtà che precede la divaricazione dell’esperienza tra soggetto e oggetto, livello che deve essere pensato come l’origine impersonale della coscienza soggettiva. Parole chiave: Esternalismo; Percezione; Azione; Problema mente/corpo The mind/body problem in Henri Bergson e the externalism in philosophy of mind. Towards an ontological model: In this article we contrast Henri Bergson’s mind-body theory with the latest developments in Philosophy of Mind, more specifically, in so-called “Externalism”. This paper has two specific aims. First, we argue that the work of this French philosopher anticipated the main theoretical concepts of Externalism. Indeed, Bergson’s theory of perception shares many important features, which have not been adequately recognized until now, with so-called 4E Cognition. Second, we show how Bergson’s basic ontology, which frames his interpretation of conscious experience, could offer a coherent theoretical framework to systematize experimental data in an externalist model. Bergson’s theory of “pure perception” goes beyond correlation, showing that our experience, in its purest state, takes place within things themselves, at a level of reality that precedes the bifurcation of experience into a subject and an object. This undivided level of reality can be considered the impersonal origin of subjective consciousness. Keywords: Externalism; Perception; Action; Mind/Body Problem. (shrink)

RESUMEN: Objetivo. En este trabajo se plantea como objetivo examinar y comparar las diferentes concepciones de responsabilidad y relación con “el Otro” en dos diferentes autores representativos que han tratado de forma notable estos conceptos, profundizando en la subjetividad, libertad y la experiencia del mundo y de la propia existencia. Diseño. Se trata de un Estudio en forma de breve ensayo con un análisis crítico de la temática analizada. Originalidad /valor. Se trata de un análisis comparativo entre dos grandes filósofos (...) enmarcados en la fenomenología de la existencia en aspectos concretos de su pensamiento. Hallazgos. Los dos autores que analizaremos han conocido la fenomenología de Husserl y Heidegger, que fue para ellos un punto de partida con gran influencia en su pensamiento, no obstante, ambos autores tuvieron un posicionamiento y desarrollo propio y en parte divergente entre ellos en gran parte de su pensamiento, llegando a constituirse como auténticas referencias de su tiempo y que actualmente mantienen un gran interés e influencia en la filosofía contemporánea. Analizaré comparativamente dos grandes autores como son, Emmanuel Lévinas y Jean Paul Sartre. Conclusiones. En ellos veremos formas diferentes y hasta cierto punto complementarias de abordar la libertad, responsabilidad y la relación con el otro, en uno de forma más ontológica y en el otro con una visión desde la ética. (shrink)

Uterus transplantation (UTx) research has been introduced in several countries, with trials in Sweden and the United States producing successful outcomes. The growing interest in developing UTx trials in other countries, such as Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, and Australia, raises important questions regarding the ethics of surgical innovation research in the field of UTx. This paper examines the current state of UTx in the context of the surgical innovation paradigm and IDEAL framework and discusses the ethical challenges faced by those (...) considering the introduction of new trials. We argue that UTx remains an experimental procedure at a relatively early stage of the IDEAL framework, especially in the context of de novo trials, where protocols are likely to deviate from those used previously and where researchers are likely to have limited experience of UTx. We conclude that countries considering the introduction of UTx trials should build on the strengths of the reported outcomes to consolidate the evidence base and shed light on the uncertainties of the procedure. Authorities responsible for the ethical governance of UTx trials are advised to draw on the ethical framework used in the oversight of surgical innovation. (shrink)

As grandes epidemias de peste que atingiram ao longo de muitos séculos os ingleses, refletiram mudanças importantes para os conhecimentos de cada período histórico. Esse artigo busca unir duas extremidades de um decorrer de grandes catástrofes epidemiológicas na Inglaterra, com um olhar especial à populosa Londres, começando com a primeira entrada da peste bubônica na cidade, em 1348, e seu provável último grande surto, em 1665. Os dois episódios tocados aqui são apresentados sob a perspectiva das novidades, semelhanças e diferenças (...) entre essas duas pontas da história, passando pelas novas respostas da medicina no século XIV e os princípios de uma ‘aritmética política’ no século XVII. Para esse fim, são de extrema importância diferentes fontes, como as inúmeras cópias do tratado médico de John de Burdeaux, escritos a partir de 1390, e o Observations de John Graunt, publicado a partir de 1662. (shrink)

La mayoría de los títulos de libros árabes de época pre-modema muestran una estructura bipartita o bimembre, generalmente rimada, en la que las dos partes tienen, también por lo general, significación completa e independiente. Esta estructura tradicional es ignorada por aquellos que traducen la segunda parte como una extensión de la primera. En el artículo se señala también que la razón de esa división en dos mitades es dotar al libro de un título breve, de connotaciones positivas y fácil de (...) memorizar, contenido en la primera mitad, y luego un subtítulo que exprese realmente la materia del libro. (shrink)

En la actualidad vivimos como “ciudadanos sin brújula”, según una expresión de Cornelius Castoriadis. Los tiempos parecen ser de perplejidad e incertidumbre, dando lugar a un aumento notorio de la insignificancia o pérdida del sentido. Por ello, esta reflexión busca presentar el pensamiento político de Castoriadis en todo su movimiento de ampliación y radicalidad. Tal vez así, nutriendo nuestra imaginación creadora, podremos asimilar críticamente algunos elementos que nos posibiliten el cuestionamiento de lo ya instituido, abriendo horizontes para la institución de (...) una verdadera autonomía democrática en el mundo globalizado de nuestros días. (shrink)

Este artículo tiene dos objetivos. El principal es mostrar la concepción de la historiografía como teoría crítica en la obra de Dominick LaCapra. El secundario es exponer las consecuencias impolíticas de la teoría crítica contemporánea que subestima la atención a la historia. Con tal fin, enmarco la historia intelectual de LaCapra en el contexto de la renovación de la metodología historiográfica y muestro la relevancia del estudio del trauma en su concepción del conocimiento histórico. Posteriormente, muestro que la clave que (...) convierte su concepto de historia en una teoría crítica es la idea de que la historia debe contribuir a elaborar el trauma y capacitar para la acción, así como la relación entre esta idea y el vínculo entre experiencia e identidad política. Después expongo la crítica de LaCapra a una corriente contemporánea de teoría crítica que renuncia a la elaboración del trauma. Por último, propongo tres categorías para identificar y analizar dicha corriente: diferencia histórica, viraje ético e impoliticidad. (shrink)

Trata-se de uma resenha do livro História e descrição da febre amarela epidêmica que grassou no Rio de Janeiro em 1850, de José Pereira Rego, publicado pela Chão Editora (SP) em 2020. ISBN: 978-65-990122-4-2.

Estudos recentes vêm revisando a composição da literatura que, ao longo do século XVIII serviu como base às ciências em território britânico. Segundo esses estudos, os seiscentistas de fala inglesa dedicaram-se a duas linhagens de texto, originadas em concepções de ciência muito distintas. Uma dessas linhagens tinha como fonte principal a antiga “literatura do segredo” que incluía desde velhos e sigilosos manuais de ofício até os milenares e proibidos tratados de hermética, literatura antes reservada a poucos. Diferente dessa, a outra (...) ]inhagem de textos surgia como um direto da proposta baconiana para a nova ciência: um saber elaborado por muitos e ao alcance de todos. Exemplos conhecidos dessa linhagem são os livros de divulgação utilizados pelos comenianos ingleses ou mesmo os relatórios, atas e memórias das sociedades científicas, geradores dos primeiros embriões de periódicos dedicados às ciências. Todavia, sob essa aparente contraposição das duas linhagens, há indícios de um profícuo diálogo - expresso sobretudo na correspondência e diários pensadores da época. (shrink)