The block universe is generally considered as the metaphysical position that best accommodates the outcomes of relativistic physics. Its most consistent formulation postulates a static universe where change is not admitted. However, some of its advocates try to reconcile its basic adynamical commitments as to the nature of physical reality with certain aspects of dynamism that arise, for instance, within human experience. In this article, I first examine how some block viewers try to reconcile dynamism and adynamism. I then go (...) on to discuss the problems that emerge while trying to make room for dynamism within the block. To this end, I clarify the meaning of adynamism and explains what it takes to eradicate dynamism through the implementation of the so-called “Langrangian schema”. Based on this analysis, I juxtapose two resolute attempts at the formulation of a thoroughly adynamical project. The first, named relational block world, aims to make the block view totally static. The second, Barbour’s early works on the implementation of a neo-Machian relational strategy, makes the point that a complete adynamism cannot be achieved within relativity and its metaphysical counterpart. The article in conclusion argues that, by dismissing four-dimensionalism and embracing three-dimensionalism, Barbour proves better at promoting an utterly static physics. (shrink)

Advanced Virgo detector joined advanced LIGO twin detectors on 1st August 2017 in the quest to look for the gravitational waves. The global network of three detectors was operational for 25 days until the LIGO shut down on 25th August 2017. Two gravitational wave events were registered during this period. One of them was the binary black hole merger dubbed as GW170814 and other one is binary neutron star merger referred to as GW170817. Electromagnetic counterpart associated with binary neutron star (...) merger was promptly identified which marks the beginning of multi-messenger astronomy. This article describes these events emphasizing on the crucial role played by the Virgo and focusing on some methodological issues. (shrink)

_The Bounds of Reason: Habermas, Lyotard & Melanie Klein on Rationality_ is a highly original yet accessible study of the debate between modernity and postmodernity. Emilia Steuerman clearly explains the modernity/postmodernity dispute by examining the problem that has driven the whole debate: whether the use of reason is an emancipatory or enslaving force. Steuerman clearly sets out this debate by critically examining the arguments of two of its key proponents, Jurgen Habermas and Jean-François Lyotard. She clearly explains Habermas' defence (...) of modernity and his attempt to salvage Enlightenment ideas of truth, justice, and freedom through the use of reason. She contrasts this with Lyotard's postmodernism and his scepticism about the use of reason, and its claims to universalism and objectivity. Throughout, Steuerman contrasts the Habermas-Lyotard debate with important insights from psychoanalytic theory, and shows how Habermas' notions of intersubjectivity and a community of shared language users can be compared and contrasted with Melanie Klein's theory of object relations. (shrink)

Dans l'espace spirituel de la civilisation occidentale contemporaine il s'opere un croisement entre deux paradigmes mentaux selon lesquels le rapport entre le transcendant et le phenomenologique est percu d'une maniere fondamentalement differente: il est question des paradigmes de pre-renaissance et de la modernite. Dans le paradigme pre-renaissant, l'univers est percu comme etant ontologiquement divise en deux realites subordonnees, ce qui introduit le Transcendant dans le monde. Avec les progres des sciences, le paradigme mental se bätit sur l'idee principale de l'unidimensionnalite (...) du reel. Or. le monde se retrouve ainsi depourvu de sa dimension transcendante. La solution proposee dans l'expose serait la formation d'un nouveau paradigme mental qui assurerait ä l'homme une presence spirituelle dans le monde. (shrink)

This article focuses on blood donation as a form of bloodletting in a context where donation is commonly seen to alleviate the symptoms of `thick blood'. It deals with the gendered aspects of blood donation, and the parallels drawn between donating blood and menstruating. Women are seen not to need to donate blood as much as men, who, in the absence of menstruation, are more prone to thick blood and require a means to expunge the ensuing excess. While blood donation (...) professionals strive to reconstruct donation as a selfless and ungendered act, counterposing the `facts' of arterial blood circulation to local blood-lore and beliefs, lay understandings challenge this construction in the use they make of blood donation centres or by reiterating the personalistic and gendered dimensions of donation. The article explores cases of patients who use hormonal contraceptives which suppress menstruation and express concerns over the resulting accumulation of blood in the body. It considers how blood donation is adopted by some women as a means of dispelling both the perceived inconveniences of menstrual bleeding and its swelling effects. Such literalized engagements with medical technologies reveal a conception of the body as a permeable, malleable and recipient-like enclosure. These views are often characterized as `ignorance' by medical practitioners, where ignorance is seen to derive not only from the absence of knowledge, but from the presence of the wrong kind of knowledge. (shrink)

Is medicalization always harmful? When does medicine overstep its proper boundaries? The aim of this article is to outline the pragmatic criteria for distinguishing between medicalization and over-medicalization. The consequences of considering a phenomenon to be a medical problem may take radically different forms depending on whether the problem in question is correctly or incorrectly perceived as a medical issue. Neither indiscriminate acceptance of medicalization of subsequent areas of human existence, nor criticizing new medicalization cases just because they are medicalization (...) can be justified. The article: (i) identifies various consequences of both well-founded medicalization and over-medicalization; (ii) demonstrates that the issue of defining appropriate limits of medicine cannot be solved by creating an optimum model of health; (iii) proposes four guiding questions to help distinguish medicalization from over-medicalization. The article should foster a normative analysis of the phenomenon of medicalization and contribute to the bioethical reflection on the boundaries of medicine. (shrink)

Resumen de Tesis Tiempo humano y tiempo natural: una distinción problemática en los debates sobre el tiempo histórico del siglo XX por M. E. Arabarco.

In the present paper we would like to investigate the concept of mythothought as defined by two philosophers, Ernst Cassirer and Lucian Blaga, and the way in which the term may be applied to a chosen corpus of poetry from Romania, Wales and Ireland.

_The Bounds of Reason: Habermas, Lyotard & Melanie Klein on Rationality_ is a highly original yet accessible study of the debate between modernity and postmodernity. Emilia Steuerman clearly explains the modernity/postmodernity dispute by examining the problem that has driven the whole debate: whether the use of reason is an emancipatory or enslaving force. Steuerman clearly sets out this debate by critically examining the arguments of two of its key proponents, Jurgen Habermas and Jean-François Lyotard. She clearly explains Habermas' defence (...) of modernity and his attempt to salvage Enlightenment ideas of truth, justice, and freedom through the use of reason. She contrasts this with Lyotard's postmodernism and his scepticism about the use of reason, and its claims to universalism and objectivity. Throughout, Steuerman contrasts the Habermas-Lyotard debate with important insights from psychoanalytic theory, and shows how Habermas' notions of intersubjectivity and a community of shared language users can be compared and contrasted with Melanie Klein's theory of object relations. (shrink)

What is the meaning of reason in our postmodern society today? Is reason a weapon of domination, or can it also serve as a means for emancipation? Is it possible for reason to understand its "other"--what it is not? Confronting such questions, Bounds of Reason is a compelling discussion of the limits and meaning of rationality as a tool for understanding the ideas of truth, justice and freedom. Emilia Steuerman explores the modernist and postmodernist controversy between Habermas and Lyotard (...) to highlight the problems encountered both by a defense of reason and by the lack of meaning that haunts a world without it. Using Kleinian theory to examine the debate as it is manifested in the main philosophical themes of this century, Steuerman argues that a rational and ethical theory of justice must take into account that which is not rational, symmetrical or transparent--namely a primitive world of love and hatred which colors and shapes our perceptions. (shrink)

Neither for today’s Russia, nor for the whole of the contemporary world is there, perhaps, a more important issue than the possibility of a civilized, peaceful dialogue between cultures, peoples, governments and individuals. The International Society for Universal Dialogue is one among other philosophical schools, societies and organizations which promote the idea of universal dialogue. It tries to solve problems associated with language and ideological barriers, strengthening professional and friendly ties and implementation, through joint efforts, of a peaceful and fair (...) world order. (shrink)

The article presents an attempt to reconstruct the axiological contents of Marx’s –concept of justice In the broadest terms, the axiological content of Marx’s concept of justice consists, in the author’s opinion, in the eternal conviction of man that it is just to render unto man what is rightfully due to him, while to deprive man of his due rights is a wrong. Accordingly, every man, by reason of his work or merits, rightly deserves the use and enjoyment of the (...) material goods he has produced, or of the good reputation he has won, etc. That formulation, however, does not exhaust the full sense of Marx’s idea of ‚justice’. Man in his capacity as a human being rightfully deserves over and above all that, a chance to draw on the full stock of human achievement, in order to develop and satisfy his manifold needs, inclinations and talents. (shrink)

The aim of this article is to explore how metaphor is mobilized to frame and describe the lived experience of dementia in a corpus of illness narratives compiled from 10 blogs initiated and maintained by individuals diagnosed with early-onset dementia. The article is set against the background of contemporary healthcare practices and discourse around chronic illness and focuses on the metaphors that patients use to communicate about their dementia experience in relation to three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness, (...) which are essential for human well-being and are heavily challenged in complex medical situations. Results are discussed in terms of the framing metaphors provide of the emotional, psychological impact of dementia and their implications for patient-centered care. This study expands prior work by researching metaphors used for a condition that has been scarcely explored from this point of view and by focusing on the patient’s perspective exclusively. (shrink)

Rise of populist politics in the 21s century calls scholars and politicians alike to reflect upon the question of how politics and democracy have been understood. Drawing on the theory of hegemony, this article establishes a distinction between democracy and ‘demography’ as a key line of conceptualization in politics. It highlights a central misunderstanding at the core of the demonization of populism: For radical democratic theory, ‘the people’ is not a demographic, socio-economic, or historically sedimented category tied to some characteristics, (...) but a performative process of ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ ‘the people’ as a self-consciously enacted polity. This statement challenges the taken-for-granted status of subjectivities of political struggle and links this approach to other contemporary discussions of politics, democracy, and populism. After discussing how anti, neo and post-foundational theoretical accounts on populism reveal a dimension of politics and representation, this article emphasizes action and performativity over static categories and models characteristic of political realism and political system approaches. (shrink)

Com o objetivo de ressaltar a importancia da fabulaç áo , como meio de expressáo do exercicio filosofico, em Plat áo , reconstituem-se inicialmente, neste artigo, os principais passos do Teeteto, cujo final aporético decorreria da n áo exploraç áo pelos interlocutores das hipoteses da Reminiscencia e das Ideias, as quais n áo se restringem ao logos mais estrito nem se dissociam do relato mitico. Em seguida, evidencia-se que, sobretudo a partir dos dialogos da maturidade, a recriaç áo poetica da (...) tradiç áo constitui um suporte doutrindrio indispensável.  . (shrink)

Dans l'espace spirituel de la civilisation occidentale contemporaine il s'opere un croisement entre deux paradigmes mentaux selon lesquels le rapport entre le transcendant et le phenomenologique est percu d'une maniere fondamentalement differente: il est question des paradigmes de pre-renaissance et de la modernite. Dans le paradigme pre-renaissant, l'univers est percu comme etant ontologiquement divise en deux realites subordonnees, ce qui introduit le Transcendant dans le monde. Avec les progres des sciences, le paradigme mental se bätit sur l'idee principale de l'unidimensionnalite (...) du reel. Or. le monde se retrouve ainsi depourvu de sa dimension transcendante. La solution proposee dans l'expose serait la formation d'un nouveau paradigme mental qui assurerait ä l'homme une presence spirituelle dans le monde. (shrink)

En el presente artículo me concentraré en el estudio filosófico de los delirios, como un caso ejemplificador del vínculo que pueden establecer la filosofía de la mente y la psiquiatría. Frente a versiones radicalmente naturalistas, que proponen variantes reduccionistas o eliminativistas para la explicación de ciertos fenómenos mentales y sus variantes “anormales”, defenderé una versión moderada de la perspectiva naturalista. Al respecto, señalaré que retener algún grado de simpatía hacia el naturalismo en las investigaciones filosóficas sobre los delirios es necesario (...) para desarrollar teorías sobre las creencias empíricamente informadas que no resulten contradictorias con los desarrollos actuales en psicología cognitiva y neurociencias. No obstante, afirmaré también que una perspectiva exclusivamente naturalista -tanto por parte de la filosofía como de la psiquiatría misma- es incapaz de dar cuenta del contexto normativo en donde juegan las creencias. Los criterios normativos, especialmente externos que se emplean para clasificar ciertas creencias como delirantes no resultan inteligibles bajo una explicación puramente natural. Por el contrario, para comprender las creencias delirantes qua delirantes, será preciso acercarnos a un abordaje híbrido que pueda contemplar las causas naturales del fenómeno así como su evaluación normativa. (shrink)

Recientemente, algunos críticos del enfoque davidsoniano de la atribución intencional han señalado que el mismo no puede ser aplicado para el caso de los delirios psiquiátricos, dado que las creencias delirantes no satisfacen los requisitos de racionalidad que este impone. En este trabajo: i) reconstruyo, a partir del análisis del caso del delirio de Capgras, la crítica a la idea de que solo podemos interpretar a un agente con creencias irracionales si mantiene aún un trasfondo de racionalidad; ii) objeto la (...) misma y argumento que este delirio no representa un verdadero contraejemplo ya que un examen adecuado del mismo muestra que los sujetos con delirio de Capgras conservan un trasfondo de racionalidad. Señalaré así, que las condiciones mínimas para que la atribución de estados intencionales tenga lugar se encuentran garantizadas. (shrink)

Despite recent efforts by the Artificial Intelligence (AI) community to move towards standardised procedures for documenting models, methods, systems or datasets, there is currently no methodology focused on use cases aligned with the risk-based approach of the European AI Act (AI Act). In this paper, we propose a new framework for the documentation of use cases that we call use case cards, based on the use case modelling included in the Unified Markup Language (UML) standard. Unlike other documentation methodologies, we (...) focus on the intended purpose and operational use of an AI system. It consists of two main parts: firstly, a UML-based template, tailored to allow implicitly assessing the risk level of the AI system and defining relevant requirements, and secondly, a supporting UML diagram designed to provide information about the system-user interactions and relationships. The proposed framework is the result of a co-design process involving a relevant team of EU policy experts and scientists. We have validated our proposal with 11 experts with different backgrounds and a reasonable knowledge of the AI Act as a prerequisite. We provide the 5 use case cards used in the co-design and validation process. Use case cards allows framing and contextualising use cases in an effective way, and we hope this methodology can be a useful tool for policy makers and providers for documenting use cases, assessing the risk level, adapting the different requirements and building a catalogue of existing usages of AI. (shrink)

We could ask: how national could be a culture or another? The modernist or postmodernist perspectives seems to be unilateral here. Could be transmodernism the right sollution? The distictions between modernism, postmodernism and transmodernism are actually a pretext to set into discussion again the old dispute between Culture, regarded as a humanity universal feature and national cultures, perceived as a human community tradition symbol (community that claims a territory, a language, a religious belief and a certain government form).

As one of the characteristics of the nowadays postmodernism, the multiculturalism and the globalization seems to be profoundly related to the heterogenity and to the heteronomy. Globalization is going with the multiculturalism, but in an opposite direction: globalization towards the standardization and multiculturalismtowards fragmentation. Is the Global Village also the Postmodern Village?

Axiomatic classes of algebras of a given type which are closed with respect to direct limits are studied in this paper.

There is growing interest in a category of domestic labour frequently termed ‘emotional labour’. I argue that this labour is, in fact, primarily a form of epistemic labour. I argue that domestic epistemic labour is the target of dual erasure. Firstly, as invisible domestic labour, it is underrecognized and undervalued. Secondly, it is not recognized as epistemic, due to women’s epistemic oppression. ‘Emotional labour’, as a catch-all for feminized labour, perpetuates the dominant ideological conception of emotion as feminine and anti-epistemic. (...) Consequently, popular usage of ‘emotional labour’ attempts to address the first layer of erasure but reinforces the second. (shrink)

Aphantasia is a heterogeneous neuropsychological syndrome consisting of the inability to create mental images. We argue that its progressive form may be a harbinger of dementia. Aphantasia may manifest as the inability to create any mental images or to create complex scenes, inability to spontaneously initiate generation of mental images, and/or inability to visualize a sequence of events.

Avec l’entrée massive dans l’usage du nom « émotion » comme nom générique de toutes les manifestations psychologiques, due à la vulgarisation du discours de spécialité de la psychologie, des arts, etc., il existe la tentation de considérer ce nom, du point de vue linguistique, uniquement comme un hyperonyme et même comme un « nom général », du sommet ou des fondements du lexique. Cet article présente un point de vue nouveau : il montre que, par ses propriétés morphologiques, syntaxiques (...) et anaphoriques, le nom émotion est aussi un nom de base, du même niveau lexical que peur, joie, tristesse, etc., que l’on a pu considérer comme ses hyponymes. (shrink)

Our interpretive resources enable us to make sense of, navigate, and communicate about our shared world. These resources not only carve the world up into categories, but also guide how we, individually and collectively, are oriented towards it. In this thesis, I examine how these resources, and the dispositions they guide, may be harmful. A vital kind of interpretive resources are frames, which equip us with unified perspectives on the world. Perspectives are suites of open-ended interpretive (inquisitive, attentional, inferential, evaluative, (...) and affective) dispositions. Frames thereby guide how we interpret, respond to, and navigate the world. I show that these perspectives are epistemically powerful and indispensable. I argue that flawed perspectives, and the distorting frames that produce them, are deeply pernicious and I examine their relationship to oppression. (shrink)

Celem artykułu jest podsumowanie filozoficznego sporu na temat autentyczności emocji wywoływanych przez środki psychofarmakologiczne. Praca jest głosem w szerszej bioetycznej dyskusji na temat ulepszania ludzi, a w szczególności ulepszania nastroju. W pierwszej części pracy przedstawiono dwa przeciwstawne bioetyczne stanowiska: wrogich idei ulepszania ludzi biokonserwatystów oraz entuzjastycznych transhumanistów. W drugiej części artykułu wykazano, w jaki sposób nieporozumienie między obydwoma stanowiskami może wynikać z innego sposobu definiowania pojęcia autentyczności. W trzeciej części problem autentyczności emocji rozpatrzono na hipotetycznym przykładzie przyjemności wywoływanej przez „pigułkę (...) szczęścia”. (shrink)

Les hormones sexuelles sont des objets hybrides et complexes à la frontière du sexe et du genre. Dès lors qu’elles sont synthétisées sous forme pharmaceutique, elles peuvent attribuer des caractéristiques sexuelles au corps de manière partiellement exogène à celui-ci. Il s’en suit que l’utilisation clinique qui en est faite est socialement réglementée. À travers une analyse de divers contextes d’utilisation des hormones observés à Bahia, au Brésil, cet article montre que le dualisme sexuel est le produit de pratiques de régulation (...) biomédicales qui visent à encadrer la circulation des hormones. Le sens du terme local « hormônio » n’est pas pleinement recoupé par celui d’hormone, qu’il excède. L’emploi commun qui est fait au Brésil du singulier procure au terme « hormônio » une qualité fluide et homogène. Dans ce contexte, les hormones sont comprises comme une sorte de substance qui peut circuler entre les corps. Cette conceptualisation des hormones comme une substance a des implications pour le statut ontologique des corps et révèle la relative plasticité de la relation sexe/genre. (shrink)

Education is widely accepted as important source of future economic growth and is strongly supported by public sources. Most of this support is oriented toward traditional education and industries. However, several studies show importance of creativity education as important feature for innovation and future growth. However, public support of creative industries is relatively new and most of policy measures that have been implemented are still not fully evaluated and understood. There si a strong need to look much more closer on (...) way how public education influence creative industries and what policies could be placed to strengthen positive effects of this education also in the long run. This article represents an output of the research about the creative industries support policy in Slovakia in the field of education activities. It is containing basic literature overview comparing support policies for traditional sectors and the creative industries. We analyzed conceptual documents at the national level and basic strategic documents in the regions and selected cities of the country. We also realized several interviews in different creative economy industries. Generally, creative industries in Slovakia are much less in the centre of public support policy compare to traditional industry sectors. This is also the same in case of education. Despite of wide varietyof support tools used in the world, only few of them are applied in Slovakia. Interestingly, creative industries do not strongly require more creativity in education in schools. We found out the most important support in the field of education should not be related to creativity itself, but more on the complementary skills as ICT or entrepreneurship. We also found very limited role of universities and other public institutions in creative industries success stories. (shrink)