The zone of latent solutions hypothesis provides an alternative approach to explaining cultural patterns in primates and many other animals. According to the ZLS hypothesis, non-human great ape cultures consist largely or solely of latent solutions. The current competing hypothesis for ape culture argues instead that at least some of their behavioural or artefact forms are copied through specific social learning mechanisms and that their forms may depend on copying. In contrast, the ape ZLS hypothesis does not require these forms (...) to be copied. Instead, it suggests that several social learning mechanisms help determine the frequency of these behaviours and artefacts within connected individuals. The ZLS hypothesis thus suggests that increases and stabilisations of a particular behaviour’s or artefact’s frequency can derive from socially-mediated form reinnovations. Therefore, and while genes and ecology play important roles as well, according to the ape ZLS hypothesis, apes typically acquire the forms of their behaviours and artefacts individually, but are usually socially induced to do so. The ZLS approach is often criticized—perhaps also because it challenges the current null hypothesis, which instead assumes a requirement of form-copying social learning mechanisms to explain many ape behavioural forms. However, as the ZLS hypothesis is a new approach, with less accumulated literature compared to the current null hypothesis, some confusion is to be expected. Here, we clarify the ZLS approach—also in relation to other competing hypotheses—and address misconceptions and objections. We believe that these clarifications will provide researchers with a coherent theoretical approach and an experimental methodology to examine the necessity of form-copying variants of social learning in apes, humans and other species. (shrink)

Transplantation continues to push the frontiers of medicine into domains that summon forth troublesome ethical questions. Looming on the frontier today is human facial transplantation. We develop criteria that, we maintain, must be satisfied in order to ethically undertake this as-yet-untried transplant procedure. We draw on the criteria advanced by Dr. Francis Moore in the late 1980s for introducing innovative procedures in transplant surgery. In addition to these we also insist that human face transplantation must meet all the ethical requirements (...) usually applied to health care research. We summarize the achievements of transplant surgery to date, focusing in particular on the safety and efficacy of immunosuppressive medications. We also emphasize the importance of risk/benefit assessments that take into account the physical, aesthetic, psychological, and social dimensions of facial disfiguration, reconstruction, and transplantation. Finally, we maintain that the time has come to move facial transplantation research into the clinical phase. (shrink)

In texts such as “Richard Rorty’s Pragmatic Turn” Jürgen Habermas defends a theory that associates, on the one hand, the truth-claim raised by a speaker for a proposition p with, on the other hand, the requirement that p be “defendable on the basis of good reasons […] at any time and against anybody”. This, as is known, has been the target of criticisms by Rorty, who−in spite of agreeing with Habermas on the central tenet that the way of evaluating our (...) beliefs must be argumentative practice−declares that the only “ideal presupposed by discourse” is “that of being able to justify your beliefs to a competent audience”. We will consider two texts from 1971, -surprisingly neglected in most approaches to the debate-, in which Habermas did include such a “competence condition” to elucidate the notion of truth. We will discuss whether there are good reasons to relinquish such a condition and to refer, instead, only to the formal or procedural properties of argumentative exchanges, as Habermas does in presenting the notion of “ideal speech situation”. As we will try to argue, there are no such good reasons. (shrink)

Main Response Topics ? Introduction ? Open display and public evaluation ? Publicity versus patient privacy ? Facial tissue donation ? Validity of Louisville Instrument for Risk Acceptance ? Patients' understanding of risk ? Face versus hand transplantation ? Rejection rates/risks ? Patient compliance ? Exit strategy ? Functional recovery ? Societietal implications ? Psychological implications ? Conclusion: Uncertainty likely to persist.

Une mention d’Athéna Archegetis dans un passage fragmentaire du papyrus P.Hib. I 15 conduit à déterminer l’histoire de l’épithète, attestée dans la tradition littéraire et épigraphique entre la fin du ve siècle et la période impériale. À partir de la fin du iiie siècle avant J.-C., l’usage d’archegetis s’étend à d’autres divinités qu’Athéna en dehors d’Athènes (Magnésie, Xanthos, Éphèse, Samos, Attaleia, Myra…). Cette étude passe en revue et reconsidère la documentation disponible sur ce terme afin d’en préciser — quand c’est (...) possible — le sens et les fonctions, surtout (mais pas seulement) en contexte athénien. En règle générale, l’épithète souligne le caractère identitaire d’une divinité particulière en un moment de changement ou de renouveau politique ou religieux. (shrink)

At the 2019 and 2021 International Conference on Environmental Psychology, discussions were held on the future of conferences in light of the enormous greenhouse gas emissions and inequities associated with conference travel. In this manuscript, we provide an early career researcher perspective on this discussion. We argue that travel-intensive conference practices damage both the environment and our credibility as a discipline, conflict with the intrinsic values and motivations of our discipline, and are inequitable. As such, they must change. This change (...) can be achieved by moving toward virtual and hybrid conferences, which can reduce researchers’ carbon footprints and promote equity, if employed carefully and with informal exchange as a priority. By acting collectively and with the support of institutional change, we can adapt conference travel norms in our field. To investigate whether our arguments correspond to views in the wider community of ECRs within environmental psychology, we conducted a community case study. By leveraging our professional networks and directly contacting researchers in countries underrepresented in those networks, we recruited 117 ECRs in 32 countries for an online survey in February 2022. The surveyed ECRs supported a change in conference travel practices, including flying less, and perceived the number of researchers wanting to reduce their travel emissions to be growing. Thirteen percent of respondents had even considered leaving academia due to travel requirements. Concerning alternative conference formats, a mixed picture emerged. Overall, participants had slightly negative evaluations of virtual conferences, but expected them to improve within the next 5 years. However, ECRs with health issues, facing visa challenges, on low funding, living in remote areas, with caretaking obligations or facing travel restrictions due to COVID-19 expected a switch toward virtual or hybrid conferences to positively affect their groups. Participants were divided about their ability to build professional relationships in virtual settings, but believed that maintaining relationships virtually is possible. We conclude by arguing that the concerns of ECRs in environmental psychology about current and alternative conference practices must be taken seriously. We call on our community to work on collective solutions and less travel-intensive conference designs using participatory methods. (shrink)

A generalization of gauge theory in which the gauge potential1-form is replaced by a p-form is studied. Charged particles are then replaced by elementary extended objects of dimension p−1. It is shown that this extension is compatible with space-time locality only if the gauge group is U(1). A source which is a closed p−1 surface has zero total charge and corresponds to a particle-antiparticle pair. Its quantum rate of production in an external uniform field is evaluated semiclassically. The analog of (...) the Dirac magnetic pole is constructed. It is another extended object, of dimension n−p−3, where n is the dimension of space-time. The “electric” and “magnetic” charges obey the Dirac quantization condition. This condition is derived in two different ways. One method makes use of local gauge patches and the other brings in singular gauge transformations. A topological mass term is introduced and it is shown that it can coexist with a magnetic pole when n=2p+1, provided the topological mass is quantized. (shrink)

It is well known that, in Peano arithmetic, there exists a formula Theor (x) which numerates the set of theorems. By Gödel's and Löb's results, we have that Theor (˹p˺) ≡ p implies p is a theorem ∼Theor (˹p˺) ≡ p implies p is provably equivalent to Theor (˹0 = 1˺). Therefore, the considered "equations" admit, up to provable equivalence, only one solution. In this paper we prove (Corollary 1) that, in general, if P (x) is an arbitrary formula built (...) from Theor (x), then the fixed-point of P (x) (which exists by the diagonalization lemma) is unique up to provable equivalence. This result is settled referring to the concept of diagonalizable algebra (see Introduction). (shrink)

Discovering the underlying mathematical expressions describing a dataset is a core challenge for artificial intelligence. This is the problem of symbolic regression. Despite recent advances in training neural networks to solve complex tasks, deep learning approaches to symbolic regression are underexplored. We propose a framework that leverages deep learning for symbolic regression via a simple idea: use a large model to search the space of small models. Specifically, we use a recurrent neural network to emit a distribution over tractable mathematical (...) expressions and employ a novel risk-seeking policy gradient to train the network to generate better-fitting expressions. Our algorithm outperforms several baseline methods (including Eureqa, the gold standard for symbolic regression) in its ability to exactly recover symbolic expressions on a series of benchmark problems, both with and without added noise. More broadly, our contributions include a framework that can be applied to optimize hierarchical, variable-length objects under a blackbox performance metric, with the ability to incorporate constraints in situ, and a risk-seeking policy gradient formulation that optimizes for best-case performance instead of expected performance. (shrink)

The paper studies the relation between systems of modal logic and systems of consequential implication, a non-material form of implication satisfying "Aristotle's Thesis" (p does not imply not p) and "Weak Boethius' Thesis" (if p implies q, then p does not imply not q). Definitions are given of consequential implication in terms of modal operators and of modal operators in terms of consequential implication. The modal equivalent of "Strong Boethius' Thesis" (that p implies q implies that p does not imply (...) not q) is identified. (shrink)

Religião e capital simbólico: um estudo do “Projeto Social Pequeno Samuel”, situado em Rio Grande da Serra, no Grande ABC Paulista (Religion and symbolic capital: study of the “Pequeno Samuel Social Project”, located in Rio Grande da Serra) - DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2010v10n28p1414 Resumo No presente estudo nos propomos a discutir a relação entre religião e capital simbólico com o objetivo de avaliar a capacidade das redes sociais e práticas associativas , em torno de grupos religiosos, em agregar benefícios aos seus participantes, (...) sobretudo, em sua dimensão simbólica. Para esse intento, analisaremos atividades realizadas pelo “Projeto Social Pequeno Samuel”, uma associação ligada à Igreja Batista Central , especialmente as que se referem às práticas de educação sócio ambientais. As informações, para tal análise, foram obtidas através do site e estatuto da entidade, além de participação presencial em seus trabalhos. Levando em conta que a cidade possui os índices sociais menos favoráveis da região do Grande ABC, e por sua importância ambiental para a mesma região – pois constitui-se de uma Área de Proteção de Mananciais –, consideramos que o conjunto de práticas realizadas pelo projeto contribui, em grande medida, para o aumento do “capital simbólico” da comunidade. Palavras-chave: Religião. Capital Simbólico. Grande ABC paulista. Rio Grande da Serra. Projeto Social Pequeno Samuel.The present study aims to discuss the relation between religion and symbolic capital and evaluate the capacity of the social networks and associative practices within religious groups, to aggregate some benefits to their members, especially those related to symbolic dimensions. For this purpose, we will analyze the activities done by the “Pequeno Samuel Social Project”, an association of the Central Baptist Church, especially those activities related to social, environmental and educational practices. The information for this analysis were obtained from the website, from the constitutional document of the Entity, and as well from the author´s participation in the social works of the Social Project. Taking into account that the city has the least favorable social indicators in the region of “Grande ABC Paulista”, and also considering its environmental importance to the same region – a Watershed Protection Area - we consider that the set of practices performed by the project contributes largely to the increase of "symbolic capital" of the community. Keywords: Religion. Symbolic Capital. Grande ABC Paulista. Rio Grande da Serra. Pequeno Samuel Social Project. (shrink)

HUME, David. Ensaios morais, políticos e literários. Tradução de Luciano Trigo. Rio de Janeiro: Topbooks, 2004. 850 p.

Análise dos principais desafios do pluralismo religioso para o contexto teológico latino-americano. Como resultado de nossa pesquisa, formulamos três eixos norteadores da temática: I. A importância pública das religiões para os processos de promoção da paz e da justiça, associada ao valor da mística e da alteridade na formação de espiritualidades ecumênicas e como elas incidirão nos processos religiosos e sociais, favorecendo perspectivas utópicas, democráticas e doadoras de sentido. II. A necessidade de mudança de lugar teológico a partir da realidade (...) das culturas religiosas afro-indígenas. III. A contribuição da teologia feminista da libertação para o debate do pluralismo religioso. Metodologicamente, reunimos a produção teológica latino-americana em torno das questões do pluralismo religioso, identificamos os aspectos principais, especialmente os que interpelam mais diretamente o método teológico e sistematizamos os pontos que consideramos mais desafiadores em torno dos três eixos já referidos. A pesquisa mostra que, diante do pluralismo religioso, faz-se necessária para a teologia das religiões uma atenção especial à articulação entre a capacidade de diálogo dos grupos religiosos e os desafios em torno da defesa dos direitos humanos e das lógicas inclusivas. Palavras-chave: Método teológico. Teologia das religiões. Pluralismo. Teologia da libertação.This paper analyses the main challenges of religious pluralism for the theological Latin American context. The research was formulated around three topics: (i) the public importance of religions for the peace processes and promotion of justice. It takes into account the way in which the ecumenical formation of spiritualities, in the middle of mysticism and alterity, affects religious and social processes, allowing the emergence of new utopian, democratic and meaningful perspectives; (ii) the necessity of rethinking theological locus, shifting to a starting point of afro-indigenous cultures; and (iii) the contribution of feminist liberation theology to the debate of religious pluralism. Our method was to bring together the principal questions around religious pluralism in Latin American theology, identifying its principal aspects, focusing mostly those aspects that directly interpellate the theological methodology. Those aspects were systematized around the three topics mentioned above. The paper shows that, concerning religious pluralism, it is necessary for the theology of religions special attention to the relationship between the capacity for dialogue of religious groups around the defense of human rights and inclusiveness. Keywords: Theological methodology. Theology of religions. Pluralism. Liberation Theology. (shrink)

Trata das possibilidades de uma teologia ecumênica das religiões tendo como eixo articulador a preocupação pela paz, pela justiça e pela integridade da criação. O objetivo é analisar temas de destaque para o cenário das análises sociais e teológicas como: a) O valor do humano e da ética social para o diálogo interreligioso, b) As possibilidades de uma unidade aberta, convidativa e integradora no âmbito das religiões; c) A importância pública das religiões; d) As religiões como códigos de comunicação; e) (...) O poder do império e o poder do diálogo das religiões. Para isso, vamos contar com as contribuições de Hans Küng, Jürgen Moltmann, Julio de Santa Ana, Xavier Pikaza e José Comblin respectivamente. A proposição é que a perspectiva ecumênica, uma vez articulada com as dimensões sociais, políticas, econômicas e culturais, dentro dos variados contextos históricos, pode oferecer densidade e amplitude para a reflexão teológica. Os esforços que valorizam a capacidade de diálogo e de sensibilidade ecumênica e aqueles que destacam a importância pública das religiões partem da concepção de que a perspectiva ecumênica, tanto em nível prático quanto em nível teórico-metodológico, requer e possibilita uma compreensão mais apurada da realidade, um aperfeiçoamento de visões dialógicas e o cultivo de maior sensibilidade para a valorização da vida e para a promoção da paz e da justiça. Palavras-chave: Teologia das religiões. Ecoteologia. Paz e justiça. Ecumenismo.This paper focus on the possibilities of an ecumenical theology of religions, having as a its principal concern peace, justice and integrity of creation. It aims to analyze some central issues for the social and theological scenario, such as: a) humanity and social ethics for interreligious dialogue; b) the possibilities for an open, engaging and inviting interreligious unity; c) the public relevance of religions; d) religions as communicating codes; e) the imperial powers and the power of religious dialogue. We will take into account the contributions of Hans Küng, Jürgen Moltmann, Julio de Santa Ana, Xavier Pikaza and José Comblin. The study affirms that the ecumenical perspective, once articulated to social, political, economic and cultural dimensions, within the various theological contexts, can offer density and extension for the theological reflection. Efforts that value the capacity for dialogue and ecumenical sensibility and those that highlight the public importance of religions start from the conception that the ecumenical perspective, both in the practical and in the theoretical-methodological levels, requests and makes it possible for a deeper comprehension of the reality, an improvement of dialogic visions and the cultivation of more expressions of sensibility for the valorization of life and for the promotion of peace and justice. Key-words: Theology of religions. Ecotheology. Peace and justice. (shrink)

Este artigo versa sobre as relações entre natureza, homem e ciência e chama a atenção para um tema estratégico na sociedade brasileira hoje: os recursos hídricos. Ele enfatiza a necessidade de repensarmos nossas vidas em relação à apropriação de nossos recursos naturais e é baseado em minha experiência profissional com recursos hídricos, nos últimos 20 anos, na região sudeste do Brasil. Nosso país não é somente um dos países mais ricos do mundo em águas, mas tem também inúmeras experiências negativas (...) e positivas em relação a esse tema. O artigo conclui que é possível construir uma sociedade sustentável, na qual a equidade, a solidariedade e a justiça social seriam elementos comuns na vida diária. Entretanto, esse desafio somente será vencido com trabalho de décadas e contando com a participação efetiva de diferentes segmentos de nossa sociedade, e não apenas de governos. Nesse cenário, a mobilização social pelas águas desempenhará, certamente, um papel fundamental. Palavras-chave : Meio ambiente; Conhecimento; Recursos hídricos; Apropriação dos recursos naturais; Empoderamento.This article is about a reflection on the relationship between nature, man and science, and emphasizes the importance of a rethink in our lives regards the appropriation of our natural resources. It is based on my own experiences with water resources in South-East Brazil and intends to call attention for an strategic subject in Brazilian society nowadays: waters resources. Brazil is not only one of the richest countries in the world in terms of water resources, but also has several negative and positive experiences on this matter. It concludes that is possible to build up a sustainable society, where equity, solidarity and social justice would be ordinary elements of our daily life. However, this challenge will only be achieved after decades of a struggle for life with an effective participation of different segments of our society and not only the governments. In this scenario, the social mobilization for waters, certainly, will play a key role. Key words : Environment; Knowledge; Water resources; Appropriation of natural resources; Empowerment. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Deflating Psychiatric ClassificationClaudio E. M. Banzato (bio)Keywordsnosography, comorbidity, utility, pragmatismSystems of classification bring order into the world. They are a key part of the informational working infrastructure of the world we inhabit (Bowker and Star 1999). Thus, much of the human interaction hinges on these ordering—pattern identifying and creating—systems. Formal or informal, standardized or ad hoc, visible or invisible, enforced or optional, there are a myriad of classifications we (...) necessarily live by.Typically, classifications convey representations of states of affairs to make interventions on them feasible and, to some extent, predictable. In other words, classificatory systems and schemes try to confer intelligibility to the world. By succeeding in such task, they may provide rational grounds to human operation on reality (toward the most diverse ends). This account fully applies to medical classifications, which struggle to sort out all kinds of diseases, ailments, complaints, and sufferings that can possibly be targeted by medical interventions. This means classifications are instrumental to the ends pursued by medicine, quintessential modificatory activity. In sum, classifications are cognitive tools devised to build up knowledge by making relevant distinctions, which may prove helpful to guide human action.By working well, classifications eventually tend to become invisible. They end up looking just natural, as if they were carved by nature itself. But indeed purpose is the touchstone here. Even if a given class of objects fully qualifies as a 'natural kind' and necessary and sufficient criteria for class membership can be definitely established, it does not entail that it constitutes the best way to classify these objects irrespective of the context. Peter Zachar (2002) offers a compelling example from natural sciences, the utmost practical importance of distinguishing between hydrogen and its isotopes (hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium). In this case, the classificatory thrust stretches beyond the shared atomic number. In his words, "A crucial factor in recognizing them as distinct is that they are used in distinct activities and practices. We get a better neutron bounce with heavy water or D2O. Deciding what aspects of internal structure are important therefore cannot be isolated from external factors." (p. 220)In contemporary psychiatry, diagnostic classification has been center stage for several reasons. But before addressing them, however, a brief historical detour is necessary. Back in the nineteenth century, putting forward a new classification of mental diseases was taken somewhat as a token of psychiatric proficiency according to the witty remark by the French physician and publicist Philippe Buchez: "Upon believing that they have [End Page 23] completed their studies, rhetoricians will compose a tragedy and alienists a classification" (Berrios 1999, 152). By the middle of the twentieth century, many psychiatric classifications (based on diverse principles and underlying theoretical orientations) were still used across the world. The British psychiatrist Erwin Stengel (1959), in his influential report on classification of mental disorders, pointed out that the issue of difficulty of communication was then the order of the day for psychiatry, because it was widely perceived as one of the most serious obstacles to the progress in the field.The broad, worldwide survey carried out by Stengel made it clear that classifications of all shapes were used in different contexts, but they were seldom appealing outside the boundaries of the respective centers that generated them. Such diversity of classifications reflected not only different functions or purposes they were meant to serve, but also the role played by the history of a given problem within a particular medical tradition and cultural background. Thus, Stengel's aims for an acceptable statistical international classification were relatively modest: it should simply ground epidemiological work.Stengel's stance on classification was frankly pragmatic and utilitarian. He understood well the difficulties posed by the 'disease entity' assumption in psychiatry and asked the straight question: "Firstly, what do we classify in this field? Are we classifying diseases or people?", to which he offered a compromised answer: "It may be said that the material the psychiatrist has to classify consists neither of diseases nor of people but of a variety of disorders or reactions, a material which does not readily lend itself to classification" (Stengel 1959, 612). For him, the pursued agreement on the... (shrink)

We construct an extension P of the standard language of classical propositional logic by adjoining to the alphabet of a new category of logical-pragmatic signs. The well formed formulas of are calledradical formulas (rfs) of P;rfs preceded by theassertion sign constituteelementary assertive formulas of P, which can be connected together by means of thepragmatic connectives N, K, A, C, E, so as to obtain the set of all theassertive formulas (afs). Everyrf of P is endowed with atruth value defined classically, (...) and everyaf is endowed with ajustification value, defined in terms of the intuitive notion of proof and depending on the truth values of its radical subformulas. In this framework, we define the notion ofpragmatic validity in P and yield a list of criteria of pragmatic validity which hold under the assumption that only classical metalinguistic procedures of proof be accepted. We translate the classical propositional calculus (CPC) and the intuitionistic propositional calculus (IPC) into the assertive part of P and show that this translation allows us to interpret Intuitionistic Logic as an axiomatic theory of the constructive proof concept rather than an alternative to Classical Logic. Finally, we show that our framework provides a suitable background for discussing classical problems in the philosophy of logic. (shrink)

Este libro nace de la experiencia docente del autor, en donde él considera que la comprensión histórica de los orígenes del cristianismo comporta la necesidad de conocer los temas elementales del pensamiento judío. Sin embargo, esta obra no pretende ser una historia de Palestina, ni una historia de los pueblos circundantes de la civilización judía, quiere más bien ilustrar, enmarcar y discutir ciertos aspectos del pensamiento judío precristiano que pueden servir para mejorar nuestra comprensi..

In hisStudy of War, Q. Wright considered a model for the probability of warP during a period ofn crises, and proposed the equationP=1– n, wherep is the probability of war escalating at each individual crisis. This probability measure was formally derived recently by Cioffi -Revilla, using the general theory of political reliability and an interpretation of the n-crises problem as a branching process. Two new, alternate solutions are presented here, one using D. Bernoulli''s St. Petersburg Paradox as an analogue, the (...) other based on the logic of conditional probabilities. Analysis shows that, while Wright''s solution is robust with regard to the general overall behavior ofp andn, some significant qualitative and quantitative differences emerge from the alternative solutions. In particular,P converges to 1 only in a special case and not generally. (shrink)

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment for advanced Parkinson’s disease. However, identifying stimulation parameters, such as contact and current amplitudes, is time-consuming based on trial and error. Directional leads add more stimulation options and render this process more challenging with a higher workload for neurologists and more discomfort for patients. In this study, a sweet spot-guided algorithm was developed that automatically suggested stimulation parameters. These suggestions were retrospectively compared to clinical monopolar reviews. A cohort of 24 Parkinson’s disease (...) patients underwent bilateral DBS implantation in the subthalamic nucleus at our center. First, the DBS’ leads were reconstructed with the open-source toolbox Lead-DBS. Second, a sweet spot for rigidity reduction was set as the desired stimulation target for programming. This sweet spot and estimations of the volume of tissue activated were used to suggest (i) the best lead level, (ii) the best contact, and (iii) the effect thresholds for full therapeutic effect for each contact. To assess these sweet spot-guided suggestions, the clinical monopolar reviews were considered as ground truth. In addition, the sweet spot-guided suggestions for best lead level and best contact were compared against reconstruction-guided suggestions, which considered the lead location with respect to the subthalamic nucleus. Finally, a graphical user interface was developed as an add-on to Lead-DBS and is publicly available. With the interface, suggestions for all contacts of a lead can be generated in a few seconds. The accuracy for suggesting the best out of four lead levels was 56%. These sweet spot-guided suggestions were not significantly better than reconstruction-guided suggestions (p = 0.3). The accuracy for suggesting the best out of eight contacts was 41%. These sweet spot-guided suggestions were significantly better than reconstruction-guided suggestions (p < 0.001). The sweet spot-guided suggestions of each contact’s effect threshold had a mean error of 1.2 mA. On an individual lead level, the suggestions can vary more with mean errors ranging from 0.3 to 4.8 mA. Further analysis is warranted to improve the sweet spot-guided suggestions and to account for more symptoms and stimulation-induced side effects. (shrink)

Although values have increasingly received attention in psychiatric literature over the last three decades, their role has been only partially acknowledged in psychiatric classification endeavors. The review p..

Most clinical neurofeedback studies based on functional magnetic resonance imaging use the patient's own neural activity as feedback. The objective of this study was to create a subject-independent brain state classifier as part of a real-time fMRI neurofeedback system that can guide patients with depression in achieving a healthy brain state, and then to examine subsequent clinical changes. In a first step, a brain classifier based on a support vector machine was trained from the neural information of happy autobiographical imagery (...) and motor imagery blocks received from a healthy female participant during an MRI session. In the second step, 7 right-handed female patients with mild or moderate depressive symptoms were trained to match their own neural activity with the neural activity corresponding to the “happiness emotional brain state” of the healthy participant. The training was carried out using the rt-fMRI NF system guided by the brain-state classifier we had created. Thus, the informative voxels previously obtained in the first step, using SVM classification and Effect Mapping, were used to classify the Blood-Oxygen-Level Dependent activity of the patients and converted into real-time visual feedback during the neurofeedback training runs. Improvements in the classifier accuracy toward the end of the training were observed in all the patients [Session 4–1 Median = 6.563%; Range = 4.10–27.34; Wilcoxon Test, 2-tailed p = 0.031]. Clinical improvement also was observed in a blind standardized clinical evaluation [HDRS CE2-1 Median = 7; Range 2 to 15; Wilcoxon Test, 2-tailed p = 0.016], and in self-report assessments [BDI-II CE2-1 Median = 8; Range 1–15; Wilcoxon Test, 2-tailed p = 0.031]. In addition, the clinical improvement was still present 10 days after the intervention [BDI-II CE3-2_Median = 0; Range −1 to 2; Wilcoxon Test, 2-tailed p = 0.50/ HDRS CE3-2 Median = 0; Range −1 to 2; Wilcoxon Test, 2-tailed p = 0.625]. Although the number of participants needs to be increased and a control group included to confirm these findings, the results suggest a novel option for neural modulation and clinical alleviation in depression using noninvasive stimulation technologies. (shrink)

Dans les analyses de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, il n'est pas évident que les Résistances prennent la forme d'une guerre civile, ou que cette forme leur soit reconnue. En ce qui concerne l'Italie, Claudio Pavone lie indissolublement, et ce dès le titre même de son ouvrage, Résistance et guerre civile. Si l'accent porte ainsi sur la lutte interne, fratricide, plutôt que sur la guerre de libération, c'est qu'ennemi, l'étranger ne l'est devenu que tardivement, à l'issue du renversement du..

Dans les analyses de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, il n'est pas évident que les Résistances prennent la forme d'une guerre civile, ou que cette forme leur soit reconnue. En ce qui concerne l'Italie, Claudio Pavone lie indissolublement, et ce dès le titre même de son ouvrage, Résistance et guerre civile. Si l'accent porte ainsi sur la lutte interne, fratricide, plutôt que sur la guerre de libération, c'est qu'ennemi, l'étranger ne l'est devenu que tardivement, à l'issue du renversement du...

On many currently live interpretations, quantum mechanics violates the classical supposition of value definiteness, according to which the properties of a given particle or system have precise values at all times. Here we consider whether either metaphysical supervaluationist or determinable-based approaches to metaphysical indeterminacy can accommodate quantum metaphysical indeterminacy (QMI). We start by discussing the standard theoretical indicator of QMI, and distinguishing three seemingly different sources of QMI (S1). We then show that previous arguments for the conclusion that metaphysical supervaluationism (...) cannot accommodate QMI, due to Darby 2010 and Skow 2010, are unsuccessful, in leaving open several supervaluationist responses. We go on to provide more comprehensive argumentation for the negative conclusion. Here, among other results, we establish that the problems for supervaluationism extend far beyond the concern that is the focus of Darby's and Skow's discussions (according to which a supervaluationist approach is incompatible with the orthodox interpretation, in light of the Kochen-Specker theorem) to also attach to common understandings of other interpretations on which there is QMI (S2). We then argue that a determinable-based account can successfully accommodate all three varieties of QMI (S3). We close by observing the positive mutual bearing of our results on the coherence and intelligibility of both quantum mechanics and metaphysical indeterminacy (S4). (shrink)

This paper explores quantum indeterminacy, as it is operative in the failure of value‐definiteness for quantum observables. It first addresses questions about its existence, its nature, and its relations to extant quantum interpretations. Then, it provides a critical discussions of the main accounts of quantum indeterminacy.

In Calosi and Wilson (Phil Studies 2019/2018), we argue that on many interpretations of quantum mechanics (QM), there is quantum mechanical indeterminacy (QMI), and that a determinable-based account of metaphysical indeterminacy (MI), as per Wilson 2013 and 2016, properly accommodates the full range of cases of QMI. Here we argue that this approach is superior to other treatments of QMI on offer, both realistic and deflationary, in providing the basis for an intelligible explanation of the interference patterns in the double-slit (...) experiment. We start with a brief overview of the motivations for QMI and for a determinable-based account of MI (§1). We then apply a developed 'glutty' implementation of determinable-based QMI to the superposition-based QMI present in the double-slit experiment, and positively compare the associated explanation of double-slit interference with that available on a metaphysical supervaluationist account of QMI (§2). We then present and respond to objections, due to Glick (2017) and Torza (2017), either to QMI (§3) or to our specific account of QMI (§4); in these sections we also positively compare our treatment of double-slit interference to that available on Glick's deflationary treatment of QMI. We conclude with some dialectical observations (§5). (shrink)

We put forward a new, ‘coherentist’ account of quantum entanglement, according to which entangled systems are characterized by symmetric relations of ontological dependence among the component particles. We compare this coherentist viewpoint with the two most popular alternatives currently on offer—structuralism and holism—and argue that it is essentially different from, and preferable to, both. In the course of this article, we point out how coherentism might be extended beyond the case of entanglement and further articulated.

Monism is roughly the view that there is only one fundamental entity. One of the most powerful argument in its favor comes from quantum mechanics. Extant discussions of quantum monism are framed independently of any interpretation of the quantum theory. In contrast, this paper argues that matters of interpretation play a crucial role when assessing the viability of monism in the quantum realm. I consider four different interpretations: modal interpretations, Bohmian mechanics, many worlds interpretations, and wavefunction realism. In particular, I (...) extensively argue for the following claim: several interpretations of QM do not support monism at a more serious scrutiny, or do so only with further problematic assumptions, or even support different versions of it. (shrink)

One might suppose that Everettian quantum mechanics (EQM) is inhospitable to metaphysial indeterminacy (MI), given that, as A. Wilson (2020) puts it, "the central idea of EQM is to replace indeterminacy with multiplicity" (77). But as Wilson goes on to suggest, the popular decoherence-based understanding of EQM (henceforth: DEQM) appears to admit of indeterminacy in both world number and world nature, where the latter indeterminacy---our focus here---is plausibly metaphysical. After a brief presentation of DEQM (S1), we bolster the case for (...) there being MI in world nature in DEQM (S2). The remainder of the paper is devoted to a comparative assessment of the two main approaches to MI for purposes of accommodating this MI---namely, a metaphysical supervaluationist approach (as per Barnes and Williams 2011) and a determinable-based approach (as per Wilson 2013 and Calosi and Wilson 2018 and 2021). We briefly describe each approach (S3), then offer arguments in favour of a determinable-based approach to world nature MI in DEQM (S4). (shrink)

Priority monism is roughly the view that the universe is the only fundamental object, that is, a concrete object that does not depend on any other concrete object. Schaffer, the main advocate of PM, claims that PM is compatible with dependence having two different directions: from parts to wholes for subcosmic wholes, and from whole to parts for the cosmic whole. Recently it has been argued that this position is untenable. Given plausible assumptions about dependence, PM entails that dependence has (...) only one direction, it always goes from wholes to parts. One such plausible assumption is a principle of Isolation. I argue that, given all extant accounts of dependence on the market, PM entails No Isolation. The argument depends upon a particular feature of the dependence relation, namely, necessitation and its direction. In the light of this, I contend that the argument is important, insofar as it suggests that we should distinguish dependence from other cognate notions, e.g. grounding. Once this distinction is made, I suggest we should also distinguish between two different notions of fundamentality that might turn out to be not-coextensive. (shrink)