Is addiction a behavioral pattern, or the underlying cause of a behavioral pattern? Both views are found in prominent accounts of addiction, but theorists generally do not notice that they are taking a controversial position, let alone justify it. A third possibility is that addiction consists in both addictive behavior and its causes, though this view is less obviously present in the literature. I argue that two important considerations favor the "cause view" over the "behavior" and "hybrid" views. The first (...) is that we want to be able to explain addictive behavior with reference to addiction. The second is that addiction seems to persist long after addictive behavior has ceased. Only the cause view can easily accommodate both data points. (shrink)

Assembling the pieces : the neuroscience disciplines essential for the study of language and brain -- Building the basis : linguistic contributions to a theory of language and their relevance to the study of language and brain -- Neuroscience applications to the study of multilingualism -- Exploring the boundaries of cognitive linguistics and neurolinguistics : reimagining cross-cultural contributions -- Imaging technologies in the study of multilingualism : focus on BOLD fMRI -- Reassembling the pieces : languages and brains.

Many philosophers, physicists, and mathematicians have wondered about the remarkable relationship between mathematics with its abstract, pure, independent structures on one side, and the wilderness of natural phenomena on the other. Famously, Wigner found the "effectiveness" of mathematics in defining and supporting physical theories to be unreasonable, for how incredibly well it worked. Why, in fact, should these mathematical structures be so well-fitting, and even heuristic in the scientific exploration and discovery of nature? This book argues that the effectiveness of (...) mathematics in physics is reasonable. The author builds on useful analogies of prime numbers and elementary particles, elementary structure kinship and the structure of systems of particles, spectra and symmetries, and for example, mathematical limits and physical situations. The two-dimensional Ising model of a permanent magnet and the proofs of the stability of everyday matter exemplify such effectiveness, and the power of rigorous mathematical physics. Newton is our original model, with Galileo earlier suggesting that mathematics is the language of Nature. (shrink)

Anísio, Anísios Teixeira: um educador no Museu do Homem do Nordeste traz ao público leitor o pensamento, a atuação e a influência de um dos personagens mais instigantes da cultura brasileira do século XX, o educador Anísio Teixeira (1900-1971). Através da criação da escola Experimental do Recife ligada ao Centro Regional de Pesquisas Educacionais de Pernambuco, Anísio Teixeira teve uma intensa participação na história do então Instituto Joaquim Nabuco de Pesquisas Sociais, hoje Fundação Joaquim Nabuco. Com artigos escritos por coordenaodres (...) do Museu do Homem do Nordeste da Fundaj, e também por alguns de seus educadores, este livro atualiza as influências e o papel que as ideias do educador baiano exercem na educação de jovens nos dias de hoje"--Provided by Publisher. (shrink)

Stem cell tourism is a small but growing part of the thriving global medical tourism marketplace. Much stem cell research remains at the experimental stage, with clinical trials still uncommon. However, there are over 700 clinics estimated to be operating in mostly developing countries – from Costa Rica and Argentina to China, India and Russia – that have lured many patients, mostly from industrialized countries, driven by desperation and hope, which in turn continue to fuel the growth of such tourism.While (...) much research has focused on such dimensions as the promotions that allow such businesses to make their services known, media coverage, some patient research, and regulatory conditions for developing country clinics, little attention has been paid to the non-affected members of the general population, the future potential users of such services. This empirical study based on five focus group discussions with a diverse group of healthy adults in a Canadian city, explored participant views of patients who use stem cell tourism services, the likelihood they would avail themselves of such services if they were to suffer similar illnesses, and the conditions under which they might do so, and the impact that admonitions and advice from international expert bodies might have on their decisions. Our findings suggest that these healthy adults are sympathetic to the drivers of hope and desperation, and, despite cautions about research limitations, may seek such treatments themselves under similar conditions. These findings are discussed in the context of the policy and ethical issues raised by this form of medical tourism. (shrink)

Examina a relevância da Lei de Acesso à Informação – LAI na consolidação institucional do Ministério Público Federal - MP no Brasil. Analisa a sua a atuação durante o regime militar e no processo de redemocratização após a Constituição de 1988. Aponta a sua evolução como instituição permanente e essencial à função jurisdicional do Estado, responsável, perante o Judiciário, pela defesa da ordem jurídica e dos interesses indisponíveis da sociedade, assim como seu papel na investigação de fatos nacionais sobre os (...) perpetradores de violações aos direitos humanos. (shrink)

Resumo: Neste artigo, argumentamos a favor de uma versão sofisticada do realismo científico, tendo como eixo norteador a análise do desempenho do que consideramos ser o seu elemento de defesa estratégico: o “argumento do milagre”. O realismo científico é a perspectiva comprometida com as nossas melhores teorias científicas, isto é, com a existência de entidades, processos, relações etc., observáveis ou inobserváveis, indispensáveis para explicar o seu sucesso empírico, em particular, com aqueles componentes das teorias que são cruciais para se alcançar (...) novas previsões bem-sucedidas. O argumento do milagre é um tipo de abdução ou inferência da melhor explicação e se expressa na célebre formulação de Putnam : “O realismo científico é a única filosofia que não faz do sucesso da ciência um milagre.” Analisamos e rebatemos duas importantes modalidades de argumentação antirrealista: a indução pessimista e a circularidade viciosa da inferência da melhor explicação. Acreditamos estar justificados quanto à defesa da intuição básica do realismo científico, com o apoio de uma versão fortalecida e articulada do argumento do milagre, mediante as qualificações de novidade preditiva e fecundidade teórica: a ciência é bem-sucedida em explicar e prever fenômenos, inclusive novos, porque suas melhores teorias são verdadeiras e as entidades inobserváveis postuladas por essas teorias realmente existem. Concluímos que o argumento do milagre continua sendo basilar e estratégico na defesa do realismo científico.: In this article, we argue in favor of a sophisticated version of scientific realism, based on an analysis of what we consider to be the strategic element of its defense: the “miracle argument”. Scientific realism is the perspective applicable to our best scientific theories; that is, it applies to entities, processes, and relationships, etc., whether observable or unobservable, which are indispensable for explaining the empirical success of theories, and it applies particularly to those components of the theories that are crucial to achieving new and successful forecasts. The miracle argument is a type of abduction or inference to the best explanation, and is expressed in the famous formulation of Putnam : “[Scientific] realism is the only philosophy that doesn’t make the success of the science a miracle.” We analyze and refute two important modes of antirealist argument: pessimistic induction and vicious circularity of inference to the best explanation. We believe that we are justified in defending the basic intuition of scientific realism, supported by a strengthened version of the miracle argument, together with the attributes of predictive novelty and theoretical fecundity. From this perspective, science succeeds in explaining and predicting phenomena, including new phenomena, because its best theories are true, and the unobservable entities postulated by these theories actually exist. We conclude that the miracle argument continues to be basic and strategic in the defense of scientific realism. (shrink)

The paper tries to show that an evolutionary perspective helps us to address what is called the adaptation problem, that is, the remarkable coherence, and seemingly successful design, existing between our cognitive tools and the phenomena of the material world. It argues that a fine-grained description of the structure and function of experimental techniques—as a special type amongst evolving scientific practices—is a condition for a better understanding and, ultimately, an explanation of how adaptation among the heterogeneous elements of experimental knowledge (...) is attained. Some apparently contradictory features of techniques, such as their high context-dependency and their capabilities to reproduce and diversify outside their original contexts, are addressed with the help of the concepts of technical variation and the historical entrenchment of phenomena in techniques. In order to do so, a case-study on the construction of satellite-DNA and the evolution of nucleic acid hybridization, a research project carried out by Roy J. Britten and his colleagues in the 1960s, is presented in detail. This case illustrates the close relationship existing between the evolution of techniques and the stabilization of phenomena in experimental biology. (shrink)

A partir do filme de Tim Robbins, Dead Man Walking, a autora busca entender os atos e a personalidade de Matthew Poncelet, personagem condenado à morte por um assassinato cruel. A relação do assassino com a freira que o acompanha, dando-lhe suporte baseado em empatia e verdade, permite a integração do seu self, com o reconhecimento e aceitação de sua finitude. Os conceitos teóricos de Winnicott sobre a origem da agressividade e do desenvolvimento infantil, bem como sobre a relação da (...) mãe com seu bebê, fundamentam as idéias aqui apresentadas.The author tries to understand the behavior and the personality of Matthew Poncelet, from a Tim Robbins' film called Dead Man Walking. This character was sentenced to death due to a cruel murder. In the film, the relationship between the killer and a nun gave him support based on empathy and truth. This permitted the integration of his self with the recognition and the acceptance of his finitude. The ideas presented in this paper were established based on Winnicott's concepts about the origin of aggressiveness and of infant development, as well as the relationship between the mother and her baby. (shrink)

Xenotransplantation, or the use of animal cells, tissues and organs for humans, has been promoted as an important solution to the worldwide shortage of organs. While scientific studies continue to be done to address problems of rejection and the possibility of animal-to-human virus transfer, socio-ethical and legal questions have also been raised around informed consent, life-long monitoring, animal welfare and animal rights, and appropriate regulatory practices. Many calls have also been made to consult publics before policy decisions are made. This (...) paper describes the Canadian public consultation process on xenotransplantation carried out by the Canadian Public Health Association in an arm’s length process from Health Canada, the ministry overseeing government health policy and regulation. Focusing on six citizen fora conducted around the country patterned after the citizen jury deliberative approach, the paper describes the citizen panelists’ recommendations to hold off on proceeding with clinical trials and the rationales behind this recommendation. The consultation process is discussed in the context of constructive technology assessment, a framework which argues for broader input into earlier stages of technology innovation, particularly at the technology design stage. (shrink)