Discussion about project management, in both the academic literature and industry, is predominantly based on theories of control, many of which have been developed since the 1950s. However, issues arise when these ideas are applied unilaterally to all types of projects and in all contexts. In complex environments, management problems arise from assuming that results, predicted at the start of a project, can be sufficiently described and delivered as planned. Thus, once a project reaches a critical size, a calendar, and (...) a certain level of ambiguity and interconnection, the analysis centered on control does not function adequately. Projects that involve complex situations can be described as adaptive complex systems, consistent in multiple interdependent dynamic components, multiple feedback processes, nonlinear relations, and management of hard data and soft data. In this study, through a complex network, the dynamic structure of a project and its trajectories are simulated using inference processes. Finally, some numerical simulations are described, leading to a decision making tool that identifies critical processes, thereby obtaining better performance outcomes of projects. (shrink)

El presente artículo se propone abordar la obra de Adam Smith con el objeto de identificar una posible “teoría sobre la igualdad” en el corpus del filósofo escocés. Nuestro planteamiento cuestiona el ideario colectivo en torno a este autor, según el cual se lo caracteriza como cercano al anti-igualitarismo de ciertas corrientes liberales. Basándonos en investigaciones hechas en los últimos años por algunos estudiosos de Smith, expondremos argumentos e ideas presentes en su obra que se pueden asociar a posiciones igualitaristas (...) y que muestran que su postura sobre este tema es más compleja de lo que se cree. En esta línea, con el fin de evidenciar la posición de Smith acerca de la igualdad, presentaremos su concepción sobre el surgimiento de la desigualdad y ciertas ideas plasmadas en La Riqueza de las Naciones y en Teoría de los Sentimientos Morales relevantes para la discusión. En esta tarea, tomaremos como principal referente el trabajo de Samuel Fleischacker, cuya interpretación de Smith -que será complementada con análisis propios- tenemos también el objeto de difundir. (shrink)

The science and technology of genetic testing is rapidly advancing with the consequences that genetic testing may well offer the prospect of being able to detect the onset of future disabilities. Some recent research also indicates that certain behavioural profiles may have a strong genetic basis, such as the determination to succeed and win or the propensity for risk-taking, which may be of interest to third parties. However, as this technology becomes more prevalent there is a danger that the genetic (...) information may be misused by entities such as employers, insurance companies, educational facilities, and finance companies and that people with particular genetic profiles may be discriminated against.This book explores the different types and the potential uses of genetic testing. The book highlights the ethical and legal dilemmas and the challenges arising as a result of emerging and rapidly advancing genetic science. Chapters in the book assess the importance and impact of the US Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) in the employment and health insurance contexts asking whether it is proving to be an effective tool in addressing the issue of genetic discrimination and alleviating individuals' fears of discrimination. The book then goes on to make the case for regulation at the European Union level in order to protect the privacy of genetic information and to prevent the discriminatory use of genetic information in Europe. It considers what can be learnt from the experience of the US in addressing ethical and legal issues as well as the impact that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is having on this debate within the EU. (shrink)

Using the latest scientific discoveries and theories of astronomy and genetics, the author discusses the nature of life and the universe and asks big questions like, 'Why are we here?' It is both a critique of scientific atheism, and a scientific argument for the "unknown" that people call 'God'.

La tradition utopique compte autant de projets de société promettant l’avènement d’une ère de loisirs que de projets dans lesquels le travail demeure le pilier de la cohésion sociale. Cette double lignée continue d’inspirer certains programmes politiques, mais à la différence des années 1970 une sorte de résignation semble s’être répandue. Cet article propose, au contact de l’histoire des idées politiques et de la philosophie politique contemporaine, de réexaminer les paradigmes de la conception du travail et de sa place dans (...) la société, et de dresser un bilan des théories et utopies sociales qui ont imaginé comment le règne de la liberté peut s’établir sur le règne de la nécessité. La relecture de la tradition utopique permet de faire justice d’une série de lieux communs. Par exemple la crainte qu’une organisation communautaire trop parfaite, « communiste », ne dissuade de travailler – un argument qui ne cesse de polluer toute réflexion sur une conception sociale globale (et non libéraleindividuelle) de la question du travail. (shrink)

Resumen La investigación pretende describir algunas influencias que las concepciones revolucionarias tuvieron en la Iglesia Católica chilena observadas en el análisis de las cartas pastorales de la Conferencia Episcopal entre los años 1960 y 1975. Por ello se elabora un marco teórico que permite caracterizar el concepto de revolución a partir del pensamiento de José Ortega y Gasset y de otros autores que complementan dicha visión, para luego aplicarlo a la realidad chilena de la segunda mitad del siglo veinte, periodo (...) en el que llegó al poder un gobierno que poseía un programa que en lo esencial contenía todos aquellos elementos que permiten, conforme el marco conceptual elaborado, denominarlo como revolucionario; y que además fue acompañado por partidos políticos que en sus congresos ideológicos defendieron las transformaciones institucionales, económicos y sociales de gran profundidad. Finalmente, se analizan los cambios que experimentó la Iglesia Católica durante la década de los sesenta del siglo veinte, expresado en términos de sus cartas pastorales, para luego señalar el modo en que la acción y el pensamiento revolucionario afectaron sus definiciones acerca de la realidad sociopolítica del país y la de su propia organización.This investigation intends to describe some of the influences that revolutionary notions had on the Catholic Church, as can observed in the analysis of the pastoral letters of the Bishop's Conference between 1960 and 1975. In order to do this, we have elaborated a theoretical framework that allows the portrayal of the concept of revolution through the thought of José de Ortega y Gasset, and of other authors that complement his views. Then we apply it to the Chilean situation in the second half of the 20th century. It was during this period that there came to power a government that had a program which, in essence, contained all those elements which, according to our framework, can be called revolutionary. It was also accompanied by political parties which, in their conventions proposed great institutional, economic and social transformation. Finally, we analyze the changes experienced by the Catholic Church during the 1960's, as it is expressed in pastoral letters, in order to point out the manner in which revolutionary thought and action influenced its pronouncements on the country's socio-political reality and also of its own structure. (shrink)

From the analysis of the Wave 5 National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey 2021 dataset, the study conducted in South Africa, we developed a model of analysis based on three dimensions, namely, subjective well-being, material living conditions, and importance attributed to education during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional analysis of the data for Gauteng area indicates that the dimension of subjective well-being of families in South Africa—even in relation to the factors such as conditions of deprivation —does (...) not necessarily influence the importance the respondents attach to their children’s education, this as reflected in whether or not they send them to school when COVID-19 restrictions allowed for schools to come back to face-to-face teaching. Subjective well-being of parents and guardians is, however, a predictor of concern about their children’s education and future. Our working hypothesis is that, although there is little evidence that subjective well-being has a significant association with the respondents’ willingness for their children to continue their schooling, there is a significant indirect effect of subjective well-being—which is especially determined by the gender as well as of the living material conditions—and the greater or lesser importance that the respondents attribute to their children’s education. Likewise, and in more general terms, subjective well-being is clearly related to gender, with women having the lowest levels of subjective well-being. (shrink)

More and more studies and research have found a positive relationship between the participation of young people in altruistic activities and helping others, but it is interesting to discover a relationship of that personal and vocational satisfaction in the preparation and training in a profession as important to society as teaching. For students who begin university studies related to teaching, their psychological well-being and motivation towards this activity are very relevant aspects to consider. The access to and attainment of a (...) University Degree with a great vocational character, such as that of Pre-School Teacher or Primary Education Teacher, can benefit the students who will be in charge. These future educational professionals will have adequate motivation and maintain a psychological well-being that, in short, will favour their personal balance and will impact their future students. This research aims to analyse the degree of psychological well-being and its relationship with the motivation towards starting the teaching career. A sample of 233 students and students aged between 17 or 19 years of age who are beginning university studies at the School of Education of Ciudad Real was selected. All participants are enrolled in the first year of the Degree in Pre-school and Primary Education. The relationship between the psychological well-being of the students and their motivation towards attaining a professional teaching career was analysed. Other variables such as age or sex were also taken into account. A quantitative study was carried out and the Ryff Psychological Welfare Scale and the Intrinsic Motivation Questionnaire (IMI) were used. Once the results were analysed, it was observed that there is a positive correlation between the perception of psychological well-being that the participants have and their motivation towards the beginning of university studies, whose professional focus is mainly direct teaching with the students of the early stages of Pre-school and Primary Education. There are also some significant differences, considering the age and sex of the participants. The vocational character of university preparation for the teaching profession may determine that students who begin their Degree studies have an important motivation towards the performance of their professional future. (shrink)

La pregunta por la fe religiosa y sus posibilidades en el mundo moderno, suponen una determinada comprensión del ser humano. En efecto, dependiendo de cómo el hombre se comprenda a sí mismo será la manera que tenga de reconocer sus posibilidades hacia una experiencia creyente, y abrirse a la acogida de ella como una realidad posible y plausible. Esto es lo que entendió muy bien, desde el principio de su ministerio, el cardenal John Henry Newman. En efecto, la pregunta por (...) el ser humano, y sus consideraciones hacia la fe religiosa pasan a ser el eje central de su predicación anglicana. Este artículo muestra, bajo un estudio estadístico-heurístico, la centralidad temática de la predicación anglicana de Newman que acontece entre 1824 y 1843. The question of religious faith and its possibilities in the modern world supposes a particular understanding of being human. Indeed, depending on how man understands himself will influence how he recognizes his possibilities of a believing experience, and openness to this as a possible and plausible reality. This is what Cardinal John Henry Newman understood very well, from the beginning of his ministry. Undoubtedly, the question on being human and his considerations on religious faith became the centerpiece of his Anglican preaching. This article examines, as a statistical and heuristic study, the thematic centrality of Newman Anglican preaching between 1824 and 1843. (shrink)

Resumen A partir de la Ilustración, la ciencia y la fe ―otrora caminos comunes para alcanzar conocimiento―, se han visto divorciadas y constituidas como realidades divergentes que se oponen cada vez más. La modernidad trajo consigo la insistencia en estas ideas y el divorcio entre ciencia y fe parece no detenerse. El presente artículo propone en un dialogo con John Henry Newman reconocer el lugar propio de la ciencia positiva respecto de la fe religiosa, presentando la distinción epistemológica, o el (...) modo de comprender el conocimiento que hace de la fe un camino plausible y posible que tiene su propia estructura epistémica dirigida hacia la credibilidad de la fe religiosa.Since the Enlightenment, science and faith -once common ways to achieve knowledge- have been divorced and incorporated as divergent realities that increasingly oppose. Modernity brought with it the insistence on these ideas and the divorce of science and faith does not seem to stop. The present article proposes in a dialogue with John Henry Newman to recognize the proper place of positive science regarding religious faith, presenting the epistemological distinction, or the way of understanding the knowledge that makes of faith a plausible and possible path that has its Own epistemic structure directed towards the credibility of religious faith. (shrink)

Resumen La movilidad humana es un fenómeno social que ha puesto en la sensibilidad pública nacional una serie de inquietudes, que han derivado en definiciones normativas desde la política pública. Tras decisiones de orden administrativo, emergen convicciones sociales y culturales que tienden a relativizar, y en otros casos estigmatizar ciertas realidades migratorias subjetivamente evaluadas. En este contexto el aporte que podemos reconocer desde una reflexión teológica, contribuye a ampliar la mirada y reorientar aquellas convicciones previas que se ven ilumina das (...) desde otra epistemología. El presente artículo busca poner el desafío de acoger la movilidad humana en perspectiva teológico fundamental y reconocer allí la integración de un fenómeno que interpela hoy nuestra realidad nacional.Human mobility is a social phenomenon that has put a series of concerns in the national public sensibility, which have resulted in normative definitions from public policy. After administrative decisions, social and cultural convictions emerge that tend to relativize, and in other cases stigmatize certain subjectively evaluated migration realities. In this context, the contribution that we can recognize from a theological reflection, helps to broaden the look and redirect those previous convictions that are illuminated from another epistemology. This article seeks to put the challenge of welcoming human mobility in a fundamental theological perspective and to recognize the integration of a phenomenon that challenges our national reality today. (shrink)

En el siguiente texto intentaremos elucidar la particular estructura social, que define la utopía en el pensamiento de Lévinas, enfatizando su antagonismo estructural con la forma social propia de la estructura totalitaria. Es nuestro interés el argumentar aquí, que la utopía levinasiana en cuanto forma social, se fundamenta sobre la matriz de la "separación intersubjetiva", y que bajo este respecto ella aparece como una dimensión radicalmente opuesta a la estructura social del totalitarismo, en donde la "separación intersubjetiva" es imposible. De (...) una a la otra, el ser social se juega como separación, o bien, como aglutinación; mientras la utopía separa, el totalitarismo fusiona. Nuestro acercamiento será articulado con elementos de análisis aportados por el contundente trabajo de Miguel Abensour respecto a la utopía. Por ello, asumimos como nuestra la perspectiva de análisis críticopolítica de nuestro autor, según la cual, la crítica al totalitarismo resulta determinante para el despeje de la dimensión utópica. This articule attemps to clarify the unique social structure, which defines utopia in Levinas's thought, emphasizing its structural antagonism to the social form of the totalitarian structure. We argue that Levinasian utopia, as social form, is founded on the matrix of the "intersubjective separation". Hence, under this relation, the Levianasian utopia appears as a dimension that is radically opposed to the social structure of totalitarianism, where the "intersubjective separation" is impossible. The social being of utopia in Levinas is separation, whereas in totalitarianism the social being is agglutination. While the utopia separates the totalitarianism fuses together. Our approach will be supported with analytical elements drawn from Miguel Abensour's work about utopia. Thus, we assume Miguel Abensour's critical-political perspective of analysis as our own; consequently the critique of totalitarianism is determinant for the clearing of the utopian dimension. (shrink)

Resumen:Durante los últimos años nuestra cotidianidad ha sido afectada por una larga experiencia de encierro, producto de la pandemia de COVID-19. ¿Pero es realmente nueva la experiencia del encierro? En el siguiente texto intentaremos examinar la relación entre temporalidad y encierro, a la luz de las experiencias del sufrimiento y la depresión melancólica tematizadas por Lévinas y Maldiney. Así, mostraremos que ambas vivencias conllevan una clausura al tiempo de la trascendencia que nos mueve a preguntarnos si acaso el encierro existencial (...) agota su sentido en su dimensión puramente espacial.Palabras clave: tiempo; encierro; fenomenología; sufrimiento; depresión. (shrink)

A hipótese do artigo é que o dilema da constituição da representação política, que não tem por função refletir, mas interferir e operar uma unidade de “vontade política” a um povo ou uma nação, foi enfrentado pelos primeiros pensadores da representação moderna em diferentes contextos de grande transformação política e social: na Inglaterra absolutista no século XVII, por Thomas Hobbes, e na França pós-revolucionaria no século XVIII, pelo Abade Sieyès. O artigo procura identificar nos argumentos dos respectivos filósofos os primeiros (...) esforços teóricos sobre a representação moderna, através de uma comparação que evidencia dilemas e constrangimentos semelhantes em diferentes contextos teóricos. Um dos principais desafios da representação política, nos dois autores, permanece sendo a busca dos mecanismos capazes de transformar vontades dispersas e múltiplas de indivíduos numa só vontade unificada do corpo social. Embora os argumentos de legitimidade possam variar, para ambos os autores, a “vontade” do representante político é produto de uma elaboração conceitual e de uma produção racional que se dá com a constituição de um corpo, que no caso de Hobbes se dá com a criação do Estado, e em Sieyès com a representação nacional. (shrink)

One of the most peculiar features of the transmission of texts in medieval times is the custom of reproducing long passages from a text originating from another author, whether unchanged or with slight modifications, with no reference to that fact by the author responsible. Moreover, through paraphrases, abbreviationes, breviaria, compendia, compilationes, or even florilegia and tabulae, medieval culture disassociated numerous authors of their texts, sometimes even transforming the ideas in the original text and extending their reception beyond any intention foreseen (...) by the primary author. Because of this, whenever we approach a medieval text, whether published or extant in manuscript form, we need to bear in... (shrink)

One effect of information technology is the increasing need to present information visually. The trend raises intriguing questions. What is the logical status of reasoning that employs visualization? What are the cognitive advantages and pitfalls of this reasoning? What kinds of tools can be developed to aid in the use of visual representation? This newest volume on the Studies in Logic and Computation series addresses the logical aspects of the visualization of information. The authors of these specially commissioned papers explore (...) the properties of diagrams, charts, and maps, and their use in problem solving and teaching basic reasoning skills. As computers make visual representations more commonplace, it is important for professionals, researchers and students in computer science, philosophy, and logic to develop an understanding of these tools; this book can clarify the relationship between visuals and information. (shrink)

At the start of the 21st century, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seems to have great potential for innovating business practices with a positive impact on People, Planet and Profit. In this article the differences between the management systems approach of the nineties, and Corporate Social Responsibility are analysed.An analysis is structured around three business principles that are relevant for CSR and management systems: (1) doing things right the first time, (2) doing the right things, and (3) continuous improvement and innovation. (...) Basically CSR is focussing on the second principle, and management systems focus on the first. However, CSR is very likely to build on the management systems as well.From a CSR point of view, the existing generation of management systems with their focus on rational control (= doing things right) can only be of limited use in the development of CSR. However, the preventive rationalities of management systems are important. Values and the principle doing the right things is extremely relevant for CSR. This goes far beyond the present generation of ISO type management systems; opportunities stem from building on TQM approaches like the EFQM Business Excellence model. Continuous improvement and innovation is a permanent challenge underlying the two other business principles, and requires both individual and organisational learning processes. In the present generation of management systems, continuous improvement mainly addresses rational prevention, barely the value aspects of business.For the further development and implementation of CSR, each of the three business management principles are vital. There is a need for a new generation of management systems that addresses the values at stake in strategic decision-making, both at company level and in the behaviour of individuals, while the rationalities of prevention and anticipation are still relevant. In both directions more emphasis for continuous learning and innovation will be needed.CSR is likely to trigger the development of management systems in the directions mentioned. This will support companies to be credible and transparent in improving the performance with respect to people, planet and profit. (shrink)

Essays over het gedachtegoed van de Duitse filosoof (1844-1900).

ABSTRACT:In this article, we review and build on intergenerational and behavioral ethics research to consider how the motive to build a lasting legacy can impact ethical behavior in intergenerational decision making. We discuss how people can utilize their relationships to organizations to craft their legacies. Further, we elucidate how the legacy motive can enhance business ethics, incorporating theory and empirical findings from research on intergenerational decision making, generativity, and terror management theory to develop the legacy construct and to outline the (...) psychological underpinnings of motivations to leave a positive legacy. We discuss the ways in which legacies can provide a link between life-meaning and pro-social motivation, and we consider the ways in which individuals’ social environments can moderate the intensity of the legacy motive and can impact legacy-building behavior by determining the types of legacies that are valued. Finally, we highlight the implications of these ideas for ethical behavior and sustainable decision making in business contexts. (shrink)

This paper elaborates on conceptual, empirical and practical arguments why corporations need to focus on their social dimensions, in order to further enhance organizational performance. The paper starts with an introduction on the general trend towards inclusiveness and connectedness. It then elaborates on the phase-wise development of cultures and organizational structures. Managing corporate improvement by building cultures of trust is the central focus of this contribution. By showing the cultural dimensions of Great Places to Work and their workplace practices, worthwhile (...) experiences leading to organizational improvement and superior financial performance are demonstrated. (shrink)

As in other countries, medical ethics in Mexico has rescued the world of philosophical ethics from oblivion. The needs of clinical medicine gave birth to Mexican bioethics. After the growth of scientific and technologic subjects in medical schools, the humanities, such as medical history, deontology, and medical philosophy, were replaced by such core subjects as radiology, pharmacology, and microbiology. Since the 1950s, graduates from Mexican medical schools have not been exposed to any courses in the medical humanities.

This paper elaborates on conceptual, empirical and practical arguments why corporations need to focus on their social dimensions, in order to further enhance organizational performance. The paper starts with an introduction on the general trend towards inclusiveness and connectedness. It then elaborates on the phase-wise development of cultures and organizational structures. Managing corporate improvement by building cultures of trust is the central focus of this contribution. By showing the cultural dimensions of Great Places to Work and their workplace practices, worthwhile (...) experiences leading to organizational improvement and superior financial performance are demonstrated. (shrink)

We present a Kripke model for Girard's Linear Logic (without exponentials) in a conservative fashion where the logical functors beyond the basic lattice operations may be added one by one without recourse to such things as negation. You can either have some logical functors or not as you choose. Commutatively and associatively are isolated in such a way that the base Kripke model is a model for noncommutative, nonassociative Linear Logic. We also extend the logic by adding a coimplication operator, (...) similar to Curry's subtraction operator, which is resituated with Linear Logic's contensor product. And we can add contraction to get nondistributive Relevance Logic. The model rests heavily on Urquhart's representation of nondistributive lattices and also on Dunn's Gaggle Theory. Indeed, the paper may be viewed as an investigation into nondistributive Gaggle Theory restricted to binary operations. The valuations on the Kripke model are three valued: true, false, and indifferent. The lattice representation theorem of Urquhart has the nice feature of yielding Priestley's representation theorem for distributive lattices if the original lattice happens to be distributive. Hence the representation is consistent with Stone's representation of distributive and Boolean lattices, and our semantics is consistent with the Lemmon-Scott representation of modal algebras and the Routley-Meyer semantics for Relevance Logic. (shrink)

This paper presents a theory of the syntactic aspects of human sentence production. An important characteristic of unprepared speech is that overt pronunciation of a sentence can be initiated before the speaker has completely worked out the meaning content he or she is going to express in that sentence. Apparently, the speaker is able to build up a syntactically coherent utterance out of a series of syntactic fragments each rendering a new part of the meaning content. This incremental, left‐to‐right mode (...) of sentence production is the central capability of the proposed Incremental Procedural Grammar (IPG). Certain other properties of spontaneous speech, as derivable from speech errors, hesitations, self‐repairs, and language pathology, are accounted for as well.The psychological plausibility thus gained by the grammar appears compatible with a satisfactory level of linguistic plausibility in that sentences receive structural descriptions which are in line with current theories of grammar. More importantly, an explanation for the existence of configurational conditions on transformations and other linguistics rules is proposed.The basic design feature of IPG which gives rise to these psychologically and linguistically desirable properties, is the “Procedures + Stack” concept. Sentences are built not by a central constructing agency which overlooks the whole process but by a team of syntactic procedures (modules) which work—in parallel—on small parts of the sentence, have only a limited overview, and whose sole communication channel is a stack.IPG covers object complement constructions, interrogatives, and word order in main and subordinate clauses. It handles unbounded dependencies, crossserial dependencies and coordination phenomena such as gapping and conjunction reduction. It is also capable of generating self‐repairs and elliptical answers to questions. IPG has been implemented as an incremental Dutch sentence generator written in LISP. (shrink)

Fast moving classical variables can generate quantum mechanical behavior. We demonstrate how this can happen in a model. The key point is that in classically evolving systems one can still define a conserved quantum energy. For the fast variables, the energy levels are far separated, such that one may assume these variables to stay in their ground state. This forces them to be entangled, so that, consequently, the slow variables are entangled as well. The fast variables could be the vacuum (...) fluctuations caused by unknown super heavy particles. The emerging quantum effects in the light particles are expressed by a Hamiltonian that can have almost any form. The entire system is ontological, and yet allows one to generate interference effects in computer models. This seemed to lead to an inexplicable paradox, which is now resolved: exactly what happens in our models if we run a quantum interference experiment in a classical computer is explained. The restriction that very fast variables stay predominantly in their ground state appears to be due to smearing of the physical states in the time direction, preventing their direct detection. Discussions are added of the emergence of quantum mechanics, and the ontology of an EPR/Bell Gedanken experiment. (shrink)

While individuals interact, they coordinate their feelings and emotions. They also coordinate several kinds of expression while interacting, like facial expressions and gestures. Inspired by Karl Bühler’s Organon model and Henri Bergson’s description of remembering experiences, we explore interpersonal coordination during a collaborative remembering task between two people. We present a case study of one dyad employing videography to identify and distinguish two types of spontaneous interpersonal coordination. In a later stage, separate interviews of both participants are analyzed to establish (...) whether content, freely remembered, is related to the previously observed coordination. The data describes that expressive-affective coordination during interaction is directly linked to the subjective organization of experience in individual remembering. We discuss these results, emphasizing the intersubjective aspects of lived experience and their relationship to expressive and representational aspects of coordination and remembering. (shrink)

"Bartley and Radnitzky have done the philosophy of knowledge a tremendous service. Scholars now have a superb and up-to-date presentation of the fundamental ideas of evolutionary epistemology." --Philosophical Books.

Arif Ahmed has recently argued that causal decision theory is dynamically inconsistent and that we should therefore prefer evidential decision theory. However, the principal formulation of the evidential theory, Richard Jeffrey’s Logic of Decision, has a mixed record of its own when it comes to evaluating plans consistently across time. This note probes that neglected record, establishing the dynamic consistency of evidential decision theory within a restricted class of problems but then illustrating how evidentialists can fall into sequential incoherence outside (...) of this class. Uncovering the evidentialist’s own dynamic inconsistencies reveals, contra Ahmed, that sequential choice considerations do not significantly favor the evidentialist’s theory over the causalist’s. (shrink)

All the biological membranes contain oxidoreduction systems actively involved in their bioenergetics. Plasma membrane redox systems seem to be ubiquitous and they have been related to several important functions, including not only their role in cell bioenergetics, but also in cell defense through the generation of reactive oxygen species, in iron uptake, in the control of cell growth and proliferation and in signal transduction. In the last few years, an increasing number of mechanistic and molecular studies have deeply widened our (...) knowledge on the function of these plasma membrane redox systems. The aim of this review is to summarize what is currently known about the components and physiological roles of these systems. (shrink)

Negativity in Psychoanalysis examines the role of negativity in psychoanalytic theory and its application in clinical settings. While theories around negativity and death drive have become routinized within philosophical interpretations of Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis, they often mask an inherent positivity. This volume assembles highly esteemed psychoanalytic theorists and clinicians for an in-depth discussion on the topic. It features comprehensive introductions to Freudian and Lacanian perspectives, alongside contemporary clinical and cultural issues. The book also investigates how psychoanalytic negativity influences and (...) is influenced by social, theological, and philosophical dialogues. This work will prove invaluable for practicing psychoanalysts and those in training, while also appealing to academics and scholars in critical and cultural theory, continental and post-continental philosophy, and sociology, especially those whose research intersects clinical and theoretical traditions. (shrink)