Fear to contamination is an easy-to-provoke, intense, hard-to-control, and extraordinarily persistent fear. A worsening of preexisting psychiatric disorders was observed during the COVID-19 outbreak, and several studies suggest that those with obsessive–compulsive disorder may be more affected than any other group of people. In the face of worsening OCD symptoms, there is a need for mental health professionals to provide the support needed not only to treat patients who still report symptoms, but also to improve relapse prevention. In this line, (...) it is recommended to improve alternative strategies such as online consultations and digital psychiatry. The aim of this study is to develop augmented reality stimuli that are clinically relevant for patients with cleaning OCD and assess their efficiency to obtain emotionally significant responses. Four AR stimuli were developed: a plastic bag full of garbage, a piece of bread with mold, a dirty sports shoe, and a piece of rotten meat. All stimuli were shown to a clinical group and a control group. Relevant results were the design of the AR stimuli. These stimuli were validated with the statistical difference in perceived anxiety in the meat stimuli between the clinical and control groups. Nevertheless, when looking at effect sizes, all stimuli present effect sizes from small to large, with both shoe and bread between small and medium effect sizes. These results are a valuable support for the clinical use of these AR stimuli in the treatment of cleaning OCD. (shrink)

An ordering (≤K) on maximal almost disjoint (MAD) families closely related to destructibility of MAD families by forcing is introduced and studied. It is shown that the order has antichains of size.

O utopianismo científico de Neurath é a proposta para que as ciências sociais se envolvam na elaboração, desenvolvimento e comparação de cenários contrafactuais, as ‘utopias’. Tais cenários podem ser entendidos como peças centrais de experimentos de pensamento científicos, isto é, em exercícios da imaginação que não apenas promovem a revisão conceitual, mas também estimulam a criatividade para lidar com problemas vivenciados, já que utopias são esforços para imaginar como o futuro poderia ser. Ademais, experimentos de pensamento utópicos podem oferecer conhecimento (...) científico para informar debates e decisões políticas, contribuindo para formatar a sociedade. Este ensaio reconstrói um evento histórico como um exemplo da metodologia utopianista de Neurath. No final dos anos 1970 e início dos anos 1980, uma comissão científica e política designada pelo parlamento da Alemanha Ocidental inventou e comparou quatro cenários para políticas energético-econômicas futuras. Conclusões da comissão informaram decisões políticas que puseram a Alemanha Ocidental (e depois reunificada) em um caminho para se tornar uma potência industrial verde. Uma parte fundamental do trabalho da comissão envolveu um apelo à imaginação, permitindo a caracterização sob a metodologia de Neurath. (shrink)

Resumo Este artigo apresenta um referencial pragmatista para compreender o estatuto epistêmico da valoração que é produzida na reflexão acerca das consequências sociais de propostas científicas e tecnológicas. O problema é posto, seguindo-se as considerações de Bertrand Russell sobre o impacto da ciência na sociedade. Russell argumenta que a valoração de arranjos sociais fica fora dos limites do conhecimento, porque valorações não podem ser verdadeiras ou falsas, em sentido correspondencial. Isso leva o pensamento social a um impasse, pois não se (...) pode saber que dado arranjo social seria indesejável ou inadequado. Este texto esboça uma alternativa, a partir dos trabalhos sobre valoração de Clarence Irving Lewis, tomados em continuidade com a teoria da investigação de John Dewey. Esse referencial alternativo assume noções epistêmicas de verdade e justificação, o que permite que valorações possam ser concebidas em contextos de investigação e, assim, como objetos de conhecimento.This article presents a pragmatist framework to understand the epistemic status of valuations produced upon reflection on social consequences of scientific and technological proposals. The problem is set following Bertrand Russell’s considerations on the impact of science on society. Russell argues that valuating social arrangements falls beyond the limits of knowledge, because valuations cannot be true or false in the sense of correspondence. This leads social thought to a deadlock, since one cannot know that a given social arrangement would be undesirable or inadequate. This article sketches an alternative from Clarence Irving Lewis’s works on valuation taken in continuity with John Dewey’s theory of inquiry. This alternative framework assumes epistemic notions of truth and justification, allowing that valuations can be construed in contexts of inquiry and thus as objects of knowledge. (shrink)

Otto Neurath and John Dewey share the understanding that science must have a prominent role in democratic social reform. This is a common aim that brought logical empiricism and pragmatism together in the first half of the 20th century, but there are differences between the two stances. On the one hand, Neurath sees a limitation of scientific knowledge, considering that it cannot determine decisions to be taken in the course of social reform. Such decisions, in the logical empiricist view, are (...) a matter of politics. On the other hand, Dewey sees a continuity among all forms of inquiry and, therefore, the conclusions of valuational inquiry are analogous in their epistemic claims to the conclusions in factual (natural or social inquiry). This paper investigates the divergence and concludes that pragmatist continuity of inquiry is set in a psychological context that disregards a difference in objectivity between factual and valuational inquiry. (shrink)

Neste artigo apresentamos as propostas de Otto Neurath para o problema da unidade da ciência. Conhecido integrante do Círculo de Viena, Neurath defende que a ciência deve ser unificada por meio da chamada concepção de mundo científica, uma orientação ou atitude em relação ao mundo e aos problemas que é característica da ciência. Neste artigo apresentamos o caráter social dos projetos de Neurath, como o da Enciclopédia Internacional da Ciência Unificada. Contrastamos a proposta de Neurath com a crítica pós-modernista da (...) abordagem contextualizada dos estudos sobre a ciência. Essa crítica parte de estudos de comunidades científicas e, em geral, apresenta a conclusão de que não há um fator que unifique a ciência. O termo "ciência" denotaria apenas uma coleção de atividades sem características relevantes em comum. A comparação feita mostra que a posição de Neurath é compatível com a abordagem contextualizada, apesar de defender a unidade da ciência. Por fim, avaliamos o aspecto político da proposta de Neurath diante da crítica pós-moderna e notamos que as ideias do Círculo de Viena e da Enciclopédia podem ser valiosas nos dias de hoje. This paper discusses Otto Neurath's proposal for the problem of the unity of science. This author, a well-known member of the Vienna Circle, proposes that science is to be unified by the so-called scientific world-conception, a characteristic orientation or attitude of science towards the world and the problems it deals with. In this paper, emphasis is given to the social aspect of Neurath's projects, as found, for instance, in the International Encyclopedia of Unified Science. It contrasts Neurath's proposal with the post-modernist criticism, developed in the contextualized approach to science studies, that stems from studies of scientific communities and, in general, presents the conclusion that there is no unifying factor for science. The term 'science' would then denote just a collection of activities with no relevant common characteristics. The comparison made shows that Neurath's position is compatible with the contextualized approach, even though he defends the unity of science. Finally, the political aspect of Neurath's proposal is evaluated in the light of the post-modernist criticism, and it is pointed out that the ideas of the Vienna Circle and the Encyclopedia might be valuable nowadays. (shrink)

Otto Neurath’s empiricist methodology of economics and his contributions to politi- cal economy have gained increasing attention in recent years. We connect this research with contemporary debates regarding the epistemological status of thought experiments by reconstructing Neurath’s utopias as linchpins of thought experiments. In our three reconstructed examples of different uses of utopias/dystopias in thought experiments we employ a reformulation of Häggqvist’s model for thought experiments and we argue that: (1) Our reformulation of Häggqvist’s model more adequately complies with many (...) uses of thought experiments, especially with the open-ended discussions of utopias and dys- topias in thought experiments. (2) As a strict logical empiricist, Neurath is committed to a strictly empiricist account of thought experiments. John Norton’s empiricist argument view can indeed account for the justifications of empirical beliefs and genuine discoveries targeted by scientific utopianism in three distinct (yet connected) ways, all of which Neur- ath already contemplated: (2.I) Dealing with utopias and thought experiments on a regular basis increases creativity and inventiveness. (2.II) Particular ways of presenting knowl- edge facilitate scientific discovery and social progress. (2.III) The use of utopias in thought experiments can prompt conceptual change and allow access to new phenomena. We con- clude by highlighting that, even though thought experiments support a positive attitude for exploring new social possibilities, Neurath points out that active decisions are unavoidable. The exploration of alternatives and the awareness of a need for decisions in policy discus- sion avert a technocratic outlook in social science. (shrink)

Este artículo reflexiona sobre las formas de dominación tácitas que todavía hoy continúan amenazando la integridad de las personas pertenecientes a diversos colectivos. Al mismo tiempo, el presente escrito pone de manifiesto las contradicciones que envuelven las defensas afirmativas de la identidad y la especificidad. En algunos casos tales defensas no han conseguido subvertir los prejuicios y estereotipos que actúan como instancias de la opresión de los grupos sociales desfavorecidos. Por lo mismo, se concluye que además de estos mecanismos de (...) toma de conciencia y afirmación de la identidad, debemos poner en marcha estrategias transformadoras orientadas a la reforma de las estructuras sociales y económicas que dificultan la lucha contra las formas de dominación aludidas. (shrink)

Los críticos de las teorías liberales de la justicia han denunciado que ciertas suposiciones de tales teorías como la imparcialidad y el universalismo no son realistas y además envuelven perniciosos fines ideológicos. Contra esta perspectiva, sostengo que solo una concepción de la justicia imparcialista y universalista, basada en una visión deliberativa de la política y de la participación, puede incluir de manera coherente las demandas de las minorías en el modelo democrático que proponga. Entiendo esta imparcialidad como imparcialidad deliberativadialógica. En (...) este ensayo defiendo que imparcialidad, universalismo y diferencia, lejos de ejemplificar una unión anómala o contradictoria, forman una constelación de elementos inseparables que dan sentido a una perspectiva completa y rigurosa de la justicia. (shrink)

Este artigo discute a relação entre filosofia da ciência e filosofia da educação a partir do texto de John Dewey Unity of Science as a Social Problem. Dewey propõe que o problema da unidade da ciência seja trabalhado de um ponto de vista não apenas epistemológico, mas também social. Isso é porque nosso entendimento sobre a ciência influencia a educação. A proposta de Dewey é discutida em relação às considerações de filósofos da ciência recentes, como Peter Galison e Paul Feyerabend, (...) de que a ciência não deve ser concebida como um todo unificado. (shrink)

This Special Issue brings a selection of peer-reviewed papers that were presented at the 12th Principia International Symposium: Models and Modeling in the Sciences, Florianópolis, Brazil, online, August 2021. In this preface, the chair and the secretary of the organizing committee comment the symposium's context and briefly present the issue.

In this paper we explore the possibilities of a sexual ethics that responds to our times of precariousness. We sustain that the task of a reconsidered sexual ethics can contribute to a more livable life for persons rendered fragile beyond our constitutive embodied fragility. Thus, we connect Judith Butler with 20th century dialogical philosophies as well as with some analysis on sexuality and ethics in authors like Thomas Nagel and Margaret Farley. In all this a key category will be that (...) of justice. (shrink)

Otto Neurath’s empiricist methodology of economics and his contributions to political economy have gained increasing attention in recent years. We connect this research with contemporary debates regarding the epistemological status of thought experiments by reconstructing Neurath’s utopias as linchpins of thought experiments. In our three reconstructed examples of different uses of utopias/dystopias in thought experiments we employ a reformulation of Häggqvist’s model for thought experiments and we argue that: (1) Our reformulation of Häggqvist’s model more adequately complies with many uses (...) of thought experiments, especially with the open-ended discussions of utopias and dystopias in thought experiments. (2) As a strict logical empiricist, Neurath is committed to a strictly empiricist account of thought experiments. John Norton’s empiricist argument view can indeed account for the justifications of empirical beliefs and genuine discoveries targeted by scientific utopianism in three distinct (yet connected) ways, all of which Neurath already contemplated: (2.I) Dealing with utopias and thought experiments on a regular basis increases creativity and inventiveness. (2.II) Particular ways of presenting knowledge facilitate scientific discovery and social progress. (2.III) The use of utopias in thought experiments can prompt conceptual change and allow access to new phenomena. We conclude by highlighting that, even though thought experiments support a positive attitude for exploring new social possibilities, Neurath points out that active decisions are unavoidable. The exploration of alternatives and the awareness of a need for decisions in policy discussion avert a technocratic outlook in social science. (shrink)

This paper compares the claims about our knowledge of the external world presented by Rudolf Carnap, in the book known as the Aufbau, to those of Clarence Irving Lewis, in Mind and the World-Order. This comparison is made in terms of the opposition to Kantian epistemology that both books establish; the Aufbau is regarded as the peak of the logicist tradition and Mind and the World-Order is taken in continuity with pragmatism. It is found that both books present knowledge of (...) the external world as a consequence of a structural organization of human experience. However, there is an important point of divergence: the concept of verification each author adopts is different, such a concept was even a matter of discussion between Lewis and the Vienna Circle. This paper shows this disagreement but also shows how Carnap changed his point of view in the decade after the Aufbau was published, towards a standpoint which is much closer to Lewis’s ideas. In that process, nevertheless, Carnap changed his focus and did not deal with the problem of the external world anymore. This paper also seeks to draw attention to some features of the relation between Carnap and the pragmatist tradition which have only recently started to attract interest. (shrink)

Neurath’s scientific utopianism is the proposal that the social sciences should engage in the elaboration, development, and comparison of counterfactual scenarios, the ‘utopias’. Such scenarios can be understood as centerpieces of scientific thought experiments, that is, in exercises of imagination that not only promote conceptual revision, but also stimulate creativity to deal with experienced problems, as utopias are efforts to imagine what the future could look like. Moreover, utopian thought experiments can offer scientific knowledge to inform political debates and decisions, (...) contributing to the shaping of society. This essay reconstructs a historical event as an example of Neurath’s utopianist methodology. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a scientific and political commission appointed by the Western German Parliament devised and compared four scenarios for future energetic-economic policies. Conclusions of the commission informed political decisions that put Western (later reunified) Germany in a route towards becoming a green industrial power. A fundamental part of the commission’s work involved an appeal to imagination, allowing for the characterization under Neurath’s methodology. (shrink)

We study the Rudin–Keisler pre-order on Fréchet–Urysohn ideals on $\omega $. We solve three open questions posed by S. García-Ferreira and J. E. Rivera-Gómez in the articles [5] and [6] by establishing the following results: •For every AD family $\mathcal {A},$ there is an AD family $\mathcal {B}$ such that $\mathcal {A}^{\perp } <_{{\textsf {RK}}}\mathcal {B}^{\perp }.$ •If $\mathcal {A}$ is a nowhere MAD family of size $\mathfrak {c}$ then there is a nowhere MAD family $\mathcal {B}$ such (...) that $\mathcal {I}\left $ and $\mathcal {I}\left $ are Rudin–Keisler incomparable.•There is a family $\left \{ \mathcal {B}_{\alpha }\mid \alpha \in \mathfrak {c}\right \} $ of nowhere MAD families such that if $\alpha \neq \beta $, then $\mathcal {I}\left $ and $\mathcal {I}\left $ are Rudin–Keisler incomparable.Here $\mathcal {I}$ denotes the ideal generated by an AD family $\mathcal {A}$.In the context of hyperspaces with the Vietoris topology, for a Fréchet–Urysohn-filter $\mathcal {F}$ we let $\mathcal {S}_{c}\left \right ) $ be the hyperspace of nontrivial convergent sequences of the space consisting of $\omega $ as discrete subset and only one accumulation point $\mathcal {F}$ whose neighborhoods are the elements of $\mathcal {F}$ together with the singleton $\{\mathcal {F}\}$. For a FU-filter $\mathcal {F}$ we show that the following are equivalent: • $\mathcal {F}$ is a FUF-filter.• $\mathcal {S}_{c}\left \right ) $ is Baire. (shrink)

Este artículo trata el problema de los objetos creados que pueden ser repetidos, como las obras musicales y las literarias. En la sección 2 presentamos una serie de desiderata intuitivos que toda teoría debe satisfacer. En las secciones 3 y 4 presentamos un silogismo disyuntivo extendido. Los objetos en cuestión pueden ser o bien universales concretos, particulares concretos, universales abstractos o particulares abstractos. Mostramos cómo es que las teorías que consideran que son cualquiera de las tres últimas opciones fracasan. Por (...) lo tanto, debemos entender a dichos objetos como universales concretos. En la sección 5 ofrecemos una teoría breve pero detallada de la naturaleza metafísica de los universales concretos para después mostrar cómo esta propuesta permite dar cuenta de los desiderata intuitivos a la vez que se evitan las objeciones presentadas en contra de teorías alternativas. (shrink)

En este artículo partimos del pensamiento de Butler para adentrarnos en las propuestas de tres autoras que consideramos que complementan su proyecto de ayudar a las personas excluidas en su lucha por una vida más digna, una vida “vivible”, así como la estrategia de lograrlo mediante resignificaciones performativas de discursos y prácticas. Por un lado, presentamos los trabajos de Sarah Ahmed y Lanei Rodemeyer, para atender a la espacialidad y temporalidad del cuerpo vivido, y a la relación entre el cuerpo (...) y el discurso. En ambos casos se aplica la fenomenología pura, no hermenéutica, a la cuestión de la diversidad sexual. Por otro lado, nos adentramos en las obras de Luise Bourgeois, para quien la creación artística es un modo de exorcizar el dolor y de liberarse de las cárceles socialmente construidas. Partiendo de la línea que recorren y abren estas autoras, creemos que se puede elaborar una fenomenología en la que quepa lo que se suele quedar en los márgenes. Esta fenomenología permitiría, por un lado, visibilizar a quienes no encajan en los conceptos y categorías establecidas, y por otro, contribuir a una reformulación de los discursos que les permita habitar en ellos. La fenomenología de las cosas mismas no naturaliza las opresiones, como podría sospecharse, creemos que más bien es una aliada para reconocerlas, denunciarlas y repararlas. (shrink)

In this article, I discuss Otto Neurath’s philosophy in the context of Vienna Circle modernism. Following recent scholarship, the discussion considers as a starting point Neurath’s participation at the fourth International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM IV). However, the image of Neurath’s modernism that results from this perspective is incomplete because it tends to overlook the importance of scientific utopianism in Neurath’s thought. Scientific utopianism is a methodology proposed by Neurath for the social sciences in technological contexts, in which scientists (...) elaborate and develop plans (utopias) for the transformation of society, thus contributing to an informed societal debate. Decisions are nevertheless kept outside the domain of scientific activity. I claim that recognizing the centrality of scientific utopianism in Neurath’s philosophy is fundamental to understand Neurath’s modernism. This interpretation highlights the affinities of Neurath’s philosophy of the social sciences with the modern utopianism of H. G. Wells. Both authors consider that there can be no ultimate solution to social problems but that a plural and constant debate of proposals is fundamental for the improvement of society. Therefore, Neurath’s modernism connects his philosophy of science to the literary utopian tradition. (shrink)

Applying Heideggerian tool ontology to antiblack racism in the United States, Ontological Branding argues that race is a tool to constrain nonwhite persons, especially Black persons, to ways of being in service to the white world. U.S. law’s colorblind “equality” safeguards white supremacy, and racial justice instead requires ontological equality.

Este trabalho objetivou avaliar o tipo de reação à frustração e os sentimentos agressivos em presidiários. Verificou-se, também, a relação de dependência entre o tipo de delito (furto, roubo, sequestro, homicídio, latrocínio e outros) e o construto agressividade, por meio do teste de Frustração de R..

Reseña de FRASER, Nancy: Dilemas de la justicia en el siglo XXI. Género y globalización , Mª Antonia Carbonero Gamundí y Joaquín Valdivielso (eds.), Edicions UIB, 2011.

Neurath’s approach to the problem of the unity of science is different from conceptions we may call traditional, to know, those that consider that what unites in one single concept the diverse sciences is the adoption of a method, or those that defend that this is carried through by certain characteristics which can be found in the body of knowledge considered scientific. Neurath’s stance also diverges from the standpoint that there is no unifying factor for science, that is, the view (...) that the different sciences are only classified under such concept because of the historical origin of such activities. Neurath’s proposal is to consider science as an attitude, a posture in relation to the problems of the world, the scientific world-conception. This text presents such approach in connection to the aspect of social transformation that can be found in Neurath’s thought. This is done following a comprehension of the ideas of the Vienna Circle, seeking to understand a continuity among the ideas of the members of such group, especially Neurath and Carnap. The present text aims, as well, at recovering the Neurathian idea that we can use a philosophical approach to science to struggle against the problems of the world. (shrink)

The objective of this research is to develop accurate forecasting models for chlorophyll-α concentrations at various depths in El Mar Menor, Spain. Chlorophyll-α plays a crucial role in assessing eutrophication in this vulnerable ecosystem. To achieve this objective, various deep learning forecasting techniques, including long short-term memory, bidirectional long short-term memory and gated recurrent uni networks, were utilized. The models were designed to forecast the chlorophyll-α levels with a 2-week prediction horizon. To enhance the models’ accuracy, a sliding window method (...) combined with a blocked cross-validation procedure for time series was also applied to these techniques. Two input strategies were also tested in this approach: using only chlorophyll-α time series and incorporating exogenous variables. The proposed approach significantly improved the accuracy of the predictive models, no matter the forecasting technique employed. Results were remarkable, with |$\overline{\sigma}$| values reaching approximately 0.90 for the 0.5-m depth level and 0.80 for deeper levels. The proposed forecasting models and methodologies have great potential for predicting eutrophication episodes and acting as decision-making tools for environmental agencies. Accurate prediction of eutrophication episodes through these models could allow for proactive measures to be implemented, resulting in improved environmental management and the preservation of the ecosystem. (shrink)

El presente artículo trata de inscribir el fenómeno de la técnica en el marco de una antropología filosófica que nos permita aproximarnos a una comprensión del momento histórico del siglo XX. Para ello se analiza en primer lugar la noción de técnica propugnada por Friedrich Dessauer, esclareciéndola como un fenómeno totalizador que guarda con el hombre una relación fundamental. Posteriormente se trata la noción de técnica propuesta por Günther Anders, para quien la condición del hombre contemporáneo, inseparable del acontecer técnico, (...) se ha visto sujeta a trasformaciones esenciales. (shrink)

The aim of the present study was to determine statistical differences in a set of badminton competition matches in five different modalities with regard to competition level (Group Phase versus Eliminatory Phase). Data from 453 sets (125 in men’s singles; 108 sets in women’s singles; 77 sets in men’s doubles; 73 in women’s doubles and 70 in mixed doubles) from the RIO 2016 Olympics Games were recorded and classified in two groups of variables to analyse variables related to match (5) (...) and set (15). A descriptive analysis and univariate test (Mann Whitney U) for non-parametric data were conducted. The results show in men’s and women’s singles all the variables related to match were higher in the Elimination Phase than in the Group Phase (p<0.01). In Sets 1 and 3, the longest set duration, rally and average rally were found in the Elimination Phase than Group Stage (p<0.05). In women’s singles, these differences were also recorded in Set 2. For doubles, the results are more stable among groups. Men’s doubles had a longer duration of the match and set (set 1 and set 2) (p<0.01), and also scored highest for average rally strokes (set 1 and set 3) (p<0.05) and shuttles used in the Elimination Phase versus the Group Phase along the match (p<0.01). In women’s doubles, more shuttles were used in a match in the Elimination than in the Group Phase. Moreover, the same results are established for Set 2, including for average rally. Mixed doubles saw no match going to three sets. However, the greatest differences showed a longer rally and average rally being registered in the Elimination than in the Group Phase. In conclusion, the timing factors of the badminton singles and doubles games were different in the Elimination and Group Phases. This information may help players and coaches prepare and administer different types of workouts or, more specifically, competition schedules adapted to the characteristics of modern badminton. (shrink)

In this research, a sliding mode regulator with sine mapping is suggested for the stabilization of electricity generators being affected by magnet interaction nonlinearities and generator nonlinearities. To reach this goal, our suggested regulator has the following contributions: it starts from the sliding mode regulator with the modifications that the saturation mapping is used to reach a smoother performance instead of the signum mapping, and the sine mapping is applied to reach an upper bound in the proportional gain error, it (...) is used to reach some chosen constant behaviors for the angle position, angle speed, and current in the electricity generators, and its stabilization is ensured based on the Lyapunov approach. We show the simulation of the suggested regulator in two electricity generators. (shrink)

Most formalisms for representing common-sense knowledge allow incomplete and potentially inconsistent information. When strong negation is also allowed, contradictory conclusions can arise. A criterion for deciding between them is needed. The aim of this paper is to investigate an inherent and autonomous comparison criterion, based on specificity as defined in [POO 85, SIM 92]. In contrast to other approaches, we consider not only defeasible, but also strict knowledge. Our criterion is context-sensitive, i. e., preference among defeasible rules is determined dynamically (...) during the dialectical analysis.We show how specificity can be defined in terms of two different approaches: activation sets and derivation trees. This allows us to get a syntactic criterion that can be implemented in a computationally attractive way. The resulting definitions may be applied in general rulebased formalisms. We present theorems linking both characterizations. Finally we discuss other frameworks for defeasible reasoning in which preference handling is considered explicitly. (shrink)

This paper aims at disentangling two distinct problems in present philosophy of logic: the a priori/a posteriori divide and the theory choice problem. A confusion of these problems is present in the heart of current anti-exceptionalism about logic, as the use of a posteriori methods is identified with theory choice. We illustrate how the division may be preserved in a version of anti-exceptionalism by discussing Carnap’s approach, which had both an a priori epistemology and a pragmatic account of logical theory (...) choice. This contributes to illuminate the claim that the current understanding is mistaken in considering Carnap as an exceptionalist, and it also helps us to address one of the difficulties of current anti-exceptionalism, to know, that, by equating a posteriori with theory choice, it requires appeal to framework-independent facts. We suggest that the pragmatic account of both Quine and Carnap to theory choice was advanced precisely to avoid that kind of difficulty. (shrink)

I argue for a substantive interpretation of Carlos Vaz Ferreira’s account of intellectual flourishing as intellectual liberation. For Vaz Ferreira, I argue, there is an inescapable master-slave dynamic between language and language users, so that flourishing intellectually essentially involves a type of mastery of language that frees up thinking from enslaving linguistic/conceptual confusions and thus facilitates the acquisition of truth. Central to this project are Vaz Ferreira’s most interesting, and radical, views on the nature of language signification (...) and thus on human’s ability to accurately describe and know reality, for failing to keep these linguistic limitations in mind, Vaz Ferreira argues, is a central way for language to enslave humans to confused thinking and thus prevent their intellectual flourishing. (shrink)

COVID-19 is an acute respiratory illness with higher mortality in older adults. This condition is spread person-to-person through close contact, and among policies employed to decrease transmission are the improvement of hygiene habits and physical distancing. Although social distancing has been recognized as the best way to prevent the transmission, there are concerns that it may promote increased depression symptoms risk and anxiety, mainly in older adults. This cross-sectional study aimed to verify self-concept of social distancing in adults compared to (...) older adults. All participants, over 18 years and residents of São Paulo state, were invited to join this research study by a message application and answered an interdisciplinary questionnaire during the period from May 23 to June 23, 2020. The questions were divided into the following aspects: sociodemographic data, financial conditions, routine-related perception, perception of health, physical and emotional state, and eating habits. The younger adult group was composed of 139 participants, with a mean age of 43.15 years, and the older adult group was composed of 437 participants with a mean age of 67.59 years of both sex. Changes in routine during the period of social distance were reported by 95% of adults and 96.8% of older adults, but adults indicated more significant alterations in routine. Although there was no difference between groups for several aspects, adults revealed greater alterations in sleep quality, evacuation frequency, and more difficulty to perform daily activities at home. Further studies are necessary to follow up the impacts of social distancing among adults and older adults in different socioeconomic contexts to better understand the long-term alterations and the necessity of interventions. (shrink)

This document describes the implementation of a conical tank control system using an adaptive neurofuzzy system. For implementation, an indirect approach is used where the controller is optimized using the model obtained during the plant identification carried out using data obtained during the system operation. Furthermore, implementation includes training of neuro fuzzy-systems and application to control a conical tank. Regarding plant identification, preliminary training takes place using data obtained for different input values. The controller configuration is established considering the analogy (...) with a discrete-time linear system. The simulation shows that the control system manages to approach the desired response given by the considered reference model. (shrink)

Carlos Vaz Ferreira argues that the problem of freedom is conceptually distinct from the problem of causal determinism. The problem of freedom is ultimately a problem regarding the ontologically independent agency of a being, and the problem of determinism is a problem regarding explanations of events or acts in terms of the totality of their antecedent causal conditions. As Vaz Ferreira sees it, failing to keep these problems apart gives rise to merely apparent but unreal puzzles pertaining to (...) the nature of freedom and its relation to determinism. In this article, I present my interpretation of Vaz Ferreira’s distinctive ideas regarding the nature of freedom and its relation to casual determinism. (shrink)

Resumen: En la primera parte del presente artículo se estudia la naturaleza de los denominados culturemas, entendidos como unidades semióticas cuyo referente es un elemento perteneciente a una cultura dada desconocido o sin equivalente exacto en otras culturas y que, por tanto, es percibida como una especificidad cultural. Igualmente, se analizan los criterios tanto para su clasificación tradicional por contenido referencial como su clasificación por relevancia semiótica en una traducción. En la segunda parte se aplica el método culturo-traductológico para analizar (...) culturemas presentes en la obra de Iván Turguéniev, Rudin, y la forma de transponerlos en las diferentes versiones al español existentes por parte de distintos traductores.: In the first part of this article, the nature of so-called culturemes is studied, understood as semiotic units referring to an element belonging to a given culture which is unknown or without an exact equivalent in other cultures, and which is therefore perceived as a cultural specificity. Additionally, criteria are examined for both their traditional classification by referential content, and their classification by semiotic relevance in a translation. In the second part, the cultural-traductological method is used to analyse culturemes present in Rudin, the work by Iván Turguéniev, and the way of transposing these in the different Spanish versions by different translators. (shrink)