Take a moment to use mental imagery to perform the following tasks: (1) decide whether an apple is more similar in shape to a banana or an orange, (2) determine how to rearrange the furniture in your bedroom to make room for a new dresser, and (3) drive home during rush hour. Although we take our ability to perform tasks such as these for granted, they raise a host of interesting questions about imagery. For instance, what is the relationship between (...) imagery and perception? What types of processes are needed to account for our ability to generate, maintain, transform, and inspect images? How do we characterize individual differences in imagery ability? What is the relation between imagery and spatial representation? What can we do with mental imagery? This essay will focus on visual imagery, because we know more about visual imagery than auditory, haptic, gustatory, or olfactory imagery. The expectation is that many principles, although not all details, of emerging theory will be applicable to imagery in other modes. (shrink)

Two experiments were conducted to examine whether the resistance to extinction obtained in evaluative conditioning (EC) studies implies that EC is a qualitatively distinct form of classical conditioning (Baeyens, Eelen, & Crombez, 1995 Baeyens, F, Eelen, P, and Crombez, G, (1995a). Pavlovian associations are forever: On classical conditioning and extinction, Journal of Psychophysiology 9 ((1995a)), pp. 127–141.[Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]a) or whether it is the result of an nonassociative artefact (Field & Davey, 1997 Field, AP, and Davey, GCL, (...) (1997). Conceptual conditioning: Evidence for an artifactual account of evaluative learning, Learning and Motivation 25 ((1997)), pp. 446–464.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar], 1998 Field, AP, and Davey, GCL, (1998). Evaluative conditioning: Arti‐fact or ‐fiction?‐ A reply to Baeyens, De Houwer, Vansteenwegen, and Eelen (1998), Learning and Motivation 29 ((1998)), pp. 475–491.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar], 1999 Field, AP, and Davey, GCL, (1999). Reevaluating evaluative conditioning: A nonassociative explanation of conditioning effects in the visual evaluative conditioning paradigm, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes 25 ((1999)), pp. 211–224.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar]). Both experiments included between‐subjects control groups in addition to standard within‐subjects control conditions. In Experiment 1, only verbal ratings were measured in order to evaluate the effect of postacquisition CS‐only exposures on EC whereas in Experiment 2, verbal ratings and postextinction priming effects were measured. The results showed that the EC effects are demonstrable in a between‐subjects design and that the extinction procedure did not have any influence on the acquired evaluative value of CSs regardless of whether the verbal ratings or the priming effects were used as dependent variables. The present results provide evidence that EC is resistant to extinction and suggest an interpretation of EC as a qualitatively distinct form of associative learning. (shrink)

El Ministerio de Salud Pública cubano ha otorgado especial importancia al tema relacionado con el desempeño profesional evaluativo de la información estadística en los profesionales de la salud, pero una revisión bibliográfica permitió constatar el insuficiente debate pedagógico encaminado a diagnosticar su estado actual para proponer alternativas que permitan su formación y desarrollo en los estudiantes. Este artículo tiene como objetivo caracterizar el desempeño profesional evaluativo de la información estadística en estudiantes de Medicina. Los resultados obtenidos con la aplicación de (...) métodos y técnicas de investigación, tales como encuestas, test de conocimientos permitieron confirmar que ese desempeño actualmente se expresa a un nivel insatisfactorio de actuación. Se concluyó buscar formas más efectivas para su logro en estudiantes de Medicina. The Cuban Ministry of Public Health has given special importance to the subject of professional assessment of statistical information in the area of public health; however, a bibliographic review allowed authors to prove pedagogical debate unsatisfactory. The review was aimed at diagnosing its current state and therefore provide alternatives that allow its formation and development in medical students. The objective of the article is to characterize the assessable professional performance of statistical information in medical students. The results achieved through the application of research methods and techniques such as surveys and knowledge tests enabled to confirm that, nowadays, professional performance is below satisfactory performance levels. As a result, newer and more effective ways of achieving it in medical students will be searched for. (shrink)

One of the most controversial and currently developed lines of research in philosophy of biology is that in which philosophers investigate pre-Darwinian assumptions that would still be present at the base of other philosophical sub-disciplines, such as ethics, epistemology, philosophy of language, etc. This type of inquiry, which I will call here “meta-philosophical interrogation,” can be thought as a complementary approach to the epistemological one, which allows us to broaden the critical approach of the discipline in question. The objective of (...) this article will be to analyze the characteristics of the “meta-philosophical interrogation” and to argue about its legitimacy as a way of inquiry proper to the philosophy of biology. (shrink)

One of the most controversial and currently developed lines of research in philosophy of biology is that in which philosophers investigate pre-Darwinian assumptions that would still be present at the base of other philosophical sub-disciplines, such as ethics, epistemology, philosophy of language, etc. This type of inquiry, which I will call here “meta-philosophical interrogation,” can be thought as a complementary approach to the epistemological one, which allows us to broaden the critical approach of the discipline in question. The objective of (...) this article will be to analyze the characteristics of the “meta-philosophical interrogation” and to argue about its legitimacy as a way of inquiry proper to the philosophy of biology. (shrink)

En este artículo analizaré algunos puntos de convergencia entre la filosofía transhumanista y la crítica filosófica contemporánea al antropocentrismo. Para ello distinguiré entre un tipo de programa normativo fuerte y uno débil en el transhumanismo. El argumento central reside en que la normatividad fuerte en el discurso transhumanista, al suponer que es posible seleccionar exclusivamente las características “propiamente humanas” para ser conservadas en el estadio post-humano, se basa en una concepción pre-darwiniana de la especie humana, lo cual posee implicancias tanto (...) epistemológicas como éticas. (shrink)

O presente trabalho examina uma perspectiva hermenêutica do político presente no pensamento de Chantal Mouffe, cujo empreendimento se dá com o seu postulado em torno do que denomina por democracia radical e plural e da resultante desse postulado dentro de uma ordem cosmopolita da política e o reflexo do empreendimento dos direitos nesse sentido. A chave de leitura que orienta esta perspectiva advém da concepção do político realizada pela autora, em que o antagonismo é nuclear na formação da identidade plural (...) como forma de radicalização do político no contexto das diferenças entre o Eu e o Outro no plano político global. Aqui, os direitos devem ser considerados não do ponto de vista universal, mas das relações que são e devem ser sempre ressignificadas. Neste sentido, o político assume um caráter plural, inerente a condição mesma do social e se contrapõe ao projeto liberal de caráter universalista, racionalista e individualista, que não alcança as diferenças e com isso impossibilita uma leitura aberta do social enquanto modo de ressignificação do político. Por conseguinte, a possibilidade de sua ressignificação quanto à reinterpretação do social e também dos direitos, a partir das novas posições de sujeitos, está sempre aberta. Esse propósito tem o sentido de refletir o debate democrático em torno da relação entre o sujeito político do ponto de vista da universalidade dos direitos e a importância das diferenças nesta perspectiva. Tem-se em vista a proposta do projeto multipolar de Mouffe na construção das posições de sujeitos no âmbito cosmopolita, que não pode ser encarado de modo universal, mas da compreensão quanto a importância do antagonismo constitutivo das novas identidades. (shrink)

La perspectiva evolutiva de Michael Ruse sobre la moral se caracteriza por combinar dos aspectos aparentemente contradictorios: por un lado, un escepticismo metaético y, por otro lado, una defensa de la ética normativa. Siguiendo la distinción de Daniel Dennett entre explicaciones con ‘ganchos celestiales’, que apelan a entidades sobrenaturales, y con ‘grúas’, que se adecúan a la teoría de la evolución por selección natural, la propuesta de Ruse busca llevar la comprensión de la ética y de la metaética en clave (...) de ‘grúa’ hasta sus últimas consecuencias. Ahora bien, la propuesta ruseana parece llegar a una aporía. Esto porque si bien en su propuesta se plantea una defensa de la ética normativa, Ruse le adjudica un rol destacado a las ‘disposiciones mentales innatas’ (vinculadas con piezas de psicología como las intuiciones o emociones morales), quedando todavía, aparentemente, un cabo suelto de su filosofía: cómo capturar, sin diluir, o sin reducir al mínimo, la normatividad de dicha ética (que el autor llama a veces ‘sustantiva’ en contraste con la metaética). En este artículo nos proponemos conservar la comprensión de la moral en clave de ‘grúa’ propuesta por Ruse pero, al mismo tiempo, recuperar una noción de razonamiento moral con mayor injerencia en la normatividad ética. Para ello, recurriremos al concepto de ‘metacognición’ que, una vez definido, nos permitirá poner en evidencia de qué manera el conocimiento de los procesos y productos cognitivos propios puede jugar un papel en el razonamiento moral destinado a inhibir disposiciones tendencialmente egoístas. (shrink)

Recent work with infants suggests that plant foraging throughout evolutionary history has shaped the design of the human mind. Infants in Germany and the US avoid touching plants and engage in more social looking toward adults before touching them. This combination of behavioral avoidance and social looking strategies enables safe and rapid social learning about plant properties within the first two years of life. Here, we explore how growing up in a context that requires frequent interaction with plants shapes children’s (...) responses with the participation of communities in rural Fiji. We conducted two interviews with adults and a behavioral study with children. The adult interviews map the plant learning landscape in these communities and provide context for the child study. The child study used a time-to-touch paradigm to examine whether 6- to 48-month-olds in participating communities exhibit avoidance behaviors and social looking patterns that are similar to, or different from, those of German and American infants. Our adult interview results confirmed that knowledge about daily and medicinal uses of plants is widely known throughout the communities, and children are given many opportunities to informally learn about plants. The results of the child behavioral study suggest that young Fijian children, like German and American infants, are reluctant to reach for novel artificial plants and are fastest to interact with familiar household items and shells. In contrast to German and American infants, Fijian children also quickly reached for familiar real plants and did not engage in differential social looking before touching them. These results suggest that cultural contexts flexibly shape the development of plant-relevant cognitive design. (shrink)

O presente artigo examina a relação entre as noções de direitos humanos e a política democrática em face de sua fundamentação filosófica, tendo em vista a noção do que se convencionou chamar de Nova Ordem Mundial. Nesta perspectiva, apresenta-se, pelas lentes da teoria da Democracia radical e plural, postulada por Chantal Mouffe, as condições para se pensar uma ordem baseada na concepção chave do pluralismo. Para tanto, problematiza-se os principais argumentos da versão cosmopolita diante do pressuposto de pretensões de validade (...) universal, marcadamente presentes no pensamento de Jürgen Habermas enquanto obstáculo a uma política legítima dos direitos humanos. Esta leitura contribui para compreender as possibilidades dos avanços teóricos proporcionados pelo projeto multipolar proposto por Chantal Mouffe e identifica os principais obstáculos e meios possíveis para pensar uma política dos direitos humanos. (shrink)

Pretende-se centrar um argumento em torno da constituição do sujeito político a partir da reflexão desenvolvida por Rousseau impressa na vontade geral. A leitura que aqui se faz é no sentido da incorporação das noções traçadas pelo filósofo que permitem um delineamento da subjetividade enquanto elemento essencial à formação do político numa perspectiva da relação do ‘Eu’ com o ‘Outro’. Perspectiva que perpassa pelo entendimento que o autor expõe acerca da razão e dos sentimentos de humanidade e virtude em contraposição (...) à conjugação restrita entre razão e individualidade. De modo que, o desenvolvimento desta discussão vem corroborar e potencializar um entendimento sobre a vontade geral não consubstanciada numa unidade substancial do sujeito, mas no reconhecimento da existência de um ‘Outro’ materializado numa vontade reciprocamente expressa e, portanto, reconhecida enquanto vontade política. (shrink)

Los escritos de Jean-Marie Schaeffer destacan entre los de otros filósofos franceses por el hecho de que no solo enfatizan la relevancia del enfoque evolutivo al interior de la reflexión filosófica, generalmente desacreditado por completo en los círculos intelectuales vinculados a la filosofía continental, sino por el hecho de que lo introducen en la investigación estética, lo cual resulta aún menos frecuente entre los filósofos en general. En la argumentación de Schaeffer, dicho enfoque explicita la existencia de un punto de (...) encuentro entre, por un lado, la crítica filosófica al antropocentrismo y la ética animal y, por otro lado, el análisis estético. Según se argumenta en este artículo, a la luz de las reflexiones del filósofo francés se evidencian algunas implicaciones importantes de la teoría de la evolución biológica en la problematización del supuesto de una superioridad moral humana al interior de la estética filosófica. (shrink)

Guest Editor’s Introduction to "Current Perspectives in Philosophy of Biology".

Guest Editor’s Introduction to "Current Perspectives in Philosophy of Biology".

Previous research has shown positive relationships between fitness level and different cognitive abilities and academic performance. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between logical–mathematical intelligence and mathematical competence with physical fitness in a group of pre-adolescents. Sixty-three children from Castro del Río, aged between 11 and 12 years, participated in this research. The Superior Logical Intelligence Test and the EVAMAT 1.0–5 battery were used. Physical fitness was evaluated by the horizontal jump test, the 4×10 meter speed–agility (...) test, and the Course Navette test. The analyses showed positive relationships between physical fitness with logical–mathematical intelligence and mathematical competence. Specifically, linear regression analyzes indicated that the 4×10 speed–agility test significantly predicted mathematical competence and the horizontal jump test significantly predicted logical–mathematical intelligence. These results are in agreement with previous research, highlighting the importance of improving physical fitness from an early age due to its benefits for intellectual and academic development. (shrink)

En este artículo exploraremos un dilema surgido del progresivo asentamiento de una disciplina reciente en el ámbito de la teoría moral, comprendida como una rama de los enfoques naturalistas de la ética, a saber, la ‘ética evolutiva’. Esta disciplina incluye en sus investigaciones de orden ético conocimientos de tipo biológico y, particularmente, estudios en clave de las teorías posdarwinianas de la evolución. En pocas palabras, el dilema surgido de la articulación entre ética y naturalismo evolutivo consiste en lo siguiente: (i) (...) o bien las propiedades morales son naturales y explican nuestro comportamiento como resultado de procesos evolutivos, pero no alcanzan para justificar el comportamiento moral; (ii) o bien lo justifican, pues tales propiedades retienen su autonomía respecto de las propiedades naturales, pero dejan de explicar o anclar la moral en bases ‘reales’ (naturales, fácticas) objetivas de la moralidad como tal. Nuestra propuesta en este artículo busca, si no solucionar dicho dilema, al menos ‘relajar’ la tensión que contiene. Para ello realizaremos una exploración del debate en torno al realismo moral que subyace al dilema en cuestión, así como también, y particularmente, a los posibles aportes que algunas perspectivas neoaristotélicas contemporáneas podrían ofrecer para la elucidación de una vía intermedia, que evite caer en ambos extremos. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of school principal trustworthiness components (i.e., ability, integrity, benevolence) in helping shape teacher trust and affective commitment within schools. Using data from 1,026 teachers in Spain and structural equation modeling (via EQS 6.3), this study establishes how a principal’s integrity and benevolence are key in determining, both directly and indirectly (via trust in the principal), teachers’ affective commitment to their school. It also reveals that the perceived ability of a principal (...) is not effective in generating trust or affective commitment to the school in teachers. As a contribution to the literature, these findings reveal that the ethical trustworthiness (benevolence, integrity) of principals is key in engendering trust and affective commitment to schools. Thus, to shape work environments that are high in trust and commitment, principals should focus on behaving in ways that make their integrity and benevolence manifest to their teachers. (shrink)

The COVID‐19 pandemic is responsible for millions of deaths worldwide yet its origin remains unclear. Two potential scenarios of how infection of humans initially occurred include zoonotic transfer from wild animals and a leak of the pathogen from a research laboratory. The Wuhan wet markets where wild animals are sold represent a strong scenario for zoonotic transfer. However, isolation of SARS‐CoV‐2 or its immediate predecessor from wild animals in their natural environment has yet to be documented. Due to incomplete evidence (...) for a zoonotic origin, a laboratory origin is plausible. The Wuhan Institute of Virology is at the epicenter of the pandemic and their work has included manipulation of wild‐type coronavirus to enable infection of human cells. Although stronger evidence supports the zoonotic transfer, inconclusive reports maintain the laboratory leak hypothesis alive. It is imperative to reach a factual conclusion to prevent future pandemics. (shrink)

Current Perspectives in Philosophy of Biology.

The Peruvian sociologist Aníbal Quijano is widely considered to be a foundational figure of the decolonial perspective grounded on three basic concepts: coloniality, coloniality of power, and colonial matrix of power. His decolonial theorizations of these three concepts have transformed the principles and assumptions of the very idea of knowledge, impacted the social sciences and humanities, and questioned the myth of rationality in natural sciences. The essays in this volume encompass nearly thirty years of Quijano’s work, bringing them to an (...) English reading audience for the first time. This volume is not simply an introduction to Quijano’s work; it achieves one of his unfulfilled goals: to write a book that contains his main hypotheses, concepts, and arguments. In this regard, the collection encourages a fuller understanding and broader implementation of the analyses and concepts that he developed over the course of his long career. Moreover, it demonstrates that the tools for reading and dismantling coloniality originated outside the academy in Latin America and the former Third World. (shrink)

This handbook presents a comprehensive introduction to the core areas of philosophy of education combined with an up-to-date selection of the central themes. It includes 95 newly commissioned articles that focus on and advance key arguments; each essay incorporates essential background material serving to clarify the history and logic of the relevant topic, examining the status quo of the discipline with respect to the topic, and discussing the possible futures of the field. The book provides a state-of-the-art overview of philosophy (...) of education, covering a range of topics: Voices from the present and the past deals with 36 major figures that philosophers of education rely on; Schools of thought addresses 14 stances including Eastern, Indigenous, and African philosophies of education as well as religiously inspired philosophies of education such as Jewish and Islamic; Revisiting enduring educational debates scrutinizes 25 issues heavily debated in the past and the present, for example care and justice, democracy, and the curriculum; New areas and developments addresses 17 emerging issues that have garnered considerable attention like neuroscience, videogames, and radicalization. The collection is relevant for lecturers teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in philosophy of education as well as for colleagues in teacher training. Moreover, it helps junior researchers in philosophy of education to situate the problems they are addressing within the wider field of philosophy of education and offers a valuable update for experienced scholars dealing with issues in the sub-discipline. Combined with different conceptions of the purpose of philosophy, it discusses various aspects, using diverse perspectives to do so. Contributing Editors: Section 1: Voices from the Present and the Past: Nuraan Davids Section 2: Schools of Thought: Christiane Thompson and Joris Vlieghe Section 3: Revisiting Enduring Debates: Ann Chinnery, Naomi Hodgson, and Viktor Johansson Section 4: New Areas and Developments: Kai Horsthemke, Dirk Willem Postma, and Claudia Ruitenberg. (shrink)

O presente estudo se propõe a discutir a relação entre a identidade política coletiva (populista) e a crise de representatividade das instituições de poder que consiste no paradoxo do poder constituinte, em sua estrutura conceitual, inspirada nas leituras de Jacques Rancière (1940) e Chantal Mouffe (1943).

El artículo presenta los principales resultados de un estudio realizado entre 1998 y 2000 con hombres jóvenes de la Ciudad de Cali, Colombia, profundizando en sus prácticas de distinción en torno al cuerpo, la vestimenta, los espacios de sociabilidad, las mujeres como objetos de ostentación y sus dinámicas de prestigio. El estudio es desarrollado en base a observación participante y a la implementación de entrevistas con grupos de jóvenes entre 14 y 22 años, tanto de sectores medios bajos, como medios (...) altos, e indaga en sus opiniones sobre la moda, el prestigio, la distinción social y los comportamientos que otorgan o quitan el estatus. (shrink)

A tendência de algumas visões naturalistas de deduzir o sentido da ação humana da sua natureza biológica conduz a naturalizar a violência como fenômeno político inexorável. A violência naturalizada leva a sociedade para a dinâmica da inexorável violência, cuja única solução é a legitimação de uma violência total. Propomos, neste ensaio, a desconstrução crítica dos determinismos naturalistas por meio da análise da ação humana e da especificidade de sua potência que se manifesta como potência criadora (Cornelius Castoriadis) e potência do (...) não (Giorgio Agamben). A potência da ação humana transcende os determinismos da sua natureza biológica, embora por eles esteja condicionada. The tendency some naturalist visions have to deduce the meaning of human action from their biological nature, leads to a naturalization of violence as an inexorable political phenomenon. Naturalized violence leads the society towards the dynamics of inexorable violence, whose only solution is legitimazing total violence. In this article we propose the critical deconstruction of naturalistic determinism by means of the analysis of human action and the specificity of its power, which is manifested as creative power (Cornelius Castoriadis) and power of no (Giorgio Agamben). The power of human action transcends the biological determinisms of its biologic nature, although the power of human action is conditioned by them. (shrink)

El presente artículo desarrolla una reflexión acerca de los ideales de belleza femenina promovidos por el mercado y los mass-media, dando cuenta de datos estadísticos e informes periodísticos de los trastornos que generan, en términos de mortalidad y morbilidad en la población femeninaLa primera parte del análisis responde, desde una perspectiva psicológica, a la pregunta ¿cómo se constituye como sujeto una mujer? La segunda parte aborda desde una perspectiva sociocultural la pregunta ¿cómo debe ser una mujer?, desde la premisa de (...) que las prácticas de educación y moldeamiento del cuerpo tienen sentido en la modernidad como una forma de control social. Finalmente se busca, desde una perspectiva política, señalar cómo el “boom” de la estética corporal es un mecanismo de dominación principalmente dirigido a la mujer, al cual las políticas públicas y la legislación no logran dar respuesta, manteniendo a éstas en un lugar pasivo como sujeto y actor político. (shrink)