O ensino de filosofia para/com crianças: uma revisão sistemática da literatura Resumo: O presente estudo tem como objetivo identificar, na literatura existente, quais os estudos sobre filosofia para/com crianças que investigam sobre as experiências das crianças nessa prática. Por meio de uma Revisão Sistemática da Literatura (RSL), realizada em três etapas: planejamento, seleção e extração, em cinco bases de dados diferentes, encontramos trinta e três (33) pesquisas sobre o ensino de filosofia para crianças (Philosophy for Children), porém, apenas duas (2) (...) pesquisas que abordam especificamente sobre as experiências das crianças com o ensino de filosofia. Por meio dessa Revisão, desejamos contribuir com as pesquisas sobre Filosofia para Crianças. Palavras-chave: Crianças; Filosofia; Infância; Revisão. The teaching philosophy to/with children: a sistematic review of literature Abstract: The presente study aims to indetify, in the existing literature, which studies on philosophy for / with children that investigate children’s experience in this practice. Through Sistematic Literature Review (SLR), carried out in the three stages: planning, selection and extraction, in five different databases, we found thirty-three (33) researches on teaching philosophy to children, however, only two (2) surveys that specifically address children’s experiences with teaching philosophy. Through this Review we wish to contribute to research on Philosophy for Children. Keywords: Children; Philosophy; Childhood; Review. La enseñanza de la filosofía con/para niños: una revisión sistemática de la literatura Resumen: El presente estudio tiene como objetivo identificar, en la literatura existente, qué estudios de filosofía para / con niños que investigan las experiencias de los niños en esta práctica. Mediante una Revisión Sistemática de la Literatura (RSL), realizada en tres etapas: planificación, selección y extracción, en cinco bases de datos diferentes, encontramos treinta y tres (33) investigaciones sobre la enseñanza de la filosofía a los niños (Filosofía para Niños) sin embargo, solo dos (2) encuestas que abordan específicamente las experiencias de los niños con la enseñanza de la filosofía. A través de esta revisión, deseamos contribuir a la investigación sobre Filosofía para Niños. Palabras Clave: Niños; Filosofía; Infancia; Revisión. Data de registro: 07/01/2021 Data de aceite: 22/09/2021. (shrink)

The belief in miracle, as a modality of spiritual/religious coping strategy in the face of stress and psychic suffering, has been discussed in psychological literature with regard to its positive or negative role on the health and well-being of patients and family members. In contemporary times, where pseudo-conflicts between religion and science should have been long overcome, there is still some tendency of interpreting belief in miracle – as the possibility of a cure granted by divine intervention, modifying the normal (...) course of events in a bleak medical diagnosis – as having unhealthy impacts in the care and treatment of health. This position seeks to find a base in the three characteristics of hoping in a miracle, frequently pointed out by psychological literature: it would imply a negation of reality instead of its confrontation; it would be a coping strategy focused on emotion instead of the problem; it would imply seeking to modify the supposed desire of God by extra-natural facts. In this study, we shall critically discuss this position and the dangers of its crystallization by the use of SRC scales in which the act of praying for a miracle is previously classified as a negative strategy. We revisit some tendencies in psychological literature about the subject, taking into consideration the various facets of miracle, sociocultural facts, elements of idiographic nature, and their profound outcomes in the lives of people especially in health contexts. We illustrate the dangers of a hasty generalization of the results of nomothetic studies about the role of belief in miracle with two examples of research in the Brazilian context: one carried out with pregnant women with fetal malformation and the other with family members caring for children and adolescents with cancer under chemotherapeutic treatment. In both studies, the results do not confirm the predominance of the negative aspects associated with the act of praying for a miracle, which we discuss and analyze in light of the phenomenological perspective. In this perspective, “pray for a miracle”, as experienced by patients and caregivers, can be recognized as an act of openness to life, bolstering hope, and the resignification of reality in the psyche. (shrink)

This book highlights some of the most pressing safety, ethical, legal and societal issues related to the diverse contexts in which robotic technologies apply. Focusing on the essential concept of well-being, it addresses topics that are fundamental not only for research, but also for industry and end-users, discussing the challenges in a wide variety of applications, including domestic robots, autonomous manufacturing, personal care robots and drones.

This book highlights some of the most pressing safety, ethical, legal and societal issues related to the diverse contexts in which robotic technologies apply. Focusing on the essential concept of well-being, it addresses topics that are fundamental not only for research, but also for industry and end-users, discussing the challenges in a wide variety of applications, including domestic robots, autonomous manufacturing, personal care robots and drones.

In this paper, we intend to offer an interpretation about the explanation of the (relative) idea of pure substance in general on John Locke’s philosophy, from Thomas Reid’s notion of ‘natural suggestion’. To achieve this aim, after contextualizing Locke’s notion of pure substance in general and distinguishing it from the idea of particular substance (section 1), we explicit that Locke’s words about the source of the idea of the former in the mind (either empirical or rational) are ambiguous and inconclusive (...) (section 2). Then, we argue that the parallels between this idea and that of ‘relation’, as well as of ‘power’ do not assist in that answer, due to some problems we identify on them (section 3). Finally, we argue that the Reidian explanation for the source of the idea of ‘mind’, from the notion of ‘natural suggestion’ allows us to i) avoid those problems and ii) inasmuch as, according to this interpretation, the idea of pure substance in general would have an empirical source, Lockian empiricism would remain intact (section 4). (shrink)

O presente ensaio inspirado na semiologia barthesiana tem por objetivo tematizar alguns desafios implicados no gesto aparentemente extemporâneo de escutar a escrita materializada no curso foucaultiano A Hermenêutica do sujeito. Trata-se de um exercício especulativo que, situando a educação no contexto das artes de viver, aborda o interesse crescente nas aulas ministradas por Foucault dedicadas à genealogia do sujeito implicada nas técnicas de si. Nesse percurso, defendemos que a atenção à escuta da voz que vem da escrita dessas aulas interfere (...) diretamente na recepção crítica da ética do cuidado de si. No limite, o que se busca enfatizar é como o tema do cuidado de si emerge inseparável de um gesto pedagógico que resulta de um estado singular de enunciação do pensamento. Palavras-chave: Hermenêutica do sujeito; Foucault; Artes de viver; Aula. For a pleasurable semiology of Hermeneutics of the Subject Abstract: The present essay, inspired by Barthesian semiology, aims to discuss some of the challenges involved in the apparently extemporaneous gesture of listening to the writing materialized in the Foucauldian course The Hermeneutics of the Subject. This is a speculative exercise that, placing education in the context of the arts of living, addresses the growing interest in the classes taught by Foucault dedicated to the genealogy of the subject implicated in the techniques of the self. In this course, we argue that attention to listening to the voice that comes from the writing of these classes interferes directly in the critical reception of the ethics of the care of the self. In the limit, what we seek to emphasize is how the theme of the care of the self emerges inseparable from a pedagogical gesture that results from a singular state of enunciation of thought. Key-words: Hermeneutics of the subject; Foucault; Arts of living; Class. Pour une sémiologie du plaisir de L'Herméneutique du sujet Résumé: Le présent essai, inspiré de la sémiologie barthésienne, vise à thématiser certains des enjeux du geste apparemment extemporané d'écoute de l'écriture matérialisée dans le cours foucaldien L'Herméneutique du sujet. Il s'agit d'un exercice spéculatif qui, plaçant l'éducation dans le contexte des arts de vivre, aborde l'intérêt croissant pour les cours de Foucault consacrés à la généalogie du sujet impliqué dans les techniques du soi. Dans ce parcours, nous soutenons que l'attention portée à l'écoute de la voix qui émane de l'écriture de ces classes interfère directement avec la réception critique de l'éthique du souci de soi. A la limite, ce que nous cherchons à souligner, c'est comment le thème du souci de soi émerge inséparable d'un geste pédagogique qui résulte d'un état singulier d'énonciation de la pensée. Mots-clés: Herméneutique du sujet ; Foucault ; Arts de vivre ; Leçon. Data de registro: 26/06/2022 Data de aceite: 04/11/2022. (shrink)

Population control through discriminatory practices is found at all times in history. Never before, however, has use of the sciences been so close to achieving the creation of new mechanisms for generating human "subspecies". This study, which is based on a selected theoretical framework, deals with the biotechnological and bioethical challenges on the path to manipulation as concerns the development of potentially harmful practices in a pluralist context. Segregation or even the destruction of undesirable human beings is a frightening reflection (...) of an egocentric and largely prejudiced society. However, the future will not necessarily be obscure if Homo sapiens can act ethically and positively. (shrink)

The present paper stems from the biosemiotic modelling of individual artificial cognition proposed by Ferreira and Caldas (2012) but goes further by introducing the concept of Umwelt Overlap. The introduction of this concept is of fundamental importance making the present model closer to natural cognition. In fact cognition can only be viewed as a purely individual phenomenon for analytical purposes. In nature it always involves the crisscrossing of the spheres of action of those sharing the same environmental bubble. Plus, (...) the incorporation of that concept is vital to understand the complex semiosis that sustains collective tissues, societies, regulating collective cognition and consequently cooperative action. The concept of Umwelt Overlap broadens the range of applicability of the previous model to several distinct domains allowing for example for its application to multi-agent cooperative autonomous systems. In this paper a Middle Size League RoboCup soccer team is used as an example of a possible application. (shrink)

"Meaning, the complex phenomenon of individuation and the definition of identity are the core theme of this work. Grounded on a theoretical framework that gives particular emphasis to the semiotic process common to all forms of cognition, human cognitionis conceived here as specific of organisms that, in the course of their interactions, produce symbolic forms, defining the specific physical, social and cultural environments in which they evolve. Individuation, inherent to that semiotic process, is complex and double-sided. It involves, on one (...) hand, the definition of semantic identities and their acknowledgment as world objects naming; on the other hand, it comprehends the specific lexical and morphosyntactic strategies different languages have found todesignate particular entities referring. The definition of world objects and its symbolic translation presents variations from language to language. In the second part of the book, we define what we have called a 'structure-motivated ontology' to represent how this symbolic translation is accomplished in English and European Portuguese. Plus, we try to show how the nature of this symbolic translation affects structural realisation, namely the individuation of reference and the construal of 'one-off referring' expressions."--Publisher's description. (shrink)

Stemming from Uexkull’s fundamental concepts of Umwelt and Innenwelt as developed in the biosemiotic approach of Ferreira 2010, 2011, the present work models mathematically the semiosis of cognition and proposes an artificial cognitive architecture to be deployed in a robotic structure.

O trabalho é um exercício de pensamento referente ao lugar da filosofia no currículo do ensino médio. A investigação considera a recente presença da filosofia como disciplina obrigatória em todas as séries da escola média brasileira. Assim, a condição curricular, e o próprio lugar do docente são ainda uma lacuna a ser preenchida. Para essa “atividade” as provocações de Hannah Arendt e de Gilles Deleuze figuram como o solo conceitual da reflexão.O exercício intelectual de Arendt sobre o “vazio de pensamento” (...) e sua rigorosa análise sobre a faculdade de pensar articuladas com as provocações de Deleuze quanto a compreensão da filosofia como uma “produtora” e articuladora de conceitos, ditaram o caminho que sugere ser a filosofia, enquanto “disciplina”, um parar para pensar como forma de contrapor o pensar ao fluxo laboral de consumo de conteúdos da escola média. Aqui a filosofia enquanto disciplina é uma contemplação tão ativa quanto a ação. (shrink)

Law 49/2018, of August 14, created the Portuguese legal regime of the assisted decision-making (capacity), thus eliminating the legal institutes of interdiction and disqualification, provided for in the Civil Code (CC). The aim of this legal regime was to embed a new vision of disability based on a model of rights, that grants people with disabilities an independent and autonomous life and reflects the acceptance of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) guidelines. This paper intends (...) to discuss the ‘new’ Portuguese legal system regarding the legal capacity of persons with disabilities and its role in valuing the expression of the real will of people with disabilities. (shrink)

In this paper architectural forms are presented as symbolic forms issued from the complex semiosis that characterises human cognition (Ferreira (2007, 2010)). Being semiotic objects, these symbolic forms are, consequently, context- dependent_they emerge and have meaning, i.e., they are assigned a functional and/or aesthetic value, in particular physical, social and cultural frameworks. As it happens with all semiotic objects, architectural forms, whatever their nature, are not static but highly interactive. In fact, they act as agents of specific semiotic processes, (...) engaged in a permanent dialectic relationship with the environment they are embedded in. From this dialectics important physical, social, cultural and economic changes frequently arise, redefining this way the original framework for decades to come. As Pallasmaa (2009) points out: “Architecture is existentially rooted, and it expresses fundamental existential experiences, the complex condensation of how it feels to be human being in this world. Architecture grounds and frames existence and creates specific horizons of perception, understanding and identity.” Architecture happens in the context of particular landscapes both natural and man-made, individuating spaces, assigning them an identity, turning the frequently undifferentiated physical environment into “locus”, “place”, “site”, “ort”, definitely contributing to the definition of the mental map that individual minds are able to share collectively. The fundamental role played by architectural forms in the definition of “place” and identity and in the shaping or reshaping of a physical, social and cultural environment is analysed in this paper through a case study that observes the consequences of this dynamics in the development of the social and cultural tissue of a particular city. (shrink)

A life form and its environment constitute an essential unit, a microcosm. This microcosm is sustained by a privileged dialectic relationship in which the embedded agent- an entity endowed with a particular physical architecture- and its specific environment, coupled, mutually influence each other. Identical principles rule both the basic forms of semiotic organisation and the upper forms. When we distinguish these two levels of semiotic structuring we are distinguishing the semiotic relations that involve a stimulus-response relationship, which is dyadic in (...) nature, from those that involve a more complex relationship where the capacity of symbolically encoding allows organisms to go beyond the immediacy of sensory awareness. However in all instances of semiotic structuring, there is the presence of a living system that evolves in an environment individuating and assigning a value to typical environmental features. Acknowledging this fact is crucial: the inquiry into how elemental life forms interact with their environments leads to the identification of the fundamental role played by the physical architecture of the agent and sheds light on the semiotic process that is common to all life forms, ultimately highlighting the very nature of meaning and reality. (shrink)

The dynamics inherent to the life activity of all living systems presents itself in the form of regular patterns viewed by the observer as taking place in an extended timeline. Routines, rituals and celebrations, each in their own way, are defined by the typical cyclical behavioural patterns exhibited by individuals embedded in specific semiospheres. The particular nature of these semiospheres will determine the distinct patterns of behaviour to be adopted in different life contexts so that existential functions are fulfilled. The (...) restricted and protected family circle normally provides the initial learning environment where the definition of the individual’s Umwelt (von Uexküll 1909, 1934; Ferreira, Biosemiotics 3(1):107–130, 2010, 2011) his/her meaningful world, starts to take shape. This learning process comprehends the progressive identification of distinct physical entities, the development of basic patterns of physical and social behaviour- the incorporation of basic routines and the assignment of meaning to particular events. (shrink)

The cognitive reserve is widely accepted as the active ability to cope with brain damage, using preexisting cognitive and compensatory processes. The common CR proxies used are the number of formal years of education, intelligence quotient or premorbid functioning, occupation attainment, and participation in leisure activities. More recently, it has employed the level of literacy and engagement in high-level cognitive demand of professional activities. This study aims to identify and summarize published methodologies to assess the CR quantitatively. We searched for (...) published studies on PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science between September 2018 and September 2021. We only included those studies that characterized the CR assessment methodology. The search strategy identified 1,285 publications, of which 25 were included. Most of the instruments targeted proxies individually. The lack of a gold standard tool that incorporates all proxies and cognitive tests highlights the need to develop a more holistic battery for the quantitative assessment of CR. Further studies should focus on a quantitative methodology that includes all these proxies supported by normative data to improve the use of CR as a valid measure in clinical contexts. (shrink)

This paper intends to explore whether and how the quality of participation experiences is associated with political efficacy and the disposition of migrant and non-migrant young people to becoming involved. The sample includes 1010 young people of Portuguese, Angolan and Brazilian origin, aged between 15 and 29 years old. The results reveal that the quality of participation experiences is related to political efficacy and dispositions to becoming involved, but different groups seem to react differently to different forms of political action.

A entrevista que se segue foi concedida pela Professora Nilda Teves Ferreira no dia 15 de fevereiro de 2012, em seu apartamento na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, no bairro do Méier. O registro ocorreu com o propósito de integrar um livro que reuniria conversações com diversos intelectuais atuantes no RJ, projeto que não chegou a ser concluído. Participam da conversa os Professores Simone Freitas Chaves e Jorge Felipe Fonseca Moreira, ambos orientados em suas pesquisas sobre o discurso (...) do Imaginário Social por Nilda Teves; além do Prof. Roberto S. Kahlmeyer-Mertens, organizador do mencionado livro. (shrink)

A mais recente biografia do imperador D. Pedro I do Brasil e rei D. Pedro IV de Por­tugal começa por ser uma obra de divulgação, destinada a um público alargado de leitores inte­ressados e informados, mas não especialistas – é esse o espírito da colecção Perfis Brasileiros, da editora Companhia das Letras, em que se integra. Contudo, é, mais do que isso, um trabalho que abre as portas a uma nova maneira de ver, pelo menos do ponto de vista da (...) historiografia deste lado do Atlântico, a figura d... (shrink)

RESUMO O objetivo do presente trabalho consiste em explicitar o itinerário ou linha argumentativa de Gilles Deleuze no artigo intitulado "A concepção da diferença em Bergson", de 1954. Postula-se que nesse trabalho de 1954, Deleuze exponha a noção de 'diferença', que está presente na obra de Henri Bergson, por meio da relação entre três dimensões: metodológica, cosmológica e ontológica. Para tanto, caracteriza-se o conjunto do pensamento de Deleuze em relação à História da Filosofia. Em seguida, identifica-se o percurso das pesquisas (...) de Deleuze sobre a obra de Bergson no contexto de sua versão para a História da Filosofia. Por fim, explicita-se o itinerário de Deleuze no artigo de 1954: "A concepção da diferença em Bergson". ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to explain the itinerary or argumentative line of Gilles Deleuze in the article named "The conception of difference in Bergson" of 1954. It is postulated that in this work of 1954, Deleuze exposes the notion of "difference", which is present in the work of Henri Bergson, through the relation between three dimensions: the methodological, cosmological and ontological ones. For that purpose, the whole of Deleuze's thought in relation to the History of Philosophy is characterized. Then, we identify the course of Deleuze's research on Bergson's work in the context of his version for the History of Philosophy. Finally, we explain the itinerary of Deleuze in the article of 1954: "The conception of difference in Bergson". (shrink)

Alfred North Whitehead has never gone out of print, but for a time he was decidedly out of fashion in the English-speaking world. In a splendid work that serves as both introduction and erudite commentary, Isabelle Stengersâe"one of todayâe(tm)s leading philosophers of scienceâe"goes straight to the beating heart of Whiteheadâe(tm)s thought. The product of thirty yearsâe(tm) engagement with the mathematician-philosopherâe(tm)s entire canon, this volume establishes Whitehead as a daring thinker on par with Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guattari, and Michel Foucault. Reading (...) the texts in broadly chronological order while highlighting major works, Stengers deftly unpacks Whiteheadâe(tm)s often complicated language, explaining the seismic shifts in his thinking and showing how he called into question all that philosophers had considered settled after Descartes and Kant. She demonstrates that the implications of Whiteheadâe(tm)s philosophical theories and specialized knowledge of the various sciences come yoked with his innovative, revisionist take on God. Whiteheadâe(tm)s God exists within a specific epistemological realm created by a radically complex and often highly mathematical language. âeoeTo think with Whitehead today,âe Stengers writes, âeoemeans to sign on in advance to an adventure that will leave none of the terms we normally use as they were.âe. (shrink)

Soren Kierkegaard's Works of Love, a series of deliberations on the commandment to love one's neighbor, has often been condemned by critics. Here, Ferreira seeks to rehabilitate Works of Love as one of Kierkegaard's most important works. He shows that Kierkegaard's deliberations on love are highly relevant to some important themes in contemporary ethics, including impartiality, duty, equality, mutuality, reciprocity, self-love, sympathy, and sacrifice. Ferreira also argues that Works of Love bears on issues peculiar to a religious ethic, (...) such as the role of God as "middle term," and the possibility of preserving the aesthetic dimensions of love in a religious ethic of relation. (shrink)

People sometimes explain behavior by appealing to an essentialist concept of the self, often referred to as the true self. Existing studies suggest that people tend to believe that the true self is morally virtuous; that is deep inside, every person is motivated to behave in morally good ways. Is this belief particular to individuals with optimistic beliefs or people from Western cultures, or does it reflect a widely held cognitive bias in how people understand the self? To address this (...) question, we tested the good true self theory against two potential boundary conditions that are known to elicit different beliefs about the self as a whole. Study 1 tested whether individual differences in misanthropy—the tendency to view humans negatively—predict beliefs about the good true self in an American sample. The results indicate a consistent belief in a good true self, even among individuals who have an explicitly pessimistic view of others. Study 2 compared true self-attributions across cultural groups, by comparing samples from an independent country and a diverse set of interdependent countries. Results indicated that the direction and magnitude of the effect are comparable across all groups we tested. The belief in a good true self appears robust across groups varying in cultural orientation or misanthropy, suggesting a consistent psychological tendency to view the true self as morally good. (shrink)

A growing body of research has examined how people judge the persistence of identity over time—that is, how they decide that a particular individual is the same entity from one time to the next. While a great deal of progress has been made in understanding the types of features that people typically consider when making such judgments, to date, existing work has not explored how these judgments may be shaped by normative considerations. The present studies demonstrate that normative beliefs do (...) appear to play an important role in people's beliefs about persistence. Specifically, people are more likely to judge that the identity of a given entity remains the same when its features improve than when its features deteriorate. Study 1 provides a basic demonstration of this effect. Study 2 shows that this effect is moderated by individual differences in normative beliefs. Study 3 examines the underlying mechanism, which is the belief that, in general, various entities are essentially good. Study 4 directly manipulates beliefs about essence to show that the positivity bias regarding essences is causally responsible for the effect. (shrink)

For a long while the dilemma between ‘not being’ and ‘being other’ has haunted the history of Brazil. The country's mixed-race condition lay at the heart of the dilemma which reached its apogee in the second half of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. At that point in its history, that is, its emergence as a nation-state, the construction of a national identity became an imperative for the political and intellectual elites of Brazil. In this context, a (...) European, the German naturalist, Carl von Martius, made himself particularly notable for having been one of the first, after Independence, to point out the significance of miscegenation in the composition of Brazilian identity. (shrink)

The paper discusses Thomas Reid's objection to David Hume's theory of personal identity. The hypothesis states that this criticism is not effective because it is based on a misunderstanding of Hume’s theory, namely, that Hume would have admitted a negative ontological thesis - the inexistence of a mind beyond perceptions - and a positive ontological thesis - a mind reduced to a bundle of perceptions. After explaining in what measures Reid’s objection is based upon this misunderstanding, the paper shows why (...) Hume does not accept those theses,. (shrink)

The paper presents and discusses how Thomas Reid's philosophy of common sense replies to the skepticism about the epistemic reliability of the faculties of mind. The hypothesis presented establishes that Reid’s reply has three arguments. First, Reid shows why it is impossible to prove the reliability of the faculties of mind and why philosophers may begin their investigations by accepting the truth of the beliefs due to these faculties. Secondly, Reid shows that it is inconsistent to choose one of these (...) faculties as the only source of true beliefs. This is arbitrary. Those authors, who choose, for example, consciousness as the only source of reliable knowledge, only reinforce the claim that all faculties of mind are equally reliable. Thirdly, if the faculties of the mind operate properly, that is, when our mind is not affected by any disorder or disease, there is no good reason to call them into question and to doubt the truth of their beliefs. (shrink)

The paper covers the discussion of three aspects of Thomas Reid’s political thought. Initially, it presents and discusses Reid’s understanding of Politics. Secondly, it is argued that, unlike the first principles of other branches of knowledge, such as Mathematics, Philosophy of Mind and Morals, the first principles of Politics are not the first principles of common sense. Politics is founded on a form of empirical knowledge that cannot be identified with common sense, with the judgments and beliefs due to the (...) original constitution of mind that are shared by most humans. Finally, it is argued, from a parallel with the philosophy of nature, that common sense has only a methodological role in Politics. (shrink)

Participation of the Public in Science: Towards a New Kind of Scientific Practice Participation of the public in science has been the object of an increasing number of social and political philosophical studies, but there is still hardly any epistemological study of the topic. While it has been objected that involvement of the public is a threat to the integrity of science, the apparent indifference of philosophers of science seems to testify to its lack of relevance to conceptions of scientific (...) activity. I argue both that it is not a threat to science and that it is relevant to philosophy of science by showing that it constitutes a new kind of epistemic practice. Two main objections to the idea that the involvement of non-scientists, with their situated perspective and contextual values, can form an epistemic practice will be addressed: the first bears on the epistemic potentialities of the cooperation between scientist and non-scientists; the second on the possibility that this cooperation takes the form of a practice. (shrink)

Soren Kierkegaard's Works of Love, a series of deliberations on the commandment to love one's neighbor, has often been condemned by critics. Here, Ferreira seeks to rehabilitate Works of Love as one of Kierkegaard's most important works. He shows that Kierkegaard's deliberations on love are highly relevant to some important themes in contemporary ethics, including impartiality, duty, equality, mutuality, reciprocity, self-love, sympathy, and sacrifice. Ferreira also argues that Works of Love bears on issues peculiar to a religious ethic, (...) such as the role of God as "middle term," and the possibility of preserving the aesthetic dimensions of love in a religious ethic of relation. (shrink)

I intend to discuss Hume’s theory of personal identity in Books I and II of the Treatise of Human Nature. First, I intend to argue that Hume’s distinction between a ‘personal identity with regard to thought and imagination’ and a ‘personal identity with regard to passions and self-interest’ is only methodological, not radical. That is, the philosopher does not sug-gest the existence of two distinct ideas of personal identity in mind. Secondly, I try to show the contribution of the passions (...) of pride and humility to the production of a belief in personal identity. Pride and humility contribute to the liveliness of this belief by producing the person’s interest in his sensations and actions of the past and the future. Thirdly, I want to show how passions and self-interest make it possible to explain the corporeal aspect of the belief in personal identity. I propose to discuss how the body and its qualities can be understood as constituent elements of the notion of personal identity. (shrink)

Depuis qu'elles existent, les sciences dites exactes se prétendent différentes des autres savoirs. Comment comprendre cette prétention? Faut-il, à la manière des épistémologues anglo-saxons ou de Karl Popper, tenter d'identifier les critères qui la justifient? Peut-on, suivant le modèle nouveau des études sociales des sciences, y voir une simple croyance? Ce livre propose un dépassement fructueux de l'opposition, apparemment irréconciliable, entre ces deux approches des sciences. Et si la tension entre objectivité scientifique et croyance était justement constitutive des sciences, enjeu (...) des pratiques inventées et réinventées par les scientifiques? Réussir à parler des sciences avec humour, sans en faire un objet de vénération, ni de dénonciation, en restant au plus proche de la passion des scientifiques, tel est ici le pari d'Isabelle Stengers. Mais ce livre ne se limite pas à un discours sur les sciences. Il s'agit bien plutôt de prolonger l'histoire de leur invention. Comment comprendre les liens multiples entre la science et les pouvoirs qui la mobilisent aujourd'hui? Comment concevoir les rapports entre science, expertise et démocratie? La nouveauté de L'invention des sciences modernes est de faire de ces différents problèmes intellectuels, pratiques et politiques les enjeux du processus par où pourrait s'inventer et se renouveler l'identité même des sciences. (shrink)

Metaphors help us understand a concept by resorting to the imaginary because it is sometimes difficult to do so through the use of words alone. Thinkers have made use of metaphors to not only describe ‘falling in love’, ‘the pain of losing someone dear to us’, but also to describe particular concepts both in arts and sciences. In fact, the use of metaphors in some disciplines, particularly the sciences, is now regarded as something essential for the development of the field. (...) We note that influential philosophers of education, such as Martin Buber, Paulo Freire, Michael Apple, Gert Biesta and Ilan Gur-Ze’ev have also made use of metaphors to discuss education and specific issues in educational contexts. In this article, we do two things: we discuss the methodological importance of metaphors in helping us make better sense of concepts and particular problems; building on this methodological discussion, we critically discuss the problems posed by the current processes of ‘marketisation’ and ‘learnification’ in education. We conclude by arguing that metaphors do not provide us with ultimate answers to the problems we face; rather, they help us unveil a diversity of novel perspectives and a world of new possibilities. (shrink)

Thinking with Spinoza about education involves thinking with and beyond his authored texts, situating his work within the tradition of Western thought, and exploring his contribution to the philoso...

The desire for a meaningful life is ubiquitous, yet the ordinary concept of a meaningful life is poorly understood. Across six experiments (total N = 2,539), we investigated whether third-person attributions of meaning depend on the psychological states an agent experiences (feelings of interest, engagement, and fulfillment), or on the objective conditions of their life (e.g., their effects on others). Studies 1a–b found that laypeople think subjective and objective factors contribute independently to the meaningfulness of a person’s life. Studies 2a–b (...) found that positive mental states are thought to make a life more meaningful, even if derived from senseless activities (e.g., hand-copying the dictionary). Studies 3a–b found that agents engaged in morally bad activities are not thought to have meaningful lives, even if they feel fulfilled. In short, both an agents’ subjective mental states and objective impact on the world affect how meaningful their lives appear. (shrink)

O presente texto traz uma breve abordagem sobre a morte e a questão da indestrutibilidade do Ser a partir de uma análise da obra O mundo como Vontade e Representação, do filósofo Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) e outros textos de apoio. Schopenhauer aborda a morte como natural, intrinsicamente ligada a vida, e que a mesma não é um mal para o homem e nem representa perigo para a espécie humana, por isso, não deveríamos temê-la, mas encará-la com serenidade, visto que a (...) morte não é o fim absoluto, mas apenas o retorno do indivíduo para a natureza. O filósofo pontua que o Ser é indestrutível e que, após a morte, permanecerá presente por meio da vontade nos seres que continuam vivos. O que se perde com a morte é apenas a individualidade; a matéria, jamais a essência do Ser. Cada Ser que morre, nasce um novo em uma matéria diferente, porém com a mesma essência do que se fora, por isso o Ser em si, e por essência, não morre por ser indestrutível. Desta forma, o homem não pode viver sem pensar na morte, sendo necessário refletir sobre a finitude para viver o presente, sendo que é apenas no presente que a vontade se manifesta. Resumo: O presente texto traz uma breve abordagem sobre a morte e a questão da indestrutibilidade do Ser a partir de uma análise da obra O mundo como Vontade e Representação, do filósofo Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) e outros textos de apoio. Schopenhauer aborda a morte como natural, intrinsicamente ligada a vida, e que a mesma não é um mal para o homem e nem representa perigo para a espécie humana, por isso, não deveríamos temê-la, mas encará-la com serenidade, visto que a morte não é o fim absoluto, mas apenas o retorno do indivíduo para a natureza. O filósofo pontua que o Ser é indestrutível e que, após a morte, permanecerá presente por meio da vontade nos seres que continuam vivos. O que se perde com a morte é apenas a individualidade; a matéria, jamais a essência do Ser. Cada Ser que morre, nasce um novo em uma matéria diferente, porém com a mesma essência do que se fora, por isso o Ser em si, e por essência, não morre por ser indestrutível. Desta forma, o homem não pode viver sem pensar na morte, sendo necessário refletir sobre a finitude para viver o presente, sendo que é apenas no presente que a vontade se manifesta. (shrink)