There is a debate in philosophy and cognitive science over whether concepts – the building blocks of thought—are couched in a perceptual modality or are amodally represented. The empirical evidence so far collected seems not to have adjudicated this question yet, as reinterpretation of the same set of evidence by both supporters of modalism and amodalism have been provided. I offer a critique of such reinterpretations, arguing that they ultimately derive from theoretical problems in the definition of a modal representation. (...) In particular, I will review three criteria which have been offered to distinguish amodal concepts from modal ones: the isomorphism criterion, the neural location criterion, and the input specificity criterion. I will explain how these criteria often lack theoretical clarity, making it possible in most cases to propose a parsimonious explanation of the same set of data from both an amodalist and a modalist perspective. As a result, it becomes impossible to empirically discriminate between the two interpretations. My conclusion is that the main problem with the discussed criteria is that they frame the question on the format of concept as an either/or debate, by overlooking more interesting empirical questions. (shrink)

Experimental Semiotics (ES) is the study of novel forms of communication that communicators develop in laboratory tasks whose designs prevent them from using language. Thus, ES relates to pragmatics in a “pure,” radical sense, capturing the process of creating the relation between signs and their interpreters as biological, psychological, and social agents. Since such a creation of meaning-making from scratch is of central importance to language evolution research, ES has become the most prolific experimental approach in this field of research. (...) In our paper, we report the results of a study on the scope of recent ES and evaluate the ways in which it is relevant to the study of language origins. We coded for multiple levels across 13 dimensions related to the properties of the emergent communication systems or properties of the study designs, such as type of goal (coordination versus referential), modality of communication, absence or presence of turn-taking, or the presence of vertical vs. horizontal transmission. We discuss our findings and our classification, focusing on the advantages and limitations of those trends in ES, and in particular their ecological validity in the context of bootstrapping communication and the evolution of language. (shrink)

In this book, Spinoza's political theory is examined through an analysis of his engagement with the practical politics of his day in the United Provinces. 17th-century Dutch history, political life and political thought, and in particular Dutch republicanism, represent an important context in which to discuss Spinoza's political philosophy. The significance of Spinoza's republicanism is highlighted in a comparison with English political thought and its presuppositions in the 17th century.

Conceptions of citizenship which rest on an abstract and universal notion of the individual founder on their inability to recognize the political relevance of gender. Such conceptions, because their ‘gender-neutrality’ has the effect of excluding women, are not helpful to the project of promoting the full citizenship of women. The question of citizenship is often reduced to either political citizenship, in terms of an instrumental notion of political participation, or social citizenship, in terms of an instrumental notion of economic (in)dependence. (...) The paper argues for the recognition of citizenship as gendered, and as an ethical, that is non-instrumental, social status which is distinct from both political participation and economic (in)dependence. What unites us as citizens, in our equal membership of the political community, need not rely on a conception of us as ‘neutral’ (abstract, universalized, genderless) individuals undertaking one specific activity located in the public realm, but can take account of the diverse ways in which we engage in ethically-grounded activities on the basis of our different genders, ethnic and cultural backgrounds and other differences, in both the public and private realms. A convincing feminist conception of citizenship necessarily involves a radical redefinition of the public/private distinction to accommodate the recognition of citizenship practices in the private realm. The paper builds on the observation that the concept of ‘citizenship’ is broader than the concept of ‘the political’ (or ‘the social/economic’), and contends that feminism provides us with the emancipatory potential of gendered subjectivity, which applies to both men and women. The recognition of gendered subjectivity opens the way to the recognition of the diversity of citizenship practices. It is not that women need to be liberated from the private realm, in order to take part in the public realm as equal citizens, but that women – and men – already undertake responsibilities of citizenship in both the public and the private realms. (shrink)

We explore contested meanings around care and relationality through the under-explored case of caring after death, throwing the relational significance of ‘bodies’ into sharp relief. While the dominant social imaginary and forms of knowledge production in many affluent western societies take death to signify an absolute loss of the other in the demise of their physical body, important implications follow from recognising that embodied relational experience can continue after death. Drawing on a model of embodied relational care encompassing a ‘me’, (...) a ‘you’ and an ‘us’, we argue that after death ‘me’ and ‘us’ remain (though changed) while crucial dimensions of ‘you’ persist too. In unravelling the binary divide between living and dead bodies, other related dichotomies of mind/body, self/other, internal/external, and nature/social are also called into question, extending debates concerning relationality and openness between living bodies. Through an exploration of autobiographical accounts and empirical research, we argue that embodied relationality expresses how connectedness is lived out after death in material practices and felt experiences. (shrink)

The Alternative University: Lessons from Bolivarian Venezuela explores the educational reforms undertaken under late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavéz. Focusing on the University of Bolivarian Venez...

The paper argues that Leviathan can be interpreted as employing a constructionist approach in several important respects. It takes issue with commentators who think that, if for Hobbes man is not naturally social, then man must be naturally unsocial or naturally purely individual. First, Hobbes's key conceptions of the role of artifice and nature-artifice relations are identified, and uncontroversially constructionist elements outlined, most notably Hobbes's conceptualisation of the covenant. The significance of crucial distinctions in Leviathan, between the civil and the (...) social, between science and philosophy, between mankind's nature and the human condition, is developed. A constructionist reading of the argument of Leviathan is then advanced. The interpretation focuses on the contribution of nature-artifice relations, and of Hobbes's notion of civil philosophy, in understanding the critical issues of the state of nature and individual subjectivity. This reconstruction of the meaning of the text highlights the necessarily social character of human life in Leviathan, expressed in the way that the social' gives meaning to the 'natural', as well as because for Hobbes we live in a mind-affected world of perception and ideas. Leviathan can be interpreted as, in particular, a political social construction, because both social and individual identity logically require the social order and arrangements that only a strong government can supply. The social world, in Leviathan, cannot exist prior to the generation of a political framework, in civil society, the commonwealth, and law. (shrink)

Às voltas com a questão do sujeito: da transparência à encarnação Resumo: O propósito deste artigo é mostrar a limitação do sujeito cartesiano no que diz respeito ao fenômeno da existência. Concebido como transparente a si mesmo, este sujeito não abarca as contingências do mundo da vida (Lebenswelt), pois se a verdade somente pode ser acessada por meio do pensamento, a dimensão do que escapa à representação não é contemplada. Na filosofia de Merleau-Ponty, buscaremos pensar um sujeito que, diferente de (...) Descartes, não reduz o mundo ao cogito, mas assume sua inessencialidade, sua incompletude. Por fim, veremos emergir um sujeito que somente se sustenta na medida em que afirma o non-sens que lhe atravessa. Palavras-chave: Merleau-Ponty; Carnalidade; Sujeito; Non-sens. Facing the issue of the subject: from transparency to incarnation Abstract: The purpose of this article is to show the limitation of the Cartesian subject with regard to the phenomenon of existence. Conceived as transparent to himself, this subject does not include the contingencies of the life world (Lebenswelt), because if the truth can only be accessed through thought, the dimension of what escapes representation is not contemplated. In Merleau-Ponty's philosophy, we will try to think of a subject who, unlike Descartes, does not reduce the world to the cogito, but assumes its inessentiality, its incompleteness. Finally, we will see a subject emerge that can only be sustained insofar as it affirms the non-sens that crosses it. Key-words: Merleau-Ponty; Carnality; Subject; Non-sens. Face à l'enjeu du sujet: de la transparence à l'incarnation Résumé: Le but de cet article est montrer la limitation du sujet cartésien par rapport au phénomène de l'existence. Conçu comme transparent pour lui-même, ce sujet ne comprend pas les contingences du monde de la vie (Lebenswelt), car si la vérité ne peut être atteinte que par la pensée, la dimension de ce qui échappe à la représentation n'est pas envisagée. Dans la philosophie de Merleau-Ponty, nous allons essayer de penser à un sujet qui, contrairement à Descartes, ne réduit pas le monde à un cogito, mais assume son inessentialité, son incomplétude. Enfin, nous verrons émerger un sujet qui ne se soutient que dans la mesure où il affirme le non-sens qui le traverse. Mots-clés: Merleau-Ponty; Carnalité; Sujet; Non-sens. Data de registro: 06/12/2019 Data de aceite: 16/12/2020. (shrink)

Por que amamos? O que está por trás desse sentimento que, segundo dizem, move montanhas? É se debruçando sobre a filosofia, a ancestralidade, mitos africanos, indígenas, orientais, ocidentais e até sobre a biologia que Renato Noguera nos leva a refletir sobre os diferentes significados do amor. Amar é querer aprender, ensinam-nos os gregos. A esse aprendizado, soma-se outro fundamental, desta vez proveniente de culturas afro-indígenas: amar não é uma emoção individual, mas coletiva, e pode envolver duas, três, quatro pessoas, (...) ou mesmo uma comunidade inteira – o que é explicado também pela biologia. A alquimia de Noguera está em mostrar como os ensinamentos de filósofos e pensadores das mais diversas eras e sociedades não se contradizem, mas complementam-se. Por que amamos? Não há apenas uma resposta – assim como não há apenas uma forma de amor. (shrink)

This book is a comprehensive, analytical study of the way the mind/body dichotomy has perpetuated social hierarchy on the basis of gender. It challenges the tradition of dualism and argues that the term “rational woman” is not a contradiction in terms. Having investigated the two major dualisms contained in the term “rational woman”, the author develops an argument for a new relational conception of all the terms involved in “rational woman”, emphasizing the relationship of interdependence of reason and emotion, man (...) and woman, rather than placing these terms in hierarchical and polarized opposition. (shrink)

In order to understand how the logic of public management can enrich humanistic management’s practices, the current paper will analyze the managerial practices adopted by public administrations within a situation of emergency, a condition where the specific features of the public management can emerge more clearly. Specifically, it will focus on the ways in which the municipality of Bergamo (one of the hardest-hit cities) have reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic, outlining interesting managerial practices especially from the point of view of (...) Humanistic Management’s theory. Such interest resides also in the fact that although the Humanistic Management’s field of research has dealt with a wide range of topics (including human development, emancipation and progress), so far, however, it has not yet considered public administrations, whose role is by definition oriented towards human development through the creation of public value. The analysis of public management through the lens of Humanistic Management can be useful in various respects. Above all, the difference between public administrations and private enterprises can also lead to a very much different process of value creation, based on collaborative forms of production as well as relational and reflexive forms of management. In accordance with the Humanistic Management framework, also business organizations must generate social wellbeing. From this point of view, the lesson of public administrations can be extremely useful for business organization and management alike. (shrink)

This article formulates a novel conception of constitutions based on John Finnis’s jurisprudential work. The ‘central case constitution’ transcends the formal or functionalist analyses currently dominant in constitutional theory by considering a constitution as having a ‘double life’. Constitutions are necessarily and intrinsically normative and factual. The article explores Finnis’s natural law philosophy, emphasizing the central case constitution’s alignment with the practical reasonableness viewpoint and its role in directing a political community towards its common good. Focusing on key elements such (...) as the rule of law and the context of a political community, the central case constitution emerges as a legal determination that structures society, frames political institutions and authoritatively directs communities towards justice. This ontological understanding has theoretical and practical implications, including identifying genuine constitutional purposes, safeguarding private associations from the overwhelming state presence, promoting community identity and accommodating diverse constitutional choices for self-determination. (shrink)

A associação de Rousseau às fontes filosóficas da democracia não constitui algo livre de discussões. O próprio autor preferia a qualificação de “republicano” em vez de “democrata”, e no Contrato Social apontou sérias dificuldades para a existência da democracia como uma forma de governo, ainda que suas teses sobre a soberania popular reverberem princípios tipicamente ligados às constituições democráticas. Diante disso, Kevin Inston questionou que os democratas radicais contemporâneos tenham negligenciado a contribuição do filósofo genebrino, e por isto buscou mostrar (...) o quanto ela continua sendo relevante para enfrentar os desafios políticos da atualidade. Todavia, em que medida se sustentam os esforços de Inston para compatibilizar a teoria política rousseauniana com a democracia contemporânea? Não terá o comentador subestimado ou ignorado elementos cruciais que tornam tal convergência problemática? O objetivo deste artigo é tentar fornecer algumas respostas para tais perguntas. (shrink)

Ecumenical logic aims to peacefully join classical and intuitionistic logic systems, allowing for reasoning about both classical and intuitionistic statements. This paper presents a semantic tableau for propositional ecumenical logic and proves its soundness and completeness concerning Ecumenical Kripke models. We introduce the Ecumenical Propositional Tableau ( $$E_T$$ ) and demonstrate its effectiveness in handling mixed statements.

O presente texto objetiva investigar o retorno do fenômeno religioso por meio da teoria de Karl Marx sobre o estranhamento, em obras como A questão Judaica, Crítica da filosofia do direito de Hegel – Introdução, Manuscritos Econômicos-filosóficos e a Ideologia Alemã, obras nas quais Marx discute as condições materiais de existência para explicar a sociedade moderna (a política, a religião etc.), o que possibilita uma discussão sobre as estruturas concretas e sociais do sistema capitalista. Essas análises permitem entender como a (...) religião se faz tão presente na vida dos indivíduos, uma vez que o capitalismo é permeado por um trabalho fragmentado, que conduz o homem à perda de si, um trabalho marcado pelas contradições da propriedade privada. Para Marx, a religião não é um fenômeno abstrato, mas social e pode ser investigada pelo estudo das condições materiais da realidade. Portanto, se a religião persiste na sociedade é porque o capitalismo não promove uma real emancipação, mas apenas uma vida humana estranhada. A busca pela religião é uma forma de o homem reconciliar-se consigo mesmo, já que o mundo material o aflige e dilacera. (shrink)

The article argues that Spinoza's principle of political order represents a conception of sovereignty which is both historically intelligible and analytically coherent.The appropriateness of four meanings of sovereignty to Spinoza's political theory is considered. Then, after examining Spinoza's use of Hobbes's still influential touchstone for the modern theory of sovereignty, Spinoza's conception is discussed in the light of the role that customary practice and republicanism play in his political theory. The analysis of sovereignty also prompts engagement with a range of (...) meanings of the notions of constitutionalism and absolute rule.The argument demonstrates that while Spinoza employs some different criteria, he establishes a conception of sovereignty which needs to be recognised as no less internally consistent than Hobbes's. Moreover, both conceptions contain problems. Although Hobbes demonstrates the abstract logic of authority, the theoretical consequence he draws concerning sovereignty entailing a unitary state has been successfully challenged. Spinoza's conception of sovereignty is based on the logic of customary practice, but the manner in which customary practice is ultimately unsusceptible of analytical justification renders his notion also vulnerable to challenge. (shrink)

Quais são as causas do descontentamento das pessoas com a política, pergunta-se o filósofo Renato Janine Ribeiro na abertura de O Valor Volta à Política, coletânea de artigos escritos entre 2011 e 2015, num momento de forte otimismo com um país que, após consolidar a democracia, parecia destinado a fortalecê-la e se desenvolver. O retrocesso que o atingiu - assim como a outros países - substituiu a política pelo ódio. Mais que o antipetismo, o maior triunfo desse furor foi (...) a antipolítica. Mas o que aconteceu? Será que a vida política se tronou um efeito da vida econômica? Se a cidadania, em nossos dias, realmente foi substituída pelo consumo, então é a subida ou a queda no nível de vida o principal critério para as pessoas decidirem seus votos? É recorrendo ao tempo longo que Janine vai examinar se o apelo democrático simplesmente se esgotou ou se o que estamos vivendo é uma "reação reacionária" dos ressentidos com um mundo em transformação. Observador atento e afiado, o próprio autor revisita esses anos de efervescência tecendo, em 2021 - portanto após a ascensão da extrema-direita -, comentários aos seus artigos. Dos efeitos da crise financeira de 2008 à contestação da legitimidade das eleições de 2014 - que Janine equivale à abertura de uma caixa de Pandora -, passando pelas manifestações de 2013 e pela ascensão das redes sociais, descortinam-se no fio dos anos visões da política brasileira e os possíveis devires de um passado que perdura no presente. (shrink)

Diz o ditado que "quem não gosta de samba, bom sujeito não é: ou é ruim da cabeça ou doente do pé". Os filósofos tradicionalmente são doentes do pé e muitos deles certamente são ruins da cabeça. Isso parece tornar o tema desse livro pouco viável. Entretanto, tentamos mesmo assim. Afinal gente ruim da cabeça também é inconsequente. Na verdade, esse livro é a continuação do desejo compartilhado por seus diversos autores de aproximar a filosofia da cultura brasileira. E nada (...) melhor para tornar esse diálogo palpável do que o motivo fornecido pelo samba. Afinal, ele é uma de nossas manifestações nacionais mais típicas, difundidas e que tem sobrevivido a várias transformações ao longo do tempo. Através desse livro, esperamos ter nos tornado menos doentes do pé e menos ruins da cabeça -- apesar de quase todos gostarem de samba. (shrink)

O artigo trata dos aspectos gerais da articulação entre filosofia e literatura conforme presentes na obra de Franklin Leopoldo e Silva. Valendo-se de certa tensão entre a atividade do filósofo e aquela do professor de filosofia, o texto percorre elementos nos trabalhos de Franklin dedicados a Proust, Bergson e Sartre, os quais permitem delimitar a relação de distância e proximidade entre os gêneros literário e filosófico. Propõe-se, à revelia do filósofo/professor, que seu trabalho evidencia certo estágio do desenvolvimento da filosofia (...) no Brasil, marcado pelo diálogo sistemático com a tradição filosófica, aliando rigor intelectual e síntese criativa, permitindo o que chamamos de coautoria. (shrink)

Este volume apresenta uma leitura arrojada das ideias de um dos mais importantes filósofos do século XVII. Ribeiro discorre, principalmente, sobre dois desdobramentos fundamentais do pensamento hobbesiano. O primeiro é o pacto entre os homens para a formação do Estado, por meio do qual transferem todos os direitos ao soberano. Segundo, uma consequência direta dessa concentração de poder: o controle do conhecimento pela autoridade política.

Within Germany, Carl Schmitt's status as a political thinker is on a par with Machiavelli and Hobbes. With the rise in neo-conservatism and authoritarian liberalism in less developed countries such as Chile and Singapore, Renato Christi believes Schmitt's theories will become of considerable importance. Nazi Third Reich. His political theories provide an insight into the nature of Conservatism. well as extrapolate possibilities for the future.

I argue in this dissertation that natural properties play a central role in David Lewis' modal realism. To argue in favor of this thesis I present: a bottom-up explanation of a top-down possible world metaphysics; a new definition of natural properties and natural fusion, a new mereological operation. To achieve these aims, in the first chapter, I contextualize the discussion, in the second I resume the discussion about universals in contemporary philosophy and argue that, considering the distinct formulations of the (...) problem, class nominalism combined with modal realism might be the best solution. Furthermore, I discuss Devitt's solution in which he defends that the problem about universals is, in fact, a pseudo problem. In the third chapter, I introduce a minimal ontology of properties, regarding natural properties, I discuss the existing definitions, present a new one and discuss some theories of similarity, a notion that is in the core of the definition I propose. Besides, I present how natural properties benefit the definition of terms of nomological package, linked to its fundamentality role. I also present some applications related to the rationality role that encompass some well-known philosophical problems of the second half of 20th century. In the fourth chapter, I present some varieties of philosophical realism, I consider the theoretical advantages of taking scientific realism as background and I discuss one more utility of natural properties, the solution to the problem of eligibility of reference or, the Putnam's paradox. In the fifth chapter, I discuss how mereology is important to link several aspects of Lewis' modal realism. For such, I discuss the relation between composition as identity and ontological innocence of mereology and I present the natural fusion mereology, a new mereological operation that aims to minimize the problems of unrestricted composition. (shrink)

Na sua “última lição”, reiterou-nos José Esteves Pereira “a flagrante actualidade do pensamento de Ortega y Gasset”. Nesta nossa breve reflexão, a partir de obra A Rebelião das Massas, explicitaremos como isso para nós se verifica.

O objetivo deste trabalho é duplo: primeiramente, tecer alguns comentários sobre o uso feito pelo filósofo da ocorrência de fenômenos da natureza como fatores explicativos para mudanças profundas ocorridas no comportamento humano, um recurso argumentativo presente nas duas narrativas hipotéticas; em seguida, abordar as razões que Rousseau fornece para que esses acontecimentos deixem de ser simples fatos naturais e se tornem verdadeiras catástrofes para o ser humano, as quais podem ser encontradas, por exemplo, na Carta a Voltaire sobre a Providência.