This article examines how problems of validity in empirical social research differ from those in natural science. Specifically, we focus on how some ontological peculiarities of the object of study in social science bear on validity requirements. We consider these issues in experimental validity as well as in test validity because, while both fields hold large intellectual traditions, research tests or questionnaires are less closely connected to natural science methodology than experiments.

The purpose of this paper is to show how the degree of experimental validity of scientific procedures is crucially involved in determining two typical pragmatic modes in science, namely, the preservation of useful procedures and the disposal of useless ideas. The term 'pragmatic' will here be used following Schurz's characterisation of being internally pragmatic, as referring to that which proves useful for scientific or epistemic goals. The first part of the paper consists in a characterisation of the notion of experimental (...) validity. The second part is focused on several historical examples illustrating how the above pragmatic modes relate to the question of experimental validity. The Michelson-Morley experiment is presented as a case of a highly valid and useful experiment preserved through the development of different theories (like, on the one hand, the ether theory, upheld by Fitzgerald and Lorentz, and, on the other hand, Einstein's special theory of relativity). The concept of caloric will be discussed as an example of an idea that was discarded once it became useless, after heat was understood as a form of energy within the new frame provided by the kinetic theory of heat towards the middle of the 19th century. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the semantic relation between continental drift and plate tectonics. The numerous attempts to account for this case in either Kuhnian or Lakatosian terms have been convincingly dismissed by Rachel Laudan, who nevertheless acknowledged that there was not yet a plausible alternative to explain the so called “geological revolution”. Several decades later, the epistemological side of this revolution has received much attention, while the semantic relation between drift theory and plate tectonics has remained (...) mainly unexplored. In studying this case under a new light, the notion of embedding, as distinguished from other sorts of intertheoretical relations :11–27, 2011), will have a particular significance. After formally analyzing the relationship between continental drift and plate tectonics, it will become evident that the models of drift theory are part of the models of plate tectonics, thereby fulfilling the conditions for embedding. All theoretical concepts from drift theory are presupposed in some theoretical concepts from plate tectonics, and all empirical concepts of the former are shared by the latter. Furthermore, all the successful paradigmatic applications of continental drift are also successful applications of plate tectonics. As a consequence, under the label “geological revolution”, we actually find a salient historical case of cumulative progress across theory change. (shrink)

L’objectif de ce texte est double: expliquer certaines limitations des approches traditionnelles du succès des théories, et esquisser un critère pour l’évaluation comparative des succès empiriques d’une théorie. On insiste sur les points suivants: a) la supériorité de la prédiction sur l’adaptation, b) la résolution des anomalies non-réfutantes et c) l’utilisation limitée d’hypothèses ad hoc. Après une première partie consacrée à lever les ambiguïtés de l’expression « succès d’une théorie », la deuxième partie traite de quelques-unes des principales lacunes des (...) approches conséquentialistes traditionnelles du succès des théories. Enfin, dans la dernière section, on esquisse le critère de succès empirique d’une théorie et on donne quelques éléments pour renforcer ce critère. (shrink)

L’objectif de ce texte est double: expliquer certaines limitations des approches traditionnelles du succès des théories, et esquisser un critère pour l’évaluation comparative des succès empiriques d’une théorie. On insiste sur les points suivants: a) la supériorité de la prédiction sur l’adaptation, b) la résolution des anomalies non-réfutantes et c) l’utilisation limitée d’hypothèses ad hoc. Après une première partie consacrée à lever les ambiguïtés de l’expression « succès d’une théorie », la deuxième partie traite de quelques-unes des principales lacunes des (...) approches conséquentialistes traditionnelles du succès des théories. Enfin, dans la dernière section, on esquisse le critère de succès empirique d’une théorie et on donne quelques éléments pour renforcer ce critère. (shrink)

As emphasized by Larry Laudan in developing the notion of non-refuting anomalies, traditional analyses of empirical adequacy have not paid enough attention to the fact that the latter does not only depend on a theory’s empirical consequences being true but also on them corresponding to the most salient phenomena in its domain of application. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the notion of non-refuting anomaly. To this end, I critically examine Laudan’s account and provide a criterion to determine (...) when a non-refuting anomaly can be ascribed to the applicative domain of a theory. Unless this latter issue is clarified, no proper sense can be made of non-refuting anomalies, and no argument could be opposed to those cases where an arbitrary restriction in a theory’s domain of application dramatically reduces the possibilities for its empirical scrutiny. In arguing for the importance of this notion, I show how several semanticist resources can help to reveal its crucial implications, not only for theory evaluation, but also for understanding the nature of a theory’s applicative domain. (shrink)

The variations in how subjects respond to positively or negatively framed descriptions of the same issue have received attention from social science research, where, nevertheless, a naïve understanding of speech interpretation has undermined the different explanations offered. The present paper explores the semantic-pragmatic side of framing effects and provides a unifying explanation of this phenomenon in terms of a combined effect of pragmatic presuppositions and default implicatures. The paper contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of representations and cognitive processes involved (...) in the framing bias by showing how well-entrenched linguistic practices associated to frame choice, and conducive to an implicit focus, result in default implicatures on the addressee’s side. (shrink)

The present work constitutes an attempt to make explicit those pragmatic norms successfully operating in empirical science. I will first comment on the initial presuppositions of the discussion, in particular, on those concerning the instrumental character of scientific practice and the nature of scientific goals. Then I will depict the moderately naturalistic frame in which, from this approach, the pragmatic norms make sense. Third, I will focus on the specificity of the pragmatic norms, making special emphasis on what I regard (...) as a key idea underlying them, namely, the view, vigorously advocated by classical pragmatists like C. S. Peirce and G. Vailati, that the best test for objectivity is the test of action. Finally, I am going to put forward a tentative list of pragmatic norms that can be abstracted from a careful observation and analysis of scientific practice as provided by current philosophers of experimentation (A. Franklin and F. Steinle among others). The norms will be divided into four classes corresponding to four aspects of science in which they rule, that is, self-correction, prediction, explanation and both experimentation and computation. In the following account, the formulation of those pragmatic norms successfully governing science will be understood as a contribution that scientifically-oriented pragmatism can make to the normative naturalistic project in epistemology. (shrink)

En el presente trabajo es explicitan de forma sistemática las contribuciones más significativas del estructuralismo a la comprensión de las revoluciones científicas, tomando como punto de referencia inicial la caracterización kuhniana de éstas. Se elucidará, con ayuda del caso ilustrativo de la revolución geológica, un segundo sentido kuhniano de revolución científica, apenas discutido por el propio Kuhn y a menudo obviado por sus críticos. Esta forma de desarrollo teórico denominada “incrustación teórica”, aunque muy diferente de aquel característico de la ciencia (...) normal (o evolución teórica), es, no obstante, marcadamente continuo y acumulativo, en el sentido de que no conlleva el rechazo de la teoría precedente, sino su subsunción en la sucesora. Se analizará, por otra parte, el problema del alcance del holismo semántico a la luz del criterio de T-teoricidad estructuralista, e, igualmente, la cuestión del alcance de la inconmensurabilidad, atendiendo al espectro del cambio teórico revolucionario según las posibilidades de reducción ontológica aplicativa entre teorías inconmensurables. (shrink)

Este estudo investigou a prevalência de problemas de comportamento, medidos através do CBCL, em uma amostra de 366 crianças, estudantes de primeira a quarta série do ensino fundamental da cidade de Porto Alegre, RS. Os dados foram coletados a partir das informações obtidas por pais, mães ou demais c..

O estudo analisa os álbuns confeccionados pelas professoras do primeiro ano primário do Colégio Farroupilha (Porto Alegre/RS), de 1948 a 1966, com fotografias das turmas e as cartinhas de cada aluno, acompanhadas de fotografia individual. Os alunos entregavam o álbum à diretora da escola na �Festa do Livro�, evento realizado anualmente, no mês de outubro, para marcar a passagem à nova cartilha a ser utilizada: Cartilha Proença (1926), de Antonio Firmino de Proença. O colégio adotava, no início da alfabetização, (...) a Cartilha de Vivi e Vavá (1938), de Célia Rabello. Em setembro, os alunos chegavam ao fim dessa cartilha, sabendo ler, escrever e contar. Para comemorar o processo de alfabetização, a cartilha apresentava como último texto de leitura �Festa do Livro�, mote para a realização de evento similar na escola, que também comemorava a entrada da primavera. Os álbuns e, especialmente, as cartinhas, são um expressivo corpus documental do cotidiano da escola e das práticas educativas realizadas ao longo do primeiro ano, quando se efetivava o processo de alfabetização, expressando toda uma rede paralela de significações. O estudo detém-se no exame da materialidade desse acervo, assim como analisa a prática de escritas escolares infantis, objetivando perceber os mecanismos de continuidade e descontinuidade presentes no trabalho pedagógico. (shrink)

O estudo analisa os álbuns confeccionados pelas professoras do primeiro ano primário do Colégio Farroupilha (Porto Alegre/RS), de 1948 a 1966, com fotografias das turmas e as cartinhas de cada aluno, acompanhadas de fotografia individual. Os alunos entregavam o álbum à diretora da escola na "Festa do Livro", evento realizado anualmente, no mês de outubro, para marcar a passagem à nova cartilha a ser utilizada: Cartilha Proença (1926), de Antonio Firmino de Proença. O colégio adotava, no início da alfabetização, (...) a Cartilha de Vivi e Vavá (1938), de Célia Rabello. Em setembro, os alunos chegavam ao fim dessa cartilha, sabendo ler, escrever e contar. Para comemorar o processo de alfabetização, a cartilha apresentava como último texto de leitura "Festa do Livro", mote para a realização de evento similar na escola, que também comemorava a entrada da primavera. Os álbuns e, especialmente, as cartinhas, são um expressivo corpus documental do cotidiano da escola e das práticas educativas realizadas ao longo do primeiro ano, quando se efetivava o processo de alfabetização,expressando toda uma rede paralela de significações. O estudo detém-se no exame da materialidade desse acervo, assim como analisa a prática de escritas escolares infantis, objetivando perceber os mecanismos continuidade e descontinuidade presentes no trabalho pedagógico. (shrink)

Recensión del volumen colectivo Territorios por pensar publicado en 2019 en siglo XXI de España, editado por Nuria Sánchez Madrid y Luis Alegre Zahonero.

O presente livro é o relato de um percurso que se foi traçando ao longo de anos a dialogar com Espinosa. Um dos fios que permite estabelecer o encadeamento destes escritos é o das solicitações, académicas ou outras, a que eles correspondem. É uma trama que se entretece com a disposição interna que presidiu à sua escrita - a felicidade de ler e interpretar Espinosa, o filósofo que defende a benignidade das paixões alegres e que se propõe encontrar neste mundo (...) o verdadeiro bem, susceptível de proporcionar 'a fruição eterna da suprema e contínua alegria'. (shrink)

_El intelectual plebeyo. Vocación y resistencia del pensar alegre _es la continuación del trabajo que Javier López Alós sintetizó en _Crítica de la razón precaria. La vida intelectual ante la obligación de lo extraordinario_. En esta nueva obra el autor focaliza en la reflexión sobre la figura del intelectual en nuestros días, destacando la perplejidad y el malestar como dos bases presentes en las trayectorias tanto de los investigadores consagrados, como de los más jóvenes. A través del concepto del (...) “intelectual plebeyo” proyecta una reivindicación, una articulación del malestar que explora el potencial movilizador de la conciencia de desigualdad e injusticia del intelectual. El concepto de vocación, apunta López Alós, ha sido modulado para convertirse en una herramienta para la explotación y la servidumbre voluntaria. Frente a esto, su propuesta trata de centrarse en una práctica intelectual alternativa que supere la ideología neoliberal, por lo que el concepto “intelectual plebeyo” pretende politizar la posición precaria de gran parte de las personas que se dedican al trabajo intelectual. Así, “plebeyo” contiene un gran potencial movilizador, una conciencia de la desigualdad y la injusticia, así como una toma de postura ante estas. (shrink)

Índice del número colectivo Minga-Mutirão de Revistas Latinoamericanas de Teología 2013, «A los 40 años de la Teología de la Liberación: balance y futuro» VIGIL, José Maria. Presentación . BARROS, Marcelo; VIGIL, José Maria. Anunciaron su muerte, ¡pero está bien viva! Teología de la Liberación 40 años: balance y perspectivas . SUSIN, Luiz Carlos, Secretario Executivo do Foro Mundial de Teologia e Libertação, Porto Alegre, Brasil, Teologia da Libertação: de onde viemos, para onde vamos? ALMEIDA, Antonio José (...) de , Teologia da Libertação e transições eclesiasis pendentes para o futuro. ARAGÃO, Gilbraz, Recife, Brasil, A Libertação se desdobra em diálogo. Teologia da Libertação e pluralismo religioso. BARROS, Marcelo, Recife, Brasil, Para una teología bolivariana de la Liberación. Teología de la Liberación y Patria Grande hoy . SCHIAVO, Luigi, San José, Costa Rica , Tiempos oscuros, tiempos de monstruos. Teología de la Liberación y nuevos desafíos culturales. OSORIO, Sergio, Bogotá, Colombia , Una nueva dimensión epistemológica para la teología. La Teología de la Liberación y el desafío epistemológico. RODRIGUES SILVA Marcos, Coordenador da Comissão de Teologia Afro da ASETT, Teologia Afro (ou Negra) da Libertação: balanço e perspectivas. TOMICHÁ, Roberto, Cochabamba, Bolivia, Teologías de la liberación indígenas. VÉLEZ, Consuelo, Coordinadora de la Comisión de Teología Feminista de la ASETT, Universidad Xaveriana, Bogotá, Colombia, Teología feminista latinoamericana de la Liberación: balance y futuro. KERBER, Guillermo : Teología de la liberación y movimiento ecuménico. CASTILLO, Jorge, panameño profesor de teología en la Universidad de Nijmegen, Holanda, Teología de la liberación y «cristianismo mundial». VIGIL, José María, Panamá, Panamá, Teología de la Liberación en camino hacia nuevos paradigmas. (shrink)

Resenha da obra: MACIEL, Sonia Maria. Ética e Felicidade - Um Estudo do Filebo de Platão. Porto Alegre> Edipucrs, 2002.

Resumo: Palavras-chave Keywords : Children’s literature. Storytelling. Reading. : Literatura infantil. Contação de histórias. Leitura..: Storytelling is considered nowadays a proper strategy to encourage children to develop literary taste and reading and it is therefore being broadly practiced within educational spaces. Within this framework the present article deals with 140 reports on storytelling observation in schools for children’s education and first classes. These reports were carried out in different places in Porto Alegre and its surroundings. It was possible to (...) observe that despite the joyful characteristic of the storytelling moment – that involves costumes, scenarios, puppets – the way this activity has been conducted turned out to be very pedagogical in three dimensions. In the first place, the choice of many narratives and books reveals an explicit tendency to "civilize" the child or to form a certain kind of subject. In the second place, this pedagogical tendency becomes evident in the conversations carried out between storytellers and children after the storytelling. In this context certain "messages" of the narrative are frequently stressed. At last, in the interviews many storytellers explained their criteria to choose books and stories according to "the project that is being presently developed in the school" or according to "problems that are taking place in the classroom" and so on. In spite of this tendency, however, some reports allow to infer that many teachers are escaping the deliberate pedagogization the stories and are therefore siding with a (new) discourse wherein pedagogical aspects are minimized. A contação de histórias é considerada, atualmente, uma estratégia adequada para iniciar as crianças no gosto pela leitura, sendo uma atividade generalizada nos espaços educativos. Dentro desse quadro, o artigo discute 140 relatos de observação de contação de histórias na Educação Infantil e anos iniciais, realizadas em espaços da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre (RS). Assim, observou-se que, malgrado o caráter lúdico das horas do conto – com fantasias, cenários, fantoches –, há nelas uma evidente pedagogização, através de três dimensões: a primeira é a escolha de algumas histórias e/ ou livros que pretendem abertamente civilizar ou formar um determinado tipo de sujeito. Em segundo lugar, a pedagogização fica evidente nas conversas que a contadora de histórias realiza com crianças após a contação, uma vez que, frequentemente, se enfatizam as mensagens da história. Por fim, nas entrevistas realizadas com as contadoras, ao falarem dos critérios de escolha dos livros e das histórias, várias sinalizaram uma escolha de acordo com o "projeto que está sendo desenvolvido", com "problemas que estão ocorrendo na sala de aula", etc. Mesmo assim, algumas práticas observadas fugiram à pedagogização deliberada, mostrando que muitas professoras estão inseridas em outro (e novo) discurso, em que a pedagogização é minimizada. (shrink)

A contação de histórias é considerada, atualmente, uma estratégia adequada para iniciar as crianças no gosto pela leitura, sendo uma atividade generalizada nos espaços educativos. Dentro desse quadro, o artigo discute 140 relatos de observação de contação de histórias na Educação Infantil e anos iniciais, realizadas em espaços da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre (RS). Assim, observou-se que, malgrado o caráter lúdico das horas do conto � com fantasias, cenários, fantoches �, há nelas uma evidente pedagogização, através de três (...) dimensões: a primeira é a escolha de algumas histórias e/ ou livros que pretendem abertamente civilizar ou formar um determinado tipo de sujeito. Em segundo lugar, a pedagogização fica evidente nas conversas que a contadora de histórias realiza com crianças após a contação, uma vez que, frequentemente, se enfatizam as mensagens da história. Por fim, nas entrevistas realizadas com as contadoras, ao falarem dos critérios de escolha dos livros e das histórias, várias sinalizaram uma escolha de acordo com o �projeto que está sendo desenvolvido�, com �problemas que estão ocorrendo na sala de aula�, etc. Mesmo assim, algumas práticas observadas fugiram à pedagogização deliberada, mostrando que muitas professoras estão inseridas em outro (e novo) discurso, em que a pedagogização é minimizada. (shrink)

María Lugones, one of the premiere figures in feminist philosophy, has at last collected some of her most famous essays, as well as some lesser-known gems, into her first book.

In this paper I examine and reply to a deflationary challenge brought against virtue ethics. The challenge comes from critics who are impressed by recent psychological evidence suggesting that much of what we take to be virtuous conduct is in fact elicited by narrowly specific social settings, as opposed to being the manifestation of robust individual character. In answer to the challenge, I suggest a conception of virtue that openly acknowledges the likelihood of its deep, ongoing dependence upon particular social (...) relationships and settings. I argue that holding this conception will indeed cause problems for some important strands of thought in virtue ethics, most notably in the tradition of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. But an approach to virtue ethics modeled on David Hume's treatment of virtue and character in A Treatise of Human Nature promises to escape these problems. (shrink)

We argue that philosophers are competent to facilitate public discussion concerning restrictions on human migration across political borders. We also argue that presenting public audiences with a prima facie case for open borders offers a unique opportunity to elucidate important aspects of philosophical reasoning. Finally, we share resources and a lesson plan for those keen to examine the case for open borders with students, or to facilitate public discussion on these issues.

In this conceptual article, we argue that defining corporate social responsibility and corporate social irresponsibility as opposite constructs produces a lack of clarity between responsible and irresponsible acts. Furthermore, we contend that the treatment of the CSR and CSI concepts as opposites de-emphasizes the value of CSI as a stand-alone construct. Thus, we reorient the CSI discussion to include multiple aspects that current conceptualizations have not adequately accommodated. We provide an in-depth exploration of how researchers define CSI and both identify (...) and analyze three important gray zones between CSR and CSI: the role of harm and benefit, the role of the actor and intentionality, and the role of rectification. We offer these gray zones as factors contributing to the present lack of conceptual clarity of the term CSI, as a concept in its own right, leading to difficulties that researchers and managers experience in categorizing CSI acts as distinct from CSR. (shrink)

In _Kazimierz Twardowski: A Grammar for Philosophy_ Maria van der Schaar shows the importance of Twardowski’s method, his philosophical grammar, for both the Lvov-Warsaw School, and analytic philosophy today.

This work provides an analysis of the basic cognitive components of envy. In particular, the roles played by the envious party's social comparison with, and ill will against, the better off are emphasised. The ill will component is characterised by the envier's ultimate goal or wish that the envied suffer some harm, and is distinguished from resentment and sense of injustice, which have often been considered part of envy. The reprehensible nature of envy is discussed, and traced back to the (...) analysis of its components. Finally, we explore both points of overlap and distinguishing features between envy and other emotions such as jealousy or emulation, and make a few general remarks, pointing to the necessity of overcoming conceptual looseness in the notion of envy. (shrink)

Contempt and disgust share a number of features which distinguish them from other hostile emotions: they both present two distinct facets—a nonmoral facet and a moral one; they both imply a negative evaluation of the dispositional kind as well as disrespect towards the target of the feeling; and they trigger avoidance and exclusion action tendencies. However, while sharing a common core, contempt and disgust are in our view distinct emotions, qualified by different cognitive-motivational features. Contempt is felt exclusively towards human (...) targets, and implies sense of superiority over them, pessimistic feelings about their possibility of betterment, detachment from them, and avoidance driven by detachment; whereas disgust can be directed at a wide range of possible targets, and implies contamination sensitivity, fear of contamination, and fear-driven avoidance. The differences between contempt and disgust are related to the different kinds of standard against which the target is evaluated, and the different kinds of disrespect engendered by the negative evaluation. (shrink)

This research aims to identify the ethical issues perceived by intensive care nurses in their everyday practice. It also aims to understand why these situations were considered an ethical issue and what interventions/strategies have been or are expected to be developed so as to minimize them. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview with 15 nurses working at polyvalent intensive care units in 4 Portuguese hospitals, who were selected by the homogenization of multiple samples. The qualitative content analysis identified end-of-life (...) decisions, privacy, interaction, team work, and health-care access as emerging ethical issues. Personal, team, and institutional aspects emerge as reasons behind the experience of these issues. Personal and team resources are used in and for solving these issues. Moral development and training are the most significant strategies. (shrink)

This paper has two aims. First, to bring together the models of temporal phenomenology on offer and to present these using a consistent set of distinctions and terminologies. Second, to examine the methodologies currently practiced in the development of these models. To that end we present an abstract characterisation in which we catalogue all extant models. We then argue that neither of the two extreme methodologies currently discussed is suitable to the task of developing a model of temporal phenomenology. An (...) entirely top-down methodology is largely insensitive to empirical findings, while one that is entirely bottom-up is insensitive to both introspective evidence and more general philosophical considerations. We recommend a methodology that falls between these two extremes. (shrink)

Recent improvements in virtual reality allow for the representation of authentic environments and multiple users in a shared complex virtual world in real time. These advances have fostered clinical applications including in psychiatry. However, although VR is already used in clinical settings to help people with mental disorders, the related ethical issues require greater attention. Based on a thematic literature search the authors identified five themes that raise ethical concerns related to the clinical use of VR: reality and its representation, (...) autonomy, privacy, self-diagnosis and self-treatment, and expectation bias. Reality and its representation is a theme that lies at the heart of VR, but is also of specific significance in a clinical context when perceptions of reality are concerned, for example, during psychosis. Closely associated is the autonomy of VR users. Although autonomy is a much-considered topic in biomedical ethics, it has not been sufficiently discussed when it comes to applications of VR in psychiatry. In this review, the authors address the different themes and recommend the development of an ethical framework for the clinical use of VR. (shrink)