I will discuss some aspects of the concept of “point” in quantum gravity, using mainly the tool of noncommutative geometry. I will argue that at Planck’s distances the very concept of point may lose its meaning. I will then show how, using the spectral action and a high momenta expansion, the connections between points, as probed by boson propagators, vanish. This discussion follows closely.

In the current world of education, politics and public opinion, musical experience is increasingly threatened. It is designated ever more as an expendable luxury. This kind of general trend has hardly left the thinking in the field of music and music education untouched. Inspiration comes from the technical rationality of our time. This rationality affects an oblivion of ontology. In this article we discuss this trend related to Martin Heidegger’s thinking concerning the human existence in the world, artworks and notions (...) like “being” (Sein) and “oblivion-of-being” (Seinsvergessenheit). We think that it is possible to see this “oblivion-of-being” in relation to the trend in cultural and educational politics as well as in music educational thinking to focus on the instrumental usefulness of learning music. (shrink)

This paper explores the presence of late medieval ius commune in Grotius’s thought on the use of force in internal strife and war, based on De iure belli ac pacis. To this end, it examines Grotius’s use of ius commune sources, and considers some similar sources, which he does not actually cite, but which relate to his discussion. By clarifying Grotius’s selection and use of ius commune sources, the paper intends to contribute to the achievement of a double aim: firstly, (...) to determine the place of rebellion and civil war in De iure belli ac pacis, especially in relation to war; and, secondly, to assess Grotius’s approach to the two former issues, particularly with regard to the criteria by which a distinction between rebellion and civil war can be drawn, and to the effects of this distinction. (shrink)

O artigo apresenta uma investigação, no âmago do pensamento de Nicolau Maquiavel, sobre o papel que os conflitos romanos ocorridos entre nobres e plebe tiveram para que a República de Roma se tornasse uma potência militar. O entrechoque de desejos de grandes e povo foi responsável por promover naquela cidade um autêntico vivere civile e libero, mas também foi a principal causa de sua expansão político-militar. Aqui, buscaremos elucidar os motivos que alçaram Roma àquela grandeza. Em um primeiro lugar, as (...) dissensões ocasionaram o aperfeiçoamento constitucional das instituições romanas, encaminhando-as rumo a um estado republicano de governo misto. Com a instituição dos Tribunos da Plebe, o povo alcançava seu reconhecimento político, possibilitando que os exércitos fossem formados pelos próprios cidadãos advindos da plebe. Em segundo lugar, a regulação institucional dos conflitos e o anseio expansionista de Roma foram a razão pela qual a "guarda da liberdade" havia sido confiada à plebe, promovendo um governo popular, medida que permitiu que a República se voltasse para campanhas expansionistas em direção a conquista do império. Em terceiro lugar, reconhecer o conflito e institucionalizá-lo foi um meio para precaver-se dos caprichos da fortuna. Dessa forma, regular institucionalmente os eventos que atribulam a ordem política interna significava dar garantias para que os confrontos externos fossem bem-sucedidos. (shrink)

Scientific practices have been changed by the increasing use of computer simulations. A central question for philosophers is how to characterize computer simulations. In this paper, we address this question by analyzing simulations in biochemistry. We propose that simulations have been used in biochemistry long before computers arrived. Simulation can be described as a surrogate relationship between models. Moreover, a simulative aspect is implicit in the classical dichotomy between in vivo–in vitro conditions. Based on a discussion about how to characterize (...) a simulative aspect in this dichotomy, we will argue that an adequate understanding of computer simulations in biochemistry requires a previous understanding of simulations in experimental contexts. (shrink)

En los años veinte del siglo pasado se constituye lo que luego se llamó la escuela de Cambridge en bioquímica. Bajo el liderazgo de Frederick Gowland Hopkins este grupo tenía como objetivo primario la consolidación de la naciente bioquímica. Una característica particular de este grupo fue el intento explícito de vincular el trabajo científico con la discusión filosófica. Sin embargo, algunos historiadores como Nils Roll-Hansen han cuestionado en duros términos la manera en la cual estos científicos apelaban a la filosofía. (...) En particular Roll-Hansen ha sugerido que los aspectos filosóficos del trabajo de estos investigadores tendrían un mero carácter propagandístico vinculado con el proyecto de la constitución de la bioquímica como una disciplina. En este trabajo voy a defender que es posible considerar a los principios filosóficos presentados por la escuela de Cambridge como algo más que una mera propaganda para un proyecto institucional. Para esto voy a comparar la relación entre los principios filosóficos y trabajo metodológico propuesto por la escuela de Cambridge con una propuesta contemporánea: el Análisis de Control Metabólico, una perspectiva en el estudio de la bioquímica cuyo trabajo metodológico se suele defender apelando a “principios filosóficos”. A pesar de la distancia temporal entre ambas escuelas, tanto la actitud de apelar a principios filosóficos como el campo de estudio científico son semejantes.In the twenties of the last century, the Cambridge school in biochemistry was established. Under the leadership of Frederick Gowland Hopkins this group had as its primary objective the consolidation of a new science: biochemistry. A particular feature of this group was the explicit attempt to link scientific work with philosophical discussion. However, some historians like Nils Roll-Hansen have harshly questioned the way in which these scientists appealed to philosophy. In particular Roll-Hansen has suggested that the philosophical aspects of the work of these researchers would have to be considered as propaganda, motivated by attempt stablish the biochemistry as a discipline. In this paper I am going to defend that it is possible to consider the philosophical principles presented by the Cambridge school as something more than a propaganda for an institutional project. To this end I am going to compare the relationship between the philosophical principles and methodological work proposed by the Cambridge school with a contemporary proposal: the Metabolic Control Analysis, a perspective in the study of biochemistry whose methodological work is usually defended by appealing to “philosophical principles”. Despite the temporal distance between the two schools, both the attitude of appealing to philosophical principles and their field of scientific study are similar. Key Words: Philosophy of Biochemistry; Metabolic Control Analysis; Cambridge School ARK: ark:/s18537960/2ak06yaaq. (shrink)

In this article we propose an analysis of the controversy between Geoffrey Jefferson and Alan Turing in terms of a Kuhnian account of thought experiments. In this account, the main task is not to evaluate intuitions or (only) to rearrange concepts. Instead, we propose that the main task is to construct scenarios by proposing relevant experiences in which shared assumptions and conflicting lines of inquiry can be made explicit. From this perspective, we can understand the arguments and assumptions in the (...) Jefferson-Turing thinking machine controversy. (shrink)

A power of attorney for healthcare (POAHC) form gives designated individuals legal status to make healthcare decisions when patients are unable to convey their decisions to medical staff. Completion of a POAHC form is crucial in the provision of comprehensive healthcare, since it helps to ensure that patients’ interests, values, and preferences are represented in decisions about their medical treatment. Because increasing numbers of people suffer from debilitating illness and cognitive deficits, healthcare systems may be called upon to navigate the (...) complexities of patients’ care without clear directives from the patients themselves. Hence, the healthcare industry encourages all individuals to complete a POAHC form to ensure that persons who have the patients’ trust are able to act as their surrogate decision makers. However, sometimes POAHC agents, even when they are patients’ trusted agents, lack the capacity to make fully informed decisions that are in the patients’ best interests. We describe designated surrogate decision makers who have impaired or diminished judgment capacity as incapacitated surrogates. Decision making that is obviously flawed or questionable is a significant impediment to providing timely and appropriate care to patients. Moreover, failure to redress these issues in a timely and efficient manner can result in significant costs to an institution and a diminished quality of patient care. The authors offer a legal, ethical, and interdisciplinary framework to help navigate cases of incapacitated surrogates. (shrink)

Artiklen perspektiverer på den almene pædagogiks aktuelle, pressede tilstand, i lyset af de centrale, transnationale udviklingstendenser inden for uddannelsesstyring der har gjort sig gældende de sidste ca. 25-30 år. Dette gøres, ved at tage afsæt i de såkaldte antinomier, som en række pædagogiske forskere har forholdt sig til som definerende for moderne pædagogik. Denne tematik blevet sat på dagsordenen af aktuelle uddannelsesforskere som bl.a. Alexander von Oettingen; Michael Uljens; Lars Løvlie; Gert Biesta, Birgit Schaffar og Dietrich Benner. Oettingen ser nærmere (...) bestemt spørgsmålet om pædagogisk professionalitet som spaltet i fire antinomiske paradokser, der angår Rationalisering ; Pluralisering ; Individualisering og Civilisering. Disse pædagogiske paradoksaliteter har en rod bl.a. hos Kant, Rousseau og Herbart. Artiklen søger gennem fokusering af sådanne pædagogiske antinomier eller paradokser at vise, hvorledes den transnationale uddannelsesrevolution de sidste 25-30 år har udtyndet den almenpædagogiske undermuring af begreberne: I. professionalitet, II. læring, III. autenticitet og IV. dannelse. Dermed fokuseres de almenpædagogiske problemstillinger der kendetegner disse fire begreber. Dette gøres for at vise, hvorledes den transnationale uddannelsesstyring i dette lys udgør en bekymrende afvikling eller sammenklapning af pædagogikkens almene grundtræk. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:In MemoriamFrede V. NielsenFrederik PioOne of the major figures in Scandinavian music education research is no longer among us. We lost Professor Frede V. Nielsen earlier this year. On March 21, he passed at the age of 70 after a long period of time with weakened health.Nielsen presented his retirement lecture on June 8, 2012. It was attended by a huge crowd of former and current students, colleagues, friends, (...) and collaborators. In spite of his declining health, Frede had many plans for the future as professor emeritus, a status that unfortunately turned out to be much too short.For more than forty years Nielsen was a leading thinker in music education research in Denmark. During this period he developed several master programs in music teacher education as well as research programs for music education. But his efforts extend beyond Scandinavia since he is well known in ISPME (International Symposium for Philosophy of Music Education) as well as in RAIME (Research Alliance for Institutes of Music Education) to which he contributed over many years.Nielsen was employed at Danmarks Lærerhøjskole in 1971, where he completed his doctoral degree in 1983. His dissertation was an empirical study entitled “Experience of musical tension.” This work was later elaborated in a US context by Clifford K. Madsen among others. For two decades Nielsen’s book, General Music Didactics, originally published in 1994, has been considered a [End Page 213] standard reference work. Today it is being widely used in multiple printings in teacher education institutions all over Scandinavia.Nielsen’s intellectual heritage was especially strong in relation to the German tradition of Musik Didaktik. He had strong connections to the German research tradition, and in this area of expertise he was always among the most well informed. When most people in Scandinavia were looking primarily towards the Anglo-Saxon research tradition, Nielsen looked to Germany. Thus his ability to explore off the beaten track (at a time when he felt that it was needed in Scandinavia) was a part of his originality.For Nielsen the educational concept of Didaktik never became a technical category but was firmly anchored to a philosophical foundation by means of phenomenology. His didactical theory of “music as a multispectral universe of meaning” was shaped in close alliance with existential phenomenological insights. He insisted on the necessity for all educational thinking to be grounded in ongoing philosophical reflection. Very predictably this focus would eventually lead him into a role as co-chair together with Estelle Jorgenson when ISPME was founded at Lake Forest, Illinois, in June, 2003.Nielsen was cofounder of the Nordic Network of Research in Music Education in 1992, which has since gone on to become a significant resource and an important platform both for established researchers in music education as well as upcoming talent from all over Scandinavia. In 1995, Nielsen was also co-founder of the yearbook Nordic Research in Music Education that is still among the best publications of its type. He served as chief editor for this important series for many years. Right up to the very end he was doing research, supervising doctoral projects, editing forthcoming issues of the “MPS series” which he also founded.Frede V. Nielsen was an outstanding scholar in his field. His career and life were dedicated to serve and study music in teaching and education. He leaves behind a great spiritual vacuum in Copenhagen where he taught and researched for more than forty years. [End Page 214]Frederik [email protected] © 2013 Philosophy of Music Education Review... (shrink)

The article contains a discussion of the contemporary crisis of general education with special attention to: how the cultural erosion and societal differentiation the last 40 years has downgraded the concepts of upbringing and education in favour of an increased attention towards concepts of socialization and learning. Secondly, the question of the relation between general education and the empirical-methodologically specified sub-disciplines is also raised, as these sub-disciplines are currently in the process of detaching themselves towards enhanced autonomy. Finally, the article (...) looks into the difference between the research-programs respectively of general education and the social-psychological paradigm of educational research. The total argument of the article claims, that the research program as well as educational program of general education is justified today by maintaining an approximate unity of a field of knowlegde currently under pressure towards a diffuse or even non-pedagogical nature. Therein lies the current inevitability of general education in our current po-mo societal formation. (shrink)

Grue-Sørensen’s concept of ’educational teaching’ is traced back to an original infl uence from Herbart and Kant. On this background the article attempts to interpret, how one can understand a concept of educationalteaching today. With that, the concept is shown to have its root in a tradition of general education and Grue-Sørensen is shown to be a Danish representative of this. However, in research programs as well as educational programs this tradition has generally been under increasing pressure the last approximately (...) 30 years. Grue-Sørensen and his possible relevance today is discussed in connection with a potential revitalization of a general educational thinking in our current postmodern epoche of higher education. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Response to Øivind Varkøy, “The Concept of ‘Bildung’”Frederik PioThe process of Bildung has to do with something that “becomes.” The dimension of moving and developing makes the Bildung-metaphor of ‘the journey’ come into focus in Øivind Varkøy’s paper. As Varkøy states in his article, in relation to the Bildung concept one can see that “[the] relation between what is known in everyday life and what is new, unknown, and (...) strange, can in a sense be regarded as the meaning and intention of the concept.”This tension between that which is known and that which is unknown is handled by means of the metaphor of the journey. The journey is about leaving one’s homeground behind. The homeground is all that which is known. Then there is a venture into something not yet known. And then finally the individual returns home, enriched with a new experience, as a deeper and more encompassing human being. This is the blueprint of ‘the journey.’Thus the metaphor of the journey tells us that the crucial Bildung-factor is connected with a transgression of all that is familiar and well-known. So an experience is conducive to a process of Bildung to the extent that a transgression [End Page 97] occurs. That is as a movement that takes place beyond that in our ordinary lives which is all too well-known. Varkøy puts it this way:To have an experience is to be stricken, shaken, and affected. In this way, an experience is something which exceeds all boundaries, it notifies the arrival of something new and unknown. The subject is jerked out of its usual pattern and meets something that makes it look at itself with new eyes, experience its own subjectivity from unfamiliar quarters. Such experiences, such journeys, mean that we come into contact with important sides and dimensions of our way of being human.This translates into an educational context where a focus is on subject content “which enable[s] the students ‘to make journeys’... so that students can thereby not only emerge as educated music educationalists, but also as cultured (bilded) people.”All this belongs to the dimension of freedom. But as mentioned by Varkøy, Bildung is also about that which is authoritative and un-free. Thus Varkøy mentions Jon Fosse who found that “Norwegian schools certainly need a dose of Harold Bloom” and his book The Western Canon.So we have a tension between freedom (the journey into the unknown) and that which is un-free: the score we all have to settle with a great tradition that was there long before we arrived here and broke the surface of existence. In continuation of this I sense that Varkøy is touching upon a theme that tells us this: Today a process of Bildung should neither reject the tradition (to become anti-traditional). Nor should a process of Bildung become something that is just blindly reproducing the tradition and its values. So, it is not about being either anti-traditional or completely traditional, but about a quality which could be termed un-traditional. Varkøy says it like this:It is true to say... that the concept of Bildung’s cultural heritage perspective does not nescessarily mean a one-sided backwards glance focusing upon old masterworks... but also that it can to a considerable extent open up for focusing on the new and unknown.”So the Bildung concept contains simultaneously a directedness towards the past and a tradition which is authoritative, coupled with a directedness towards the future: and all that which is new and unknown, the open horizon of existence. It is in the light of this double directedness that Varkøy questions whether “the concept ‘cultural heritage’ should be considered, as something static or as something which is continually moving and developing.”So the past and our cultural heritage and the masterworks our cultural heritage is based upon, do not belong to bygone days. They do not belong to a finished [End Page 98] past. On the contrary, it is all still with us. That is how I read Varkøy. And this reading has a tremenduous resemblence to... (shrink)

This article is divided into three parts: the problem (globalized learning); the consequences (for general music education); and the vision (the music teacher as a cultural figure). In the first part, I claim that the current learning agenda is being increasingly instrumentalized as a carrier of a global education policy driven by technical rationality. In the second part, a range of possible implications of this paradigm for music education are outlined. What is being sacrificed on the altar of learning measurement (...) is the crucial ability of schooling to be ingrained in the historical, cultural, musical background-understanding of the world. Thus, the world of schooling slowly becomes reduced to a neutral, geometrical space of measured performance governed by input-output/producerconsumer calculations. Finally, in the third part, I pick up some ideas from the German phenomenologist Martin Heidegger to suggest an open possibility for today's music teachers to act as cultural figures for their subject. Such action is about disclosing a shared, common world in which music since prehistoric times has belonged by way of all kinds of communal acts. This crucial point invites music teachers to create and nurture marginal spaces together, where the output-oriented school paradigm temporarily becomes suspended. (shrink)

Este artículo propone un análisis de la estética del paisaje en la obra del escritor Gabriel Miró. Para ello se investiga el significado y valor atribuido al paisaje en la trilogía novelesca de Sigüenza, héroe modernista de su paisaje literario, así como en el ensayo Sigüenza y el mirador azul. La visión del paisaje en Miró se reconstruye a través del diálogo con diferentes fuentes culturales y filosóficas. El paisaje mironiano muestra así la evolución desde una inicial actitud panteísta hacia (...) una posterior mirada fenomenológica y hermenéutica. (shrink)

This paper develops two central themes of the Canti Orfici, intrinsically connected to each other: Orphism, with particular attention to La Notte, and Dino Campana’s relationship with Nietzschean sources, in order to deepen the latent trace of a Nietzscheanism scattered in the metaphors and symbols of the poetic word. È forse un azzardo addentrarsi negli incerti sentieri sul crinale tra letteratura e filosofia, dove il confine non risulta visibilmente tracciato e non vi è alcun segno certo ch...

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:A Response to Cathy Benedict, “Naming Our Reality: Negotiating and Creating Meaning in the Margin.”Frederik PioIn this paper we are offered a reflection on the historical and present marginalization of music education. As Cathy Benedict says, "What of this marginalization and what of its possibilities? I would like to suggest in this paper that this marginalized status partly reflects our own complicity as we have historically allowed others to (...) speak for us." The field of music education in other words is suffering from a lack of independence. She goes on to say, "music educators have copied the perceived successes of the basic disciplines instead of striving for transformation." However, the radical transformation which is called for seems to lie neither in the integration of music education as part of general education nor in the isolation of music education for she adds, "if we continue to 'concern ourselves with possible future scenarios for music education as part of general education' and in a music education vacuum, then we will probably continue to construct what 'could be' in the guise of what has 'always been.'"The assumption seems to be that music education belongs in the margin, for Benedict also adds, "it is misguided to think of our goal as simply to place music education as part of general education." Instead it is the margin that is claimed to be ripe with possibillities of transformation: "It is true that we need to envision 'what could be' scenarios for music education as part of general education.... It seems more important, though, even imperative, to grapple with the systemic issues that continually haunt us." From the margin music education "must begin narratives with the other disciplines." In other words, the margin seems to be the place from which one can "go about facilitating the creation of liminal space [End Page 69] and facilitate the habits of mind that will relativize taken-for-granted beliefs." It is from the margin that the transformations asked for can be carried out.The margin however has been infected with a dominance which stems from outsiders: "This margin... is our standpoint and a perspective from which we have allowed a worldview to be constructed for us." So the tension regarding the status of music education, between autonomy and integration, is not resolved.At the same time music education must become free. That means tearing loose from the "hidden hegemonic structures that inevitably serve to obscure the purpose of education" while an integrative effort on behalf of music education is called for in relation to general education: "In many cases, we have allowed other disciplines to name what we are and can be. We have crafted and named our importance in a version of their eyes." Consequently what is demanded here is that we craft a version of our field according to our own eyes. So far the field of music education has been marginalized (isolated), but it has never-the-less created itself according to the eyes of outsiders.On behalf of the field of music education, Benedict however seems to ask for a new productive or transformative kind of autonomy (exercised from the margin). The challenge then must now be to create the field of music education in our own eyes. Then perhaps the margin becomes the borderline between autonomy and integration.It would be helpful if Benedict could shed some light on the concept of 'the margin' positioned within a field of tension between autonomy (isolation) and integration. In other words, is the margin a place which has until now remained undiscovered? Does it mark out the limit between isolation and integration (on behalf of the field of music education)?Given the state of things described above the agenda created in the margin is seen as liberatory and transformative: "the space we need to facilitate is liberatory with change as a given not a goal oriented end-point" (emphasis added). In other words a liberation is called for which amounts to an attempt to oppose an oppression: "the field of music education has in fact manifested several characteristics of an oppressed society" (emphasis added). But what is meant by this reference to a liberation/oppression... (shrink)

Clarke and Beck discuss in their sections on congruency and confounds literature that has challenged the claim that the approximate number system represents numerical content. We argue that the propositions put forward by these studies aren't that far from the indirect model of number perception suggested by C&B.

Der Autor stellt in seinem Buch zum Pantheismusstreit dezidierte historische und struktural-theoretische Überlegungen zur Spinoza-Rezeption in Deutschland an. Der Streit darüber, ob Lessing Pantheist war, geht in einen Streit um die Philosophie Spinozas und den Rationalismus über. Im Laufe der Zeit wird der Korrespondenzstreit zwischen Jacobi und Mendelssohn öffentlich und spricht das deutsche Bewusstsein und Unterbewusstsein an, daher engagiert sich das gesamte "gebildete Deutschland" in dieser philosophischen Auseinandersetzung. Die Arbeit hat grosse Bedeutung für das Verständnis der Situation der deutschen Philosophie (...) am Ende der Aufklärung, aus der wiederum der deutsche Idealismus entstand - ein Denken, das einerseits die deutsche Aufklärung krönte, andererseits aber neue zeitgenössische Perspektiven in der Philosophie eröffnete. Das Buch ermöglicht ein besseres Verständnis von Gegebenheiten, die für die deutsche Philosophie an der Wende des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts von grosser Bedeutung waren. Da die Denkanschauungen dieser Zeit in gewissem Masse noch immer auf die philosophischen Felder des zeitgenössischen Denkens einwirken, kommt der Arbeit auch eine besondere philosophische Relevanz zu."--Publisher's description. (shrink)

Indledning -- Nihilisme. Kunst ; Uddannelse ; Ontologi -- Ontologi. Musik ; Musikdidaktik ; Pædagogik -- Konklusion.

In 1936, Alan Turing proposed the notion of an automated machine as a model of the computation performed by a human being while only being aided by mechanical resources. Still, it seems that much more can be said about Turing’s own conception of machines in the scope of his later work, both terminologically and conceptually. In this paper we present the terms he used that refer to machines and that according to our understanding are important to give an account of (...) Turing’s concerns and the problems he tackled with after his first recourse to the notion of machine during the late nineteen-thirties. Exploring his usage of such terms we show how it is possible to see an enlargement or extension towards a general notion of machine from the very first automated machine. At the same time, we identify in his work a modelling attitude or stance in which machines can be used as a way to understand and explain a natural or abstract phenomenon. (shrink)

The last ethicalpolitical events of the countries of the East seem to confirm the old hegelian idea according to which the way of history advances, even though errors and contradictions occurs, in direction of the freedom. Nevertheless, the poshegelian thought has emphasized the value of the ind..

A través del análisis de la interpretación que Nicol hace de Vico asoman en este trabajo otras aproximaciones a la filosofía española "transterrada" en México.Trough the analysis of Nicol's reading of Vico, other considerations of banished Spanish philosophy in Mexico are offered in this paper.