During the last decade Castoriadis’ questioning has become a reference point in contemporary social theory. In this article I examine some of the key notions in Castoriadis’ work and explore how he strives to develop a theory on the irreducible creativity in the radical imagination of the individual and in the institution of the social-historical sphere. Firstly, I briefly discuss his conception of modern capitalism as bureaucratic capitalism, a view initiated by his criticism of the USSR regime. The following break (...) up with Marxist theory and his psychoanalytic interests empowered him to criticize Lacan and read Freud in an imaginative, though unorthodox, fashion. I argue that this critical enterprise assisted greatly Castoriadis in his conception of the radical imaginary and in his unveiling of the political aspects of psychoanalysis. On the issue of the radical imaginary and its methodological repercussions, I’m focusing mainly on the radical imagination of the subject and its importance in the transition from the ‘‘psychic’’ to the ‘‘subject’’. Taking up the notion of “Being” as a starting point, I examine the notion of autonomy, seeking its roots in the ancient Greek world. By looking at notions such as “praxis”, “doing”, “project” and “elucidation”, I show how Castoriadis sought to redefine revolution as a means for social and individual autonomy. Finally I attempt to clarify the meaning of “democracy” and “democratic society” in the context of the social imaginary and its creations, the social imaginary significations. (shrink)

Belief Revision is a well-established field of research that deals with how agents rationally change their minds in the face of new information. The milestone of Belief Revision is a general and versatile formal framework introduced by Alchourrón, Gärdenfors and Makinson, known as the AGM paradigm, which has been, to this date, the dominant model within the field. A main shortcoming of the AGM paradigm, as originally proposed, is its lack of any guidelines for relevant change. To remedy this weakness, (...) Parikh proposed a relevance-sensitive axiom, which applies on splittable theories; i.e., theories that can be divided into syntax-disjoint compartments. The aim of this article is to provide an epistemological interpretation of the dynamics of splittable theories, from the perspective of Kuhn's inuential work on the evolution of scientific knowledge, through the consideration of principal belief-change scenarios. The whole study establishes a conceptual bridge between rational belief revision and traditional philosophy of science, which sheds light on the application of formal epistemological tools on the dynamics of knowledge. (shrink)

Physicians frequently face ethical dilemmas when caring for patients. To help them to cope with these, biomedical ethics aims to implement moral norms for particular problems and contexts. As a means of studying the cognitive and neurobiological features underlying the respect for these norms, moral cognitive neuroscience could help us to understand and improve ethical questioning. The article reviews recent developments in the field and presents neurobiological arguments to highlight why some moral rules are universally shared and why some ethical (...) responses are very dependent on context. (shrink)

Die Herausgeber der Reihe Traditio Praesocratica haben es sich zum Ziel gesetzt, das Überlieferungswissen zu den sogenannten vorsokratischen Philosophen in möglichster Vollständigkeit in Text und Übersetzung darzustellen. Der rezeptionsgeschichtliche Blickpunkt des Unternehmens erklärt die – im Vergleich zu den meisten anderen vorliegenden Sammlungen zu den Vorsokratikern – chronologische Anordnung der in ihren jeweiligen Überlieferungskontext eingeordneten Zeugnisse. Im vierten Band der Reihe werden nun die griechisch, lateinisch und arabisch überlieferten Zeugnisse vom vierten Jahrhundert v. Chr. bis ins ausgehende Mittelalter hinein zu (...) Leben und Lehre der drei westgriechischen Philosophen Alkmaion, Hippon und Menestor in chronologischer Anordnung und mit deutscher Übersetzung wiedergegeben. Während Alkmaion aus Kroton vor allem durch seine sinnesphysiologischen, möglicherweise empirisch begründeten Theorien Aufmerksamkeit in der weiteren Rezeptionsgeschichte erregte, fand Hippon aufgrund seines Beinamens 'der Gottlose' immer wieder das Interesse späterer Autoren. Menestor aus Sybaris hingegen kennen wir fast nur aus Theophrasts botanischen Werken, der in ihm einen gelegentlich zitierfähigen Vorgänger seiner eigenen entsprechenden Forschungen sah. Alle Zeugnisse werden im Sinne der Reihe mit einer kurzen kontextuellen Information zu dem jeweils überliefernden Autor und dem betreffenden Werk, in dem sich das Zeugnis findet, versehen. Außerdem werden den Zeugnissen thematisch orientierte 'Similien' beigegeben, die zur besseren Orientierung der Überlieferungs- bzw. Rezeptionszusammenhänge dienen sollen. Ausführliche Indices beschließen den Band. Dem Studium der vorsokratischen Philosophie wird damit ein weiterer Grundlagenband zur Verfügung gestellt, der einen umfassenden Blick nicht nur in Hinsicht auf die Rekonstruktion von Leben und Lehre der betreffenden Denker, sondern auch und vor allem in Hinsicht auf deren Rezeption ermöglicht. (shrink)

Psychopathy is a personality disorder frequently associated with immoral behaviors. Previous behavioral studies on the influence of psychopathy on moral decision have yielded contradictory results, possibly because they focused either on judgment (abstract evaluation) or on choice of hypothetical action, two processes that may rely on different mechanisms. In this study, we explored the influence of the level of psychopathic traits on judgment and choice of hypothetical action during moral dilemma evaluation. A population of 102 students completed a questionnaire with (...) ten moral dilemmas and nine non-moral dilemmas. The task included questions targeting both judgment (“Is it acceptable to … in order to …?”) and choice of hypothetical action (“Would you … in order to …?”). The level of psychopathic traits of each participant was evaluated with the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) scale. Logistic regression fitted with the generalized estimating equations method analyses were conducted using responses to the judgment and choice tasks as the dependent variables and psychopathy scores as predictor. Results show that a high level of psychopathic traits, and more specifically those related to affective deficit, predicted a greater proportion of utilitarian responses for the choice but not for the judgment question. There was no first-order interaction between the level of psychopathic traits and other potential predictors. The relation between a high level of psychopathic traits and increased utilitarianism in choice of action but not in moral judgment may explain the contradictory results of previous studies where these two processes were not contrasted. It also gives further support to the hypothesis that choice of action endorsement and abstract judgment during moral dilemma evaluation are partially distinct neural and psychological processes. We propose that this distinction should be better taken into account in the evaluation of psychopathic behaviors. (shrink)

Next SectionThe present investigation looks for a solution to the problem of the influence of feelings and emotions on our ethical decisions. This problem can be formulated in the following way. On the one hand, emotions (fear, pity and so on) can alter our sense of discrimination and lead us to make our wrong decisions. On the other hand, it is known that lack of sensitivity can alter our judgment and lead us to sacrifice basic ethical principles such as autonomy, (...) beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. Only emotions can turn a decision into an ethical one, but they can also turn it into an unreasonable one. To avoid this contradiction, suggest integrating emotions with the decisional factors of the process of “retrospective thinking”. During this thinking, doctors usually try to identify the nature and impact of feelings on the decision they have just made. In this retrospective moment of analysis of the decision, doctors also question themselves on the feelings they did not experience. They do this to estimate the consequences of this lack of feeling on the way they behaved with the patient. (shrink)

In this paper we present two calculi for intuitionistic logic. The first one, IG, is characterized by the fact that every proof-search terminates and termination is reached without jeopardizing the subformula property. As to the second one, SIC, proof-search terminates, the subformula property is preserved and moreover proof-search is performed without any recourse to metarules, in particular there is no need to back-track. As a consequence, proof-search in the calculus SIC is accomplished by a single tree as in classical logic.

Trata-se de um relato de experiência redigido após a provocação de um questionador que tomou como base de seu questionamento um fragmento do livro de Lerner, "Ler e escrever na escola: o real, o possivel e o necessário".

Resenha do livro de Dermeval Saviani, Escola e Democracia.

What characterizes the 'modern' view of things is the fundamental belief that things are to be dealt with only in terms of their reference to human projects. This stands in marked contrast to the belief which constitutes the pre-Modern view: namely, That things possess a nature of their own which establishes the terms in which man is to deal with them. The transition from the latter to the former is marked by a shift from a concern for truth to a (...) concern for meaning. The ideal of doing justice to things on "their own" terms is replaced by the ideal of achieving coherence with regard to the terms to which we (in our projects) subject things. The article discusses how hume and kant play a decisive role in this transition. (shrink)

Something extraordinary has happened to metaphysics. At the very moment when philosophy is focusing its efforts at bringing metaphysics to an ‘end,’ metaphysics finds itself flourishing in the theatre, which speaks of itself as ‘metaphysics-in-action’ and publishes treatises carrying such titles as The Act of Being: Toward a Theory of Acting. The irony of the situation appears to have been lost on postmodern philosophers. What this paper sets out to do is explore the potential consequences of the metaphysical weight that (...) has been acquired by the theatre for the practice of philosophy. It argues that the theatrical performance is in fact an ‘enactment’ of the performance of being and that, as such, it is possible to extend our understanding of this performance from the theatrical stage to the ‘theatre of the world.’ Finally, in doing so, we can establish the context for a metaphysics that does not privilege presence. (shrink)

Something extraordinary has happened to metaphysics. At the very moment when philosophy is focusing its efforts at bringing metaphysics to an 'end,' metaphysics finds itself flourishing in the theatre, which speaks of itself as 'metaphysics-in-action' and publishes treatises carrying such titles as The Act of Being: Toward a Theory of Acting. The irony of the situation appears to have been lost on postmodern philosophers. What this paper sets out to do is explore the potential consequences of the metaphysical weight that (...) has been acquired by the theatre for the practice of philosophy. It argues that the theatrical performance is in fact an 'enactment' of the performance of being and that, as such, it is possible to extend our understanding of this performance from the theatrical stage to the 'theatre of the world.' Finally, in doing so, we can establish the context for a metaphysics that does not privilege presence. (shrink)

El presente artículo intenta revisar el uso y empleo de las máscaras para la creación de un efecto transformador y sinestético en el arte simbólico e imaginativo de crear un paisaje de lejanía y familiaridad en que un ‘otro’ visualiza un diagrama metasignificativo de las representaciones y efectos de las máscaras en el arte ritual amazónico. El estudio, lejos de ser una descripción material de las culturas y el uso de las máscaras, intenta explorar el por qué de su utilización, (...) así como la manipulación de poderes y la intensa dramaticidad con que el acto del disfrazarse compone la performance ritualística en la amazonía brasileña. El foco principal es la constante creación del binomio identidad-alteridad en lo cuál las figuras mitológicas, las experiencias reveladas en los sueños coletivos y el propio teatro del ser, constituyen la ‘persona ritual’ que enfatiza el extenso universo de una indumentaria de la floresta en la confección simbólica de las máscaras y sus multisignificados. Finalmente, la idea de la performance a través de la mirada cenográfica amazonica y su empleo en las máscaras, adornos y ornamentos para una construcción del cuerpo, persona e identidad en la geografía de las almas de los pueblos del Amazonas. (shrink)

Artemisia Gentileschi (c. 1593-1652) was well paid and highly thought of as a painter by some of the leading art patrons of the Europe of her time. In other words, in her own time she was a socially acceptable, successful artist. Yet, subsequently, the shadow of obscurity fell over her. Only about thirty paintings, from what must have been a much greater body of work, have been identified and attributed to her. Moreover, relatively little has been written about her, and (...) only very recently has she been the subject of an extensive art-historical monograph. In Contrast, Agostino Tassi, the painter tried for raping Artemisia she was nineteen years old, has been the subject of at least two monographs in this [20th] century. Does Artemisia now lack esteem because the lines along which the story of European art has been permitted to unfold serve non aesthetic ends, objectives prescribed by dominating male interests? Was Artemisia's art eclipsed because the narrative structure of the story of art admits heroes but erects heroines? Such questions are typically raised in feminist or gym-criticism. What remains to be seen is whether feminists can supply answers which draw upon considerations sufficiently compelling to radically revise--indeed, to reform--the history of art. (shrink)

Databases where different types of information from different sources can be integrated, cross‐referenced and interactively accessed are necessary for building a quantitative understanding of the molecular and cell biology intrinsic to the morphogenesis of an embryo. Tassy and colleagues1 recently reported the development of software tailor‐made to perform such a task, along with the generation and integration of three‐dimensional anatomical models of embryos. They convincingly illustrated the utility of their approach by applying it to the early ascidian embryo. BioEssays 28: (...) 874–879, 2006. © 2006 Wiley periodicals, Inc. (shrink)