Abordaré la crítica de Axel Honneth a la primera Escuela de Frankfurt y su aparente omisión de Herbert Marcuse. Defenderé a Marcuse contra algunas de las críticas hechas por Honneth a la teoría crítica temprana de la Escuela de Frankfurt. Luego argumentaré que Marcuse siempre estuvo en busca de una subjetividad radical, incluso cuando advirtió contra los mecanismos unidimensionales en curso de producción de sujetos. Finalmente, mostraré que Honneth también construye su proyecto en torno a la búsqueda de una subjetividad (...) radical, pero aborda el problema a través de una teoría de la intersubjetividad que complementa el proyecto de Marcuse. (shrink)

Agronomic science or technoscience has an important role in contemporary times and is the focus of necessary philosophical investigations. The present study aimed to relate Gadamerian philosophical hermeneutics with the Laudanian concept of philosophy of science, also applied to the philosophy of technology within the agronomic context. The central question to be answered is: can Gadamerian philosophical hermeneutics apply to the understanding of agronomy? Given this, central references and commentators were selected, dividing the dialogue between the authors and the argumentation (...) into the following points: sciences, technologies, and Gadamerian philosophical hermeneutics; agronomic traditions and their Laudanian progress; reaching the final possibility of intersections between Gadamer and Laudan, when reflecting on agronomy, especially on the theme of traditions. (shrink)

El estudio se propone el análisis de la última de las parábolas del evangelio de Mateo, examinando su lenguaje y elementos teológicos fundamentales; así como también su forma y composición en la obra. El trabajo se motiva por la designación que el Papa Francisco dio al texto, comprendiéndolo como recapitulación esencial del camino cristiano fundamental que debe emprender el discípulo que desea vivir las huellas del Maestro.

Everyone, even when asserting unchallengeable authority from God or Science, thinks in language, in words and phrases, in expressions of moral, social and political impact, fighting words and words with and over which we fight. However, debates among the educated can be irrelevant elsewhere, ineffective against the highly motivated whose dogma instructs and guides them, their voting and their arming. The degeneration of “democracy” to “tyranny” such as Plato’s Republic postulated threatens in some lands “of the free,” while in others (...) it seems inexorably in progress. Today “democracy,” republic,” “liberty/freedom,” “justice,” “law and order” are adduced by their actual enemies to complement “nationalism,” “patriotism,” and frightening “empire.” Extremists on both sides decry “Tyranny!” each in fact seeking authoritarian power. All of which have instructive ancient precedents: in the History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides offers horrific accounts of ancient nation-states “long ago and far away,” more or less democratic, that abandoned common sense, moral sense, and with them regard for value words and truth itself. In the early 2020s CE many persons and governments have done little better during the still lingering pandemic. A second horror is prompted by Thucydides’ report of civil war on Corcyra, telling how faction spawned riots, coups d’état, and outright civil war. The twenty-first-century media are uniquely potent, yet mechanics of seduction are timeless. Likewise techniques for winning true believers and votes, as illustrated by passages in Mein Kampf on the language of propaganda, its production and reception. Our hope is therefore Education for a New Era to help students to discover pitfalls of media(ted) “information,” to achieve independent critical thinking at levels of basic language use and foundations of argument. Besides recognizing mis- and disinformation as harmful, they must learn themselves to judge thoughtless use, cynical abuse, or, worse yet, brazen disdain of vocabulary indicating moral/ethical value. Scientists have key roles in this drama; humanists larger ones yet. (shrink)

In the context of astrophysical modeling at the solar system scale, we investigate the modalities implied by taking into account different levels of detail at which phenomena can be considered. In particular, by framing the analysis in terms of the how-possibly/how-actually distinction, we address the debated question as to whether the degree of plausibility is tightly linked to the degree of detail. On the grounds of concrete examples, we argue that, also in the astrophysical context examined, this is not necessarily (...) the case. (shrink)

Taxa and homologues can in our view be construed both as kinds and as individuals. However, the conceptualization of taxa as natural kinds in the sense of homeostatic property cluster kinds has been criticized by some systematists, as it seems that even such kinds cannot evolve due to their being homeostatic. We reply by arguing that the treatment of transformational and taxic homologies, respectively, as dynamic and static aspects of the same homeostatic property cluster kind represents a good perspective for (...) supporting the conceptualization of taxa as kinds. The focus on a phenomenon of homology based on causal processes (e.g., connectivity, activity-function, genetics, inheritance, and modularity) and implying relationship with modification yields a notion of natural kinds conforming to the phylogenetic-evolutionary framework. Nevertheless, homeostatic property cluster kinds in taxonomic and evolutionary practice must be rooted in the primacy of epistemological classification (homology as observational properties) over metaphysical generalization (series of transformation and common ancestry as unobservational processes). The perspective of individuating characters exclusively by historical-transformational independence instead of their developmental, structural, and functional independence fails to yield a sufficient practical interplay between theory and observation. Purely ontological and ostensional perspectives in evolution and phylogeny (e.g., an ideographic character concept and PhyloCode’s ‘individualism’ of clades) may be pragmatically contested in the case of urgent issues in biodiversity research, conservation, and systematics. (shrink)

IntroductionTranscranial magnetic stimulation is a consolidated procedure for the treatment of depression, with several meta-analyses demonstrating its efficacy. Theta-burst stimulation is a modification of TMS with similar efficacy and shorter session duration. The geriatric population has many comorbidities and a high prevalence of depression, but few clinical trials are conducted specifically for this age group. TBS could be an option in this population, offering the advantages of few side effects and no pharmacological interactions. Therefore, our aim is to investigate the (...) efficacy of TBS in geriatric depression.Clinical trial registration[https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/], identifier [NCT04842929]. (shrink)

The environment is a continuous source of matter and energy, which dynamizes the adaptive processes of biological systems, so that these systems emerge, persist or are extinguished as a consequence of their reactions to the environment. This perspective, forged from classical physics, gives way to multiple ecological theories, with evolution being the most prominent one. In all these cases, information would be both dependent and subsequent to matter and energy. Thus, the emergence and dynamics of genetic material or ecological attributes (...) such as abundance, richness or diversity depend mainly on the interaction of these two fundamental states. However, recent approaches from quantum physics and complexity views put forward the notion that information can be independent and prior to matter and energy, which allows us to see ecological processes from another perspective, i.e., as including complex biological systems as capable of showing emergent properties such as cognition. We proposed here a set of postulates and ideas that suggests how the ability to manipulate (internalize, integrate, store and generate) information can be developed by those systems, which would directly and non-randomly influence ecological attributes and their dynamics; i.e., how this property can possibly help replacing the notion of the environment as the ultimate cause of changes. Besides fully detailing the sources of knowledge and our rationale in this sense, we have also discussed how these thoughts and possibilities can be employed in devising better and more comprehensive approaches for biological conservation strategies. (shrink)

Neste artigo, demonstrei a relação entre a Memória, a História Oral e o Patrimônio Imaterial Afro-brasileiro. Apontei para os aspectos teóricos e para a práxis de uma História Oral capaz de oferecer algumas bases para a salvaguarda do Patrimônio Imaterial. Para tanto, propus um diálogo dinâmico com diferentes conceitos de Memória, sobretudo conforme compreendida por Joël Candau e Maurice Halbwachs. Apresentei diferentes conceitos em diálogo com autores especialistas em Patrimônio Imaterial, como: Maria Amélia Jundurian Corá, Chiara Bortolotto e Ulpiano Toledo (...) Bezerra de Menses. Além disso, identifiquei procedimentos construídos por José Carlos Sebe Bom Meihy, Suzana Lopes Salgado Ribeiro e Fabíola Holanda no âmbito do Núcleo de Estudos em História Oral – NEHO/USP. Palavras-chave: Memória, História Oral, Patrimônio Imaterial, Teoria. (shrink)

This hefty volume amounts to a chronological encyclopedia on the history and culture of a region that draws its other name “Anatolia” from a European perspective, “Land of the Sunrise.” It ranges f...

Global Mental Health is a field of research and practice that addresses the expansion of universal and equitable mental health care worldwide. This article explores the ways the concept of culture is employed in Global Mental Health literature. Global Mental Health advocates and critics assume an ontological separation between ‘nature’ and ‘culture’ to typify mental illness, linking it predominantly to one or the other of these two categories. Advocates of Global Mental Health view mental disorders as a nature–culture hybrid, while (...) critics see them as typically cultural phenomena. The cultural critique of Global Mental Health can be strengthened by a sociological approach to both the role of critique and the uses of the concept of culture within social sciences. As an alternative to the ontologization of culture, we propose a different theoretical approach to the social issues involved in the expansion of international public health care in mental health: Arthur Kleinman's and Didier Fassin’s moral anthropological approaches. (shrink)

This paper presents the foundation upon which the contemporary knowledge of body integrity dysphoria (BID) is built. According to the World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases, 11th edition (ICD-11), the main feature of BID is an intense and persistent desire to become physically disabled in a significant way. Three putative aetiologies that are considered to explain the insurgence of the condition are discussed: neurological, psychological and postmodern theories. The concept of bodily representation within the medical context is highlighted, with (...) the concept of dysphoria, which was brought to the fore with the introduction of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), and the ICD-11. Contemporary issues of “justice” are addressed to identify ethically relevant distinctions between BID and sex reassignment surgery. It is argued that there is no ethically relevant difference between the BID actor’s desire for invasive surgical intervention and the wish of gender dysphoric individuals to undergo sex reassignment surgery procedures. Some BID actors self-mutilate, and this presents medical professionals with difficult choices regarding whether or not to intervene in order to satisfy the BID patient’s desire. Both abstention and intervention may lead to severe ethical complications for doctors and patients despite the positive outcomes in terms of quality of life for BID individuals who manage to undergo such procedures. (shrink)

Obiettivo del contributo è delineare l’attività editoriale di Umberto Notari, poco studiata dalla critica, analizzando alcune riviste fondate a Milano tra 1903 e 1917: il «Verde e Azzurro», «La Giovane Italia», «Gli Avvenimenti» e «Le Industrie Italiane Illustrate». Oltre a rintracciare le collaborazioni con i membri del Futurismo e del gruppo di Novecento, l’analisi di questi periodici mostra in che misura Notari si sia servito delle sue riviste per elaborare pionieristiche strategie pubblicitarie, di comunicazione di massa e di organizzazione del (...) consenso, che hanno avuto molti riflessi nella cultura visiva a lui contemporanea. (shrink)

El presente trabajo critica el rol constitutivo que tanto Gérard Genette como Jean-Marie Schaeffer le otorgan a la atención en la relación estética entre un sujeto y una obra literaria. A su vez, el análisis realizado es útil para resignificar el concepto de prefocalización criteriosa de Noël Carroll. A partir de análisis estructurales y narrativos de la obra de arte literaria, se argumenta que la atención estética no es necesaria en la relación estética. Por otra parte, se defiende que los (...) estados afectivos y estéticos generados por la lectura dependen de la relación entre el lector y ciertos elementos formales existentes en la obra. En concordancia, se propone una interpretación de la prefocalización criteriosa que resalta la importancia de la influencia de las elecciones del autor en la respuesta afectiva del lector. (shrink)

Objetiva-se evidenciar as notações homoculturais em O Retrato de Dorian Gray (1890), de Oscar Wilde. Assim, ao intentar destacar a homoafetividade presente no romance, são ancorados conceitos a respeito do “espaço biográfico” (ARFUCH, 2010), bem como as nuances históricas da vida do autor, delineadas por Pires (2005) e Schiffer (2011), além dos pressupostos sobre homocultura e homoafetividade, fundamentados em Foucault (2010) e Lugarinho (2004). Em perspectiva bibliográfica, nota-se que os aspectos homoculturais no romance se estabelecem no strechos em que estão (...) presentes nuances significativas de afetividade homossexual. Nesse sentido, esta abordagem pretende-se não somente enquanto uma discussão teórico-analítica, mas também como um constructo socialmente engajado, enviesando abordagens literárias dissidentes de perspectivas heteronormativas.Palavras-chave:Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde. Homoafetividade. Homocultura. (shrink)

Este texto intenta comprender la naturaleza de la reflexión radical que debe ser la filosofía y cómo es diferente de una reflexión intelectualista o cartesiana. Mientras que la última se concibe como todopoderosa, capaz de constituir el mundo por sí sola, la reflexión radical reconoce, por el contrario, lo que está más acá de ella, es decir, la enorme zona carnal que Merleau-Ponty caracteriza como “objetivo previo” o “irreflexivo”. Solo entendiendo la reflexión radical como libertad, invención y apropiación del sentido, (...) parece resolverse la contradicción entre intelectualismo y conciencia encarnada, ello para dilucidar la fuerza de la fenomenología donde parece mostrar su debilidad, es decir, precisamente en el trabajo de comprensión del mundo en relación con la conciencia. Para este propósito se explora la obra de Merleau-Ponty, particularmente la Fenomenología de la percepción, en función de un análisis inmanente de los conceptos de percepción y libertad propios de consideraciones fenomenológicas del filósofo francés. Como conclusión de este análisis se deriva la posibilidad de comprender que dada la tendencia de la reflexión radical a tratar de transgredir sus límites, esta podría convertirse en una reflexión intelectualista o idealista, mientras que la libertad podría convertirse en un bloqueo en la experiencia adquirida, ello exigiría, entonces, que tanto la reflexión radical como la libertad se relacionen de manera continua y moderada en el mundo de la percepción para poder configurar una experiencia cualificada y no empobrecida del mundo. (shrink)

Alain Badiou ha culminado recientemente lo que él mismo ha dado en llamar su “obra capital”. Se trata de los tres tomos de El ser y el acontecimiento. Allí despliega rigurosamente su ontología matemática, su lógica del aparecer y un tratamiento exhaustivo de las verdades desde un punto de vista inmanente. A lo largo de todo este eje vertebrante, con excepción de algunos pasajes del primer tomo, la cuestión de la ideología está ausente. Deberemos atender a los textos tempranos y (...) a algunos de coyuntura más recientes para rastrearla y escrutar su sentido. En el presente trabajo intentamos desarrollar una explicación genética para esta ausencia a la vez que pretendemos vincularla con un desplazamiento entre dos puntos de vista en la producción de ciencia. Entendemos, además, que el mentado desplazamiento es pasible de ser reconducido a los diferentes contextos de producción –especialmente políticos– que ha atravesado el conjunto de la obra badiouana. (shrink)

The emergence of COVID-19 places the economy at risk of recession or worst, depression. A sharp decline in the country’s economic growth is primarily caused by the weak consumption of locals and non-existence of foreign tourists in the country. On the other hand, disruptions of the supply chain in the manufacturing and retails sectors make the situation much worse. With clear uncertainties in mind, government agencies must lay down economic policies, monetary and fiscal, that would boost the confidence of the (...) consumers and producers. Lastly, a clear and coordinated efforts of the national and local government together with economic agencies of the country must be present at this time of the pandemic. (shrink)

We prove that Martin’s Axiom implies the existence of a Cohen-indestructible mad family such that the Mathias forcing associated to its filter adds dominating reals, while \ is consistent with the negation of this statement as witnessed by the Laver model for the consistency of Borel’s conjecture.

Traducción capítulo siete del libro de Brian O’Connor Adorno, publicado por Routledge en 2013.

Giorgio Agamben and Ludwig Wittgenstein seem to have very little in common: the former is concerned with traditional ontological issues while the latter was interested in logics and ordinary language, avoiding metaphysical issues as something we cannot speak about. However, both share a crucial notion for their philosophical projects: form of life. In this paper, I try to show that, despite their different approaches and goals, form of life is for both a crucial notion for thinking ethics and life in-common. (...) Addressing human existence in its constitutive relation to language, this notion deconstructs traditional dichotomies like bios and zoé, the cultural and the biological, enabling both authors to think of a life which cannot be separated from its forms, recognizing the commonality of logos as the specific trait of human existence. Through an analogical reading between both theoretical frameworks, I suggest that the notion of form-of-life, elaborated by Wittgenstein to address human production of meaning, becomes the key notion in Agamben's affirmative thinking since it enables us to consider the common ontologically in its relation to Human potentialities and to foresee a new, common use of the world and ourselves. Giorgio Agamben e Ludwig Wittgenstein parecem ter muito pouco em comum: o primeiro se ocupa de questões ontológicas tradicionais, enquanto o segundo estava interessado na Lógica e na linguagem corrente, evitando os problemas metafísicos como algo de que não podemos falar. No entanto, ambos partilham um conceito crucial para seus projetos filosóficos respectivos: forma de vida. Este artigo tento mostrar que, apesar de seus diferentes enfoques e objetivos, a noção de forma de vida é fundamental no momento de pensar a ética e a vida em-comum. Abordando a existência humana em sua relação constitutiva com a língua, essa noção desconstrói dicotomias tradicionais como bios e zoe, o cultural e o biológico, permitindo-lhes pensar uma vida que não pode ser separada de suas formas, e reconhecendo o caráter comum do logos como o traço específico da existência humana. Através de uma leitura analógica entre ambos quadros teóricos, sugiro que a noção de forma-de-vida, elaborada por Wittgenstein para abordar a produção humana de significados, tornase o conceito-chave do pensamento afirmativo de Agamben, já que nos permite considerar o comum ontologicamente em sua relação com as potencialidades humanas e vislumbrar um uso novo e comum do mundo e de nós mesmos. (shrink)

This work discusses the origin of the architect and the architecture presented in the treatise _De Architectura_ by Vitruvius and its association with imitation. It is discussed the Vitruvian notion of the progression of humanity and its connections with the architect and the establishment of Architecture as the science of the architect. The proposal of training for professionals from various areas is analyzed, which would guarantee, according to Vitruvius, a generalist training and at the same time specialized in their field. (...) It also discusses the attributes necessary, according to the author, for a good professional, which would allow him to achieve recognition for his authority. (shrink)

Como asociado del Instituto de Investigación Social de Frankfurt durante la década de 1930, Herbert Marcuse produjo una serie de artículos que tendrían un impacto significativo en la agenda futura de la teoría crítica. Hizo contribuciones innovadoras, entre otras cosas, al desarrollo de la relación entre la teoría de la Escuela de Frankfurt y las nociones hegeliana y weberiana de desarrollo social, a la idea de la cultura como una limitación de la posibilidad humana y a la articulación de las (...) marcadas diferencias entre el liberalismo y la teoría emancipatoria. A diferencia de varios de sus pares en este periodo, en particular Max Horkheimer, Erich Fromm y Theodor W. Adorno, Marcuse prestó poca atención a las posibles afinidades entre la teoría crítica y el psicoanálisis. (shrink)

The present article investigates some consequences from the rapport ofthe creative and the sedimented language in Maurice Merleau-Ponty's works. It aims at analyzing the different positions adopted by the philosopher on that rapport by considering the image of a boiling liquid as the guide for such analysis. The heuristic power of this image will help, on one side, to comprehend the different standpoints used to interpret the phenomenon of language; on the other side, it will serve as an index to (...) follow the rectification and the radicalization of his philosophy. (shrink)

This article aims to show the way that Merleau-Ponty discusses the subject of the creative expression on literature. In order to do that, we shall analyze the texts of the intermediary period to point out the creative literature is due to arrangement of the own signs of the common language.

Vulnerabilidad educativa en el Gran Córdoba. 2001.

O objetivo deste artigo é destacar e discutir dois momentos nos quais Deleuze se apropria da noção nietzschiana de dionisíaco, para compor o programa de um pensamento sem imagem em oposição ao pensamento da representação. A primeira apropriação diz respeito à questão de um novo discurso filosófico em prol de individuações e singularidades anteriores à “forma sujeito”. A segunda apropriação corresponde à defesa de um pensamento imanente, que ocorre na superfície e não recorre a modelos bem centrados. Trata-se de verificar (...) em quais pontos a influência de Nietzsche foi decisiva para Deleuze compor um novo pensamento em Diferença e repetição, conferindo destaque a noções de individuação, singularidade, diferença e arte. (shrink)

From the book Difference and Repetition, I intend to discuss the extent to which Deleuze's proposal to restore difference in sensibility, preventing difference from being confused with the diverse, as proposed by Kant, in order to remove difference from submission to representation in the ambit of sensibility. This sets up a new perspective to think about the issue of difference in sensitivity, reformulating notions of transcendental thinking and ontology, through an unusual alliance between science and philosophy. Therefore, the proposed objectives (...) are: I) expose Deleuze's critique of Kant's transcendental philosophy, regarding difference as the diverse in sensibility and question the very concept of transcendental as a condition for experience; II) to argue Deleuze's way out of the problem of the representation of difference in sensitivity from the notion of being of the sensible; III) explore Deleuze's appropriation of Gilbert Simondon's concept of individuation: IV) to express why the notions of will to power and eternal return, from Nietzsche's philosophy, contribute, together with individuation, to compose the concept of difference in response to the limits of transcendentalism. (shrink)

Os Cadernos do PET Filosofia da Universidade Federal do Piauí tem a imensa satisfação de apresentar o décimo segundo volume, número vinte e quatro, do dossiê temático intitulado Memória, História e Esquecimento, que reúne vários artigos filosóficos de professores, professoras, pesquisadores, pesquisadoras, alunos e alunas do Curso de Pós-Graduação em Filosofia da UFPI.

El trabajo que aquí se presenta tiene como objetivo señalar cuáles son las condiciones estructurales que presenta una acción humana cuando se la comprende bajo la perspectiva de la pragmática trascendental de Karl-Otto Apel. Desde este punto de vista, la tesis principal que procura defender es que las acciones humanas comprendidas bajo la óptica de la pragmática trascendental contienen simetrías estructurales con los actos de habla. El trabajo no sólo señala en su primera parte (1) cuáles son las condiciones preliminares (...) que deben tenerse en cuenta para arribar a la tesis mencionada sino que en un segundo apartado (2) procura aportar argumentos a ella discutiendo con dos posiciones que sostienen que las condiciones de racionalidad de una y otra forma de actuar son completamente diferentes. Finalmente, en un tercer apartado (3) se extraen algunas conclusiones de la discusión mantenida en la sección anterior y se resumen las simetrías estructurales entre una y otra forma de actuar. (shrink)

El trabajo se extiende en un breve examen del lugar asignado por algunos autores como Jürgen Habermas, Karl-Otto Apel o Julio De Zan al discurso como instancia de legitimidad y crítica meta institucional de la sociedad. Haciendo un repaso de posiciones contrarias como las de Arnold Gehlen o Niklas Luhmann se procura establecer los alcances y los límites del espacio público –topos natural del discurso– como lugar paradigmático para interrelaciones sociales de fuerte contenido normativo orientadas hacia la validez de las (...) instituciones. Por último, se realizan una serie de precisiones que son necesarias para esa reivindicación del espacio público político. (shrink)

The worsening of the Cold War during the Ronald Reagan administration brought with it the Reagan doctrine and US support for the conservative Central American dictatorships, causing a wave of refugees that reached the United States. In the face of the deportations carried out by the administration, a social movement of religious inspiration, but not confessional, called Sanctuary, with important legal and political consequences was produced.

Buscamos neste artigo realizar uma análise sobre os termos normalidade, anormalidade, corporalidade central e periférica através do filme “Pieles” do diretor espanhol Eduardo Casanova. Para realizar este trabalho utilizamos a metodologia bibliográfica e análise fílmica. Destarte, apresentamos a descrição sobre o filme e algumas personagens, desenvolvemos uma discussão teórica e fechamos com análises sobre o filme e as considerações finais. Concluímos que não são as diferenças corpóreas, sejam elas anomalias ou mutações congênitas que definem os lugares e funções desses corpos (...) diferentes na sociedade, mas sim os padrões, normas e convenções construídas histórico-socialmente. (shrink)

Rawls propõe uma “divisão do trabalho” entre as instituições que compõem a estrutura básica da sociedade e as regras diretamente aplicáveis a indivíduos e associações. O artigo expõe e refuta o argumento de que é compatível com a concepção rawlsiana de justiça defender um ideal de justiça não distributivo para o direito privado. Alega-se, em suma, que o direito privado é necessário para manter o que Rawls chama de “justiça de fundo”, bem como que esse papel pode ser desempenhado sem (...) abrir mão de uma relativa simplicidade normativa. (shrink)

Ratio Juris, Volume 35, Issue 3, Page 310-326, September 2022.

Symmetry considerations dominate modern fundamental physics, both in quantum theory and in relativity. Philosophers are now beginning to devote increasing attention to such issues as the significance of gauge symmetry, quantum particle identity in the light of permutation symmetry, how to make sense of parity violation, the role of symmetry breaking, the empirical status of symmetry principles, and so forth. These issues relate directly to traditional problems in the philosophy of science, including the status of the laws of nature, the (...) relationships between mathematics, physical theory, and the world, and the extent to which mathematics suggests new physics.This entry begins with a brief description of the historical roots and emergence of the concept of symmetry that is at work in modern science. It then turns to the application of this concept to physics, distinguishing between two different uses of symmetry: symmetry principles versus symmetry arguments. It mentions the different varieties of physical symmetries, outlining the ways in which they were introduced into physics. Then, stepping back from the details of the various symmetries, it makes some remarks of a general nature concerning the status and significance of symmetries in physics. (shrink)

A recent stream of epistemology gives special relevance to ignorance within the framework of an epistemological theory. Indeed, some want to give a significant role to ignorance in epistemological theorizing. In this paper, we argue that a particular sort of ignorance, which involves recognition of the fact that one is ignorant, is central to the acquisition of knowledge given the epistemic structure of society. It is clear, we hold, that Socrates realized the relevance of what we call ‘Socratic ignorance’ in (...) the acquisition of knowledge and was aware of the division of epistemic and cognitive labor that we find in our society. We shall explain the way we understand this Socratic ignorance, as opposed to what we will call ‘stubborn ignorance’ and the role this ignorance of Socratic overtones and related character traits can play in the acquisition of knowledge from others and with others. (shrink)

This paper investigates how reports concerning a given country’s prospects affect investment decisions in two stylized, artificial organizational settings. We designed a role-game laboratory experiment, where subjects were asked to make investment decisions for two types of fictitious companies from the same country. We found that when available reports included positive country prospects, subjects strategized more on investments regardless of the characteristics of their organization. When reports included negative prospects, however, certain organizational peculiarities influenced the subjects’ interpretations, with decision-makers opting (...) for more prudent plans when managing a more traditional company. Cognitive maps of decision makers showed that subjects considered investment strategies as a means to fulfil a company’s role expectations regarding appropriate decisions. Notwithstanding all caveats due to the artificial and simplified nature of our experimental setting, our findings indicate the need for more research on the effect of reports and prospect analysis on strategic decisions of companies, especially when business prospects are uncertain. (shrink)