The organization of our knowledge about the world into an interconnected network of concepts linked by relations profoundly impacts many facets of cognition, including attention, memory retrieval, reasoning, and learning. It is therefore crucial to understand how organized semantic representations are acquired. The present experiment investigated the contributions of readily observable environmental statistical regularities to semantic organization in childhood. Specifically, we investigated whether co‐occurrence regularities with which entities or their labels more reliably occur together than with others (a) contribute to (...) relations between concepts independently and (b) contribute to relations between concepts belonging to the same taxonomic category. Using child‐directed speech corpora to estimate reliable co‐occurrences between labels for familiar items, we constructed triads consisting of a target, a related distractor, and an unrelated distractor in which targets and related distractors consistently co‐occurred (e.g., sock‐foot), belonged to the same taxonomic category (e.g., sock‐coat), or both (e.g., sock‐shoe). We used an implicit, eye‐gaze measure of relations between concepts based on the degree to which children (N = 72, age 4–7 years) looked at related versus unrelated distractors when asked to look for a target. The results indicated that co‐occurrence both independently contributes to relations between concepts and contributes to relations between concepts belonging to the same taxonomic category. These findings suggest that sensitivity to the regularity with which different entities co‐occur in children's environments shapes the organization of semantic knowledge during development. Implications for theoretical accounts and empirical investigations of semantic organization are discussed. (shrink)

The DACA program, administered by the Department of Homeland Security, protects Dreamers—undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. However, without legislative support, Dreamers face the imminent threat of losing their homes, rights, and deportation. I argue for the passage of the DREAM Act, which would protect Dreamers from unfair targeting and provide a path to citizenship. Dreamers possess a unique social membership in American society, and it is ethically imperative to shield them from deportation and grant them equal rights (...) as fellow citizens if we ought to demonstrate a commitment to addressing oppression and injustice. (shrink)

Childhood adversity is associated with altered or dysregulated stress reactivity; these altered patterns of physiological functioning persist into adulthood. Evidence from both preclinical animal models and human neuroimaging studies indicates that early life experience differentially influences stressor-evoked activity within central visceral neural circuits proximally involved in the control of stress responses, including the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC), paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and amygdala. However, the relationship between childhood adversity and the (...) resting-state connectivity of this central visceral network remains unclear. To this end, we examined relationships between childhood threat and childhood socioeconomic deprivation, the resting-state connectivity between our regions of interest (ROIs), and affective symptom severity and diagnoses. We recruited a transdiagnostic sample of young adult males and females (n= 100; mean age = 27.28,SD= 3.99; 59 females) with a full distribution of maltreatment history and symptom severity across multiple affective disorders. Resting-state data were acquired using a 7.2-min functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sequence; noted ROIs were applied as masks to determine ROI-to-ROI connectivity. Threat was determined by measures of childhood traumatic events and abuse. Socioeconomic deprivation (SED) was determined by a measure of childhood socioeconomic status (parental education level). Covarying for age, race and sex, greater childhood threat was significantly associated with lower BNST-PVN, amygdala-sgACC and PVN-sgACC connectivity. No significant relationships were found between SED and resting-state connectivity. BNST-PVN connectivity was associated with the number of lifetime affective diagnoses. Exposure to threat during early development may entrain altered patterns of resting-state connectivity between these stress-related ROIs in ways that contribute to dysregulated neural and physiological responses to stress and subsequent affective psychopathology. (shrink)

Roberto Mangabeira Unger and Lee Smolin argue for a revolution in our cosmological ideas. Ideal for non-scientists, physicists and cosmologists.

CEOs’ social and environmental activism attracts significant public and research interest. Positioned as an expression of personal morality, such activism is potentially highly influential because of CEOs’ public visibility and associated positional and resource-based power. This paper questions the assumption that CEO activism can only be explained in relation to individual moral action, and illuminates its wider social implications. We critically evaluate the recent upsurge in CEO activism by juxtaposing it against broader social activism, identifying its distinctive characteristics, and empirically (...) examining two recent ‘moral episodes’: the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the Fetal Heartbeat Acts. Our analysis demonstrates that CEO activism is more heterogeneous than research to date has shown. Building on this analysis, a refined understanding of the character and morality of CEO activism is developed by establishing a typology of its forms. We conclude that while CEO activism is an important and potent new phenomenon, it may not be universally appropriate to regard CEOs as moral leaders. Instead, it is paramount to question the motives and effects of what CEOs do in the name of morality. (shrink)

Roberto Mangabeira Unger sets out to reinvent philosophy. His central theme is our transcendence-everything in our existence points beyond itself-and its relation to our finitude: everything that surrounds us, and we ourselves, are flawed and ephemeral. He asks how we can live so that we die only once, instead of dying many small deaths; how we can breathe new life and new meaning into the revolutionary movement that has aroused humanity for the last three centuries, but that is now (...) weakened and disoriented; and how we can make sense of ourselves without claiming for human beings a miraculous exception to the general regime of nature. For Unger, philosophy must be the mind on fire, insisting on our prerogative to speak to what matters most. (shrink)

Das systematische Problem „schlechter Unendlichkeit“, als dessen Überwindung die hegelsche Philosophie angetreten ist und das als solches weit über seinen Ursprung im Deutschen Idealismus hinausgeht, wird in dieser Arbeit rekonstruiert. Als dialektische Figur hat sie die Philosophie Hegels in ihrer kritischen Auseinandersetzung mit Kant, Fichte und der Romantik tiefgreifend geprägt. Schelling und Kierkegaard wiederum kritisieren, dass bei Hegel diese Figur eines scheiternden affirmativen Selbstbezugs nicht auf seine logische Struktur beschränkt bleibe, sondern auf die Beschreibung des neuzeitlichen Geistes übergreife, weshalb Hegel (...) in seinem eigenen System keine eigentliche Ethik und kein verantwortliches Selbst mehr denken könne.0. (shrink)

In this quite modestly ambitious essay, I'll generally just assume that, for the most part, our "scientifically informed" commonsense view of the world is true. Just as it is with such unthinking things as planets, plates and, I suppose, plants, too, so it also is with all earthly thinking beings, from people to pigs and pigeons; each occupies a region of space, however large or small, in which all are spatially related to each other. Or, at least, so it is (...) with the bodies of these beings. And, even as each of these ordinary entities extends through some space, so, also, each endures through some time. In line with that, each ordinary entity is at least very largely, and is perhaps entirely, an enduring physical entity (which allows that many might have certain properties that aren't purely physical properties.) Further, each ordinary enduring entity is a physically complex entity: Not only is each composed of parts, but many of these parts, whether or not absolutely all of them, are themselves enduring physical entities, and many of them also are such physically complex continuing entities. When an ordinary entity undergoes a significant change, then, at least generally, this change will involve changes concerning that entity's constituting physical parts, whether it be a rearrangement of (some of) these parts, or a loss of parts, or a gain of parts, or whatever. Often, the entity will still exist even after the change occurs. As we may well suppose, this happens when, from two strokes of an ax, an ordinary log loses just a chip of wood. As we may then say, such a change conforms with the log's "persistence conditions." Somewhat less often, such an ordinary entity undergoes a change that means an end to it: When a bomb's explosion makes our log become just so many widely scattered motes of dust, the log will no longer exist. Such a momentous change doesn't conform with the log's persistence conditions. (shrink)

Fazer filosofia, para Roberto Mangabeira Unger, é pensar radicalmente. É insistir em tratar dos assuntos mais importantes, ainda que tenhamos de fazê-lo na fronteira do que seja possível pensar e dizer. Resignado ao colonialismo mental, o pensamento brasileiro não está acostumado a tal ousadia. Neste primeiro livro, Mangabeira leva o leitor pela mão e se oferece como guia de seu despertar para a ambição de compreender o mundo das ideias mais básicas e influentes. Seu alvo é rever tudo em (...) nossos pontos de partida – na filosofia e na política – que negue ou desmereça nossa capacidade, como indivíduos e como povo, de criar o novo. O livro ressoará num Brasil que está pronto para se repensar e se refazer, e a passar pela desilusão da desilusão. Não à toa, o nosso autor trará ao título e ao cerne da sua análise e proposição dois conceitos (e práticas) hoje atacados pelo ideário totalitário: o conhecimento e a política. Conhecimento e política, publicado em 1975, foi o primeiro livro de Roberto Mangabeira Unger. A editora LeYa Brasil o publica novamente agora, na tradução primorosa da mãe do autor, a poetisa Edyla Mangabeira Unger, para dar início à reedição de toda a obra de Mangabeira no Brasil, uma obra que se mantém atual e, ao mesmo tempo, visionária. O tema do livro é a superação do mais influente sistema de ideias no pensamento Ocidental desde a Renascença: conjunto de conceitos que abrange o individualismo e o liberalismo na política, o ceticismo e o subjetivismo na ética, e o empiricismo e positivismo na filosofia do conhecimento e da natureza. Desde que saiu da sombra de Aristóteles e do cristianismo, o pensamento ocidental se entregou, argumenta Mangabeira, à construção de uma maneira de pensar que o levou a contradições insolúveis e nos fez perder o rumo do esclarecimento e da emancipação. No centro dessas contradições está um equívoco a respeito de quem somos e de como nos relacionamos com o mundo. Pensamos a partir de regimes de pensamento, mas não temos de ser prisioneiros deles. Podemos subvertê-los e transformá-los para chegar mais perto da realidade. Precisamos participar de determinada sociedade e cultura. Nenhum regime social e cultural, contudo, nos serve como moradia definitiva. Daí a importância de construir um regime que facilite sua própria transformação. Nesta obra, Mangabeira iniciou a longa busca do roteiro das rebeldias libertadoras no pensamento e na política. E se levantou contra a tradição intelectual que continua a nos acorrentar. (shrink)

Addressing climate change is among the most challenging ethical issues facing contemporary business and society. Unsustainable business activities are causing significant distributional and procedural injustices in areas such as public health and vulnerability to extreme weather events, primarily because of a distinction between primary emitters and those already experiencing the impacts of climate change. Business, as a significant contributor to climate change and beneficiary of externalizing environmental costs, has an obligation to address its environmental impacts. In this paper, we explore (...) the role of firms’ climate change targets in shaping their emissions trends in the context of a large multi-country sample of companies. We contrast two intentions for setting emissions reductions targets: symbolic attempts to manage external stakeholder perceptions via “greenwashing” and substantive commitments to reducing environmental impacts. We argue that the attributes of firms’ climate change targets are diagnostic of firms’ underlying intentions. Consistent with our hypotheses, while we find no overall effect of setting climate change targets on emissions, we show that targets characterized by a commitment to more ambitious emissions reductions, a longer target time frame, and absolute reductions in emissions are associated with significant reductions in firms’ emissions. Our evidence suggests the need for vigilance among policy-makers and environmental campaigners regarding the underlying intentions that accompany environmental management practices and shows that these can to some extent be diagnosed analytically. (shrink)

Thomas Paine's words were like no others in history: they leaped off the page, inspiring readers to change their lives, their governments, their kings, and even their gods. In an age when spoken and written words were the only forms of communication, Paine's aroused men to action like no one else. The most widely read political writer of his generation, he proved to be more than a century ahead of his time, conceiving and demanding unheard-of social reforms that are now (...) integral elements of modern republican societies. Among them were government subsidies for the poor, universal housing and education, pre- and post-natal care for women, and universal social security. An Englishman who emigrated to the American colonies, he formed close friendships with Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, and his ideas helped shape the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. (shrink)

"a book about religion and a religious work in its own right, it proposes the content of a religion that can survive faith in a transcendent God and in life after death. According to this religion—the religion of the future—human beings can be more human by becoming more godlike, not just later, in another life or another time, but right now, on Earth and in their own lives."--Publishers website.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is among society’s most pernicious and impactful social issues, causing substantial harm to health and wellbeing, and impacting women’s employability, work performance, and career opportunity. Organizations play a vital role in addressing IPV, yet, in contrast to other employee- and gender-related social issues, very little is known regarding corporate responses to IPV. IPV responsiveness is a specific demonstration of corporate social responsibility and is central to advancing gender equity in organizations. In this paper, we draw upon (...) unique data on the IPV policies and practices of 191 Australian listed corporations between 2016 and 2019, that collectively employ around 1.5 M employees. Providing the first large-scale empirical analysis of corporate IPV policies and practices, we theorise that listed corporations’ IPV responsiveness reflects institutional and stakeholder pressures which are multifaceted and central to corporate social responsibility. Our findings identify greater IPV responsiveness among larger corporations, as well as those corporations with higher proportions of women middle managers, greater financial resources, and more advanced employee consultation on gender issues. This paper concludes that there is a need for further research on corporate IPV responsiveness, to further illuminate corporate motivations, organizational support processes, and employee experiences. (shrink)

Einleitung -- Phänomenologie als Wesensforschung -- Leibphänomenologische Perspektiven -- Musik und Leiblichkeit -- Leibphänomenologie und Musikpädogogik? -- Bewegungen zu einem Orgelstück -- Ausblick.

The civil rights and feminist movements of the sixties did not leave legal theory untouched. Over the following two decades, the critical legal studies movement--led by the Brazilian philosopher, social theorist and politician Roberto Unger--sought to transform traditional views of law and legal doctrine, revealing the hidden interests and class dominations in prevailing legal frameworks. It remains highly influential, having spawned more recent movements, including feminist legal studies and critical race theory. The Critical Legal Studies Movement develops its major (...) ideas, showing how laws and legal discourse hide the social inequalities and political biases that so interest philosophy and revolutionary politics. (shrink)

La thèse d’indétermination de Quine est souvent considérée comme découlant de l’adoption d’un point de vue naturaliste. Contre cette lecture, qui manque la distinction entre empirisme et naturalisme, nous montrons comment l’indétermination est fondée dans une philosophie demeurant empiriste malgré la critique des deux dogmes de l’analyticité et du réductionnisme. Cet empirisme entre en conflit avec certaines thèses de l’épistémologie naturalisée défendue par Quine.Quine’s thesis of indeterminacy is often seen as grounded in his naturalism. Against this interpretation, which confuses empiricism (...) with naturalism, we show how indeterminacy is grounded in a philosophy which remains empiricist albeit the rejection of analyticity and reductionism. This empiricism conflicts with some theses of naturalized epistemology. (shrink)

Nous montrons comment Quine hérite de Hume certains aspects de sa conception de l’objet physique. L’un et l’autre, examinant l’étendue de la garantie empirique de nos concepts, soutiennent que l’identité de l’objet n’est pas suffisamment déterminée par l’expérience. Chez Quine, cette thèse est fondée sur l’indétermination de la référence, chez Hume sur une analyse de l’identité comme fiction de l’imagination. Quine, déterminant ainsi sa situation propre dans une histoire subjective de l’empirisme, voit cette analyse comme la perception confuse du fait (...) que l’identité apparaît dans le système conceptuel seulement lors de l’acquisition de la référence divisée. Nous montrons comment les deux philosophes font alors face à une même tension, entre les exigences d’une construction empiriste des concepts à partir du matériau empirique et la dénégation d’une détermination complète. Nous montrons ainsi comment le rejet quinien du dogme du réductionnisme trouve une de ses racines dans le Traité de Hume. (shrink)

Ethnicity and im/migrant classification systems and their constituent categories have a long history in the construction of public health knowledge on tuberculosis in the United Kingdom. This article critically examines the categories employed and the epidemiological discourses on TB, im/migrants, and ethnic minorities in health reporting between 1965 and 2015. We employ a Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse Analysis to trace the continuities and changes in the categories used and in the discursive construction of im/migrants, ethnic minorities, and TB. (...) These continuities and disjunctures are analysed within their socio-historical context to demonstrate the historical contingency of epidemiological knowledge production. We outline two historical phases in knowledge construction. The first coincides with the period of decolonisation, which witnessed a change in discursive identity ascriptions from ‘immigrants’ to ‘ethnic groups’ in health reporting as the ‘other’. The second commenced after 1991, when the adoption of the census ethnicity categories as a standard in the collection of population statistics entrenched ethnicity categories in health reporting. We argue the health reporting discourse reveals that the ‘new’ public health exhibits continuities with the ‘old’ by targeting the immigrant ‘other’ through biosecuritisation practices. We contend that these categories originated within a postcolonial paradigm and that increasing immigration and new forms of mobility are creating the preconditions for new discourses on identity construction that have implications for the current collaborative TB strategy. (shrink)

There is, naturally, no more ambiguous factor in all human knowledge than the possible bearing of what we do not know on what we do know.