Columbia University Press's multivolume Prison Notebooks is the only complete critical edition of Antonio Gramsci's seminal writings in English. Based on the authoritative Italian edition of Gramsci's work, Quaderni del Carcere, this comprehensive translation presents the intellectual as he ought to be read and understood, with critical notes that clarify Gramsci's history, culture, and sources; an index of names; and a contextualization of the thinker's ideas against his earlier writings and letters. This set includes notebooks 1 through 8 with (...) all attendant notes and materials and is an indispensible resource for scholars in the humanities and social sciences. (shrink)

À partir d’une lecture de Kant et d’une analyse de quelques expériences de nos interactions avec la réalité matérielle, cet article développe une pensée de l’ aisthesis qui précise la nature de la différence entre les perceptions qui nous viennent à travers des médiations techniques (aujourd’hui numériques) et les perceptions que nous avons des formes qui constituent notre environnement présentiel. Sans aucune technophobie, il aide à comprendre en quoi l’autoréférentialité de la représentation ne cesse de croître en même temps que (...) nos perceptions sont de plus en plus filtrées par des médiations numériques. (shrink)

Este artículo analiza los diálogos posibles entre el pensamiento de Giorgio Agamben y la novela _Frankenstein_ de Mary Shelley. Así, el filósofo italiano describe aspectos centrales que indagan los modos en que el biopoder captura la nuda vida. En efecto, a través del concepto de _máquina_ –la antropológica, el lenguaje y la gubernamental– se describen los dispositivos capaces de volver la potencia de vida a los cálculos del poder. Por otro lado, _Frankenstein_ construye una serie de escenas en la que (...) la voz de la Cosa interpela a su creador, Víctor Frankenstein, en una dimensión ética por su negligencia y falta de cuidado. La interpelación se dirige a un personaje pero, tomando los términos de Agamben, Víctor Frankenstein forma parte de una maquinaria mayor de la que él mismo termina siendo víctima. La ficción explicita además la falla de la maquinaria biopolítica por cuanto su protagonista se afirma en la vida procurando hallar sentidos posibles de existencia. (shrink)

The mental representation of brief temporal durations, when assessed in standard laboratory conditions, is highly accurate. Here we show that adding or subtracting temporal durations systematically results in strong and opposite biases, namely over-estimation for addition and under-estimation for subtraction. The difference with respect to a baseline temporal reproduction task changed across durations in an operation-specific way and survived correcting for the effect due to operation sign alone, indexing a reliable signature of arithmetic processing on time representation. A second experiment (...) replicated these findings with a different set of stimuli. This novel behavioral marker conceptually mirrors in the time domain the representational momentum found with motion, whereby the estimated spatial position of a visual target is displaced in the direction of motion itself. This momentum effect in temporal arithmetic suggests a striking analogy between time processing and visuospatial processing, which might index the presence of common computational principles. (shrink)

We study those relational structures S with the property that each partition of S contains a block isomorphic to S. We show that the Fraïsse limits of parametric classes K. have property ; over a binary language, every countable structure in K satisfying along with a condition on 1-extensions must be isomorphic to this limit.

The cognitive impairments shown by brain-damaged patients emphasize the role of task difficulty as a major determinant for performance. We discuss the proposal of Kurzban et al. in light of our findings on right-hemisphere–damaged patients, who show increasing awareness deficits for the contralesional hemispace when engaged with resource-consuming dual tasks. This phenomenon is readily explained by the assumption of unspecific depletable resources.

We prove that each ∀1 free amalgamation class K over a finite relational language L admits a countable generic structure M isometrically embedding all countable structuresin K relative to a fixed metric. We expand L by infinitely many binary predicates expressingdistance, and prove that the resulting expansion of K has a model companion axiomatizedby the first-order theory of M. The model companion is non-finitely axiomatizable, evenover a strong form of the axiom scheme of infinity.

Background Neuroimaging and lesion studies suggested that the dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal cortices mediate visual metacognitive awareness. The causal evidence provided by non-invasive brain stimulation, however, is inconsistent. -/- Objective/hypothesis Here we revisit a major figure discrimination experiment adding a new Kanizsa figure task trying to resolve whether bilateral continuous theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) over these regions affects perceptual metacognition. Specifically, we tested whether subjective visibility ratings and/or metacognitive efficiency are lower when cTBS is applied to these two (...) regions in comparison to an active control region. -/- Methods A within-subjects design including three sessions spaced by one-week intervals was implemented. In each session, every participant was administered bilateral cTBS to either prefrontal, control or parietal cortices. Two concurrent tasks were performed, a real and an illusory figure task, stabilising objective performance with use of an adaptive staircase procedure. -/- Results When performing the replicated task, cTBS was found insufficient to disrupt neither visibility ratings nor metacognitive efficiency. However, with use of Kanizsa style illusory figures, cTBS over the dorsolateral prefrontal, but not over the posterior parietal cortex, was observed to significantly diminish metacognitive efficiency. -/- Conclusion(s) Real and illusory figure tasks demonstrated different cTBS effects. A possible explanation is the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in the creation of expectations, which is necessary for efficient metacognition. Failure to replicate previous findings for the real figure task, however, cannot be said to support, conclusively, the notion that these brain regions have a causal role in metacognitive awareness. This inconsistent finding may result from certain limitations of our study, thereby suggesting the need for yet further investigation. (shrink)

This volume explores the work and thought of Edith Stein (1891-1942). It discusses in detail, and from new perspectives, the traditional areas of her thinking, including her ideas about women/feminism, theology, and metaphysics. In addition, it introduces readers to new and/or understudied areas of her thought, including her views on history, and her social and political philosophy. The guiding thread that connects all the essays in this book is the emphasis on new approaches and novel applications of her philosophy. The (...) contributions both extend the interdisciplinary implications of Stein's thinking for our contemporary world and apply her insights to questions of theatre, public history and biographical representation, education, politics, autism, theological debates, feminism, sexuality studies and literature. The volume brings together for the first time leading scholars in five language-groups, including English, German, Italian, French and Spanish-speaking authors, thereby reflecting an international and cosmopolitan approach to Stein studies. (shrink)

Pure shape dynamics (PSD) is a novel implementation of the relational framework originally proposed by Julian Barbour and Bruno Bertotti. PSD represents a Leibnizian/Machian approach to physics in that it completely describes the dynamical evolution of a physical system without resorting to any structure external to the system itself. The chapter discusses how PSD effectively describes a de Broglie-Bohm N-body system and the conceptual benefits of such a relational description. The analysis will highlight the new directions in the quest for (...) an understanding of the nature of the wave function that are opened up by a modern relationalist elaboration on de Broglie's and Bohm's original insights. (shrink)

From one of the world's leading neuroscientists--a succinct, illuminating, wholly engaging investigation of the phenomenon of consciousness. In recent decades, many philosophers and cognitive scientists have declared the question of consciousness unsolvable, but Antonio Damasio is convinced that recent findings in neurobiology, psychology, and AI have given us the necessary tools to solve its mystery. Now, he not only elucidates its myriad aspects, but presents his analysis and insights in a way that is faithful to our own intuitive sense (...) of the experience of consciousness. In the 45 brief chapters of the book, he helps us understand the relation between consciousness and mind; why being conscious is not the same as either being awake or sensing; the essential role of feeling; and the biological brain and development of consciousness. He synthesizes the recent findings of various sciences with the outlook of philosophy, and, most significantly, presents his original research which has transformed our understanding of the brain and human behavior. Here is an indispensable guide to understanding consciousness, the fundamental human capacity for informing--and transforming--our experience of the world around us and our perception of our place in it. (shrink)

In the so-called digital culture, there is a constant presence of radical transformations on the cognitive and affective dimensions of the relations established among teachers and students. Upon this ubiquitous accessibility of information, the very historical and hierarchically verticalized relation between teachers and students has been increasingly questioned. Upon this situation, the authors in this article aim at stating that the revitalization of concepts developed by Paulo Freire, mainly the ones discussed in the books: ‘Pedagogy of Hope’, that sought a (...) re-encounter with ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’, ‘Extension or Communication’ and ‘Pedagogy of Freedom’ became essential to understanding how the relationship between teachers and students can be mutually re-signified. In these times of digital culture, we argue that the revitalization of the critical thinking proposed by Freire is able to foment a dialogical communication both in the pedagogical link shared by teachers and students and in the transformation of information into substantially and ethically experienced concepts. Such substantial and ethical experiences are the ones able to attest that the pedagogy of hope and the pedagogy of freedom are possible, provided they are constituted with the students and not for them. (shrink)

Antropologia individualistica e democrazia -- Nuova antropologia. Soggetto e libertà nella democrazia di Tocqueville -- Sball-democrazia -- Simboli del potere -- Oltre la frontiera. Soggettività globale -- Ecity. Tecnica senza storia.

The paper investigates the type of realism that best suits the framework of decoherence taken at face value without postulating a plurality of worlds, or additional hidden variables, or non-unitary dynamical mechanisms. It is argued that this reading of decoherence leads to an extremely radical type of perspectival realism, especially when cosmological decoherence is considered.

The paper presents a metaphysical characterization of spatiotemporal backgrounds from a realist perspective. The conceptual analysis is based on a heuristic sketch that encompasses the common formal traits of the major spacetime theories, such as Newtonian mechanics and general relativity. It is shown how this framework can be interpreted in a fully realist fashion, and what is the role of background structures in such a picture. In the end it is argued that, although backgrounds are a source of metaphysical discomfort, (...) still they make a spacetime theory easy to interpret. It is also suggested that this conclusion partially explains why the notion of background independence carries a lot of conceptual difficulties. (shrink)

Provisto de procedimientos que proceden de la filosofía y de la poesía, la filología y el psicoanálisis, la religión, el cine o la antropología, Antonio Lastra inscribe su "ecología de la cultura" en una vertiente político ...

Este libro trata sobre algunos de los más importantes humanistas de los siglos xv y xvi, auténticos filósofos en el sentido moderno de la palabra, así como de la estrecha relación que mantuvieron con los distintos príncipes de Europa. Casi siempre en latín, su voz se oía en las Cortes y en los centros de decisión del continente, del que política y culturalmente formaban parte los reinos británicos. El diálogo y la relación entre príncipes y humanistas produjeron algunos de los (...) momentos más felices de la vida intelectual del Renacimiento. Los humanistas se dirigían a los gobernantes con ideas, opiniones y consejos, mientras que éstos, les hicieran caso o no, debían tener en cuenta lo que habían escuchado o leído. A fin de cuentas, a los soberanos les importaba mucho lo que podían pensar o escribir Erasmo, Moro, Maquiavelo, Vives, Dantisco o Arias Montano, tal y como a los Reyes Católicos —por ejemplo— les influyeron las ideas sobre España de Margarit o Lebrija. Bien mirado, podían ser considerados —y así lo fueron— como los continuadores de los clásicos griegos y latinos. (shrink)