There is an ongoing debate about the meaning of lexical words, i.e., words that contribute with content to the meaning of sentences. This debate has coincided with a renewal in the study of polysemy, which has taken place in the psycholinguistics camp mainly. There is already a fruitful interbreeding between two lines of research: the theoretical study of lexical word meaning, on the one hand, and the models of polysemy psycholinguists present, on the other. In this paper I aim at (...) deepening on this ongoing interbreeding, examine what is said about polysemy, particularly in the psycholinguistics literature, and then show how what we seem to know about the representation and storage of polysemous senses affects the models that we have about lexical word meaning. (shrink)

L'originalité du traité Sur le style de Démétrios réside avant tout dans sa théorie du style élégant et du style puissant. L'alliance de la puissance (deinotès) et de la grâce (charis) produit des effets « effrayants » (phobera). Les « grâces effrayantes » de Démétrios semblent annoncer l'idée du sublime en tant qu' « horreur délicieuse » (delightful horror) telle que la proposera Edmund Burke The originality of Demetrios' Treaty on Style is first and foremost in his theory of an (...) elegant style and strong style. The alliance of strength (deinotes) and elegance (charis) leads to frightening (phobera) effects. Demetrios' frightening elegances seem to forecast the idea of the delightful horror as Edmund Burke will suggest later. (shrink)

Relativistic geometrical action for a quantum particle in the superspace is analyzed from theoretical group point of view. To this end an alternative technique of quantization outlined by the authors in a previous work and that is based in the correct interpretation of the square root Hamiltonian, is used. The obtained spectrum of physical states and the Fock construction consist of Squeezed States which correspond to the representations with the lowest weights $\lambda=\frac{1}{4}$ and $\lambda=\frac{3}{4}$ with four possible (non-trivial) fractional representations (...) for the group decomposition of the spin structure. From the theory of semigroups the analytical representation of the radical operator in the superspace is constructed, the conserved currents are computed and a new relativistic wave equation is proposed and explicitly solved for the time-dependent case. The relation with the Relativistic Schrödinger equation and the Time-dependent Harmonic Oscillator is analyzed and discussed. (shrink)

Studies on surrogate motherhood have mostly explored paid arrangements through the lens of a contract model, as clinical work or as a maternal identity-building project. Turning to the under-examined case of unpaid, so-called altruistic surrogate motherhood and based on an analysis of interviews with women who had been unpaid surrogate mothers in a full gestational surrogacy with a friend or relative in Canada, the United States or Australia, this article explores altruistic surrogate motherhood as relational work. It argues that this (...) form of surrogate motherhood within close interpersonal relations can be conceptualised through the relational work involved in hosting a child for the intended parents. The article explores how relational work in this context implies an embodied, asymmetrical and far-reaching sense of responsibility that surrogate mothers describe as characteristic of their surrogacy experience. In this way, the article sheds light on feminist concerns about surrogacy as an embodied and objectifying work of women while at the same time illuminating how surrogate mothers respond to the intended parents in light of their pre-surrogacy relationship, how meanings are negotiated by them and how relationships are managed during the pregnancy. (shrink)

Relativistic geometrical action for a quantum particle in the superspace is analyzed from theoretical group point of view. To this end an alternative technique of quantization outlined by the authors in a previous work and, that is, based in the correct interpretation of the square root Hamiltonian, is used. The obtained spectrum of physical states and the Fock construction consist of Squeezed States which correspond to the representations with the lowest weights \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} (...) \begin{document}$${\lambda=\frac{1}{4}}$$\end{document} and \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\frac{3}{4}}$$\end{document} with four possible fractional representations for the group decomposition of the spin structure. From the theory of semi-groups the analytical representation of the radical operator in the superspace is constructed, the conserved currents are computed and a new relativistic wave equation is proposed and explicitly solved for the time dependent case. The relation with the Relativistic Schrödinger equation and the Time-dependent Harmonic Oscillator is analyzed and discussed. (shrink)

In this paper we introduce two issues relevantly related to the cognitive phenomenology debate, which, to our minds, have not been yet properly addressed: the relation between access and phenomenal consciousness in cognition and the relation between conscious thought and inner speech. In the first case, we ask for an explanation of how we have access to thought contents, and in the second case, an explanation of why is inner speech so pervasive in our conscious thinking. We discuss the prospects (...) of explanation for both sides of the debate and argue that cognitive phenomenology defenders are in an overall advantageous position. We also propose an account of inner speech that differs from other influential explanations in some interesting respects. (shrink)

This paper proposes a teaching alternative that can encourage the ethical reflective sensibility among students of social entrepreneurship. It does so by exploring the possibility of using religious parables as narratives that can be analysed from Ricoeur’s hermeneutics to provoke and encourage ethical discussions in social entrepreneurship courses. To illustrate this argument, the paper makes use of a parable from the New Testament as an example of a religious narrative that can be used to prompt discussions about social entrepreneurs’ ethical (...) dilemmas. The paper adds to the limited works that consider the teaching of ethics within social entrepreneurship education. It also advances studies that seek alternative strategies to teaching ethics in business contexts, making these strategies discernible for discussion within the broader business and management literature. (shrink)

This paper presents a blueprint for an ecological cognitive architecture. Ecological psychology, I contend, must be complemented with a story about the role of the CNS in perception, action, and cognition. To arrive at such a story while staying true to the tenets of ecological psychology, it will be necessary to flesh out the central metaphor according to which the animal perceives its environment by ‘resonating’ to information in energy patterns: what is needed is a theory of resonance. I offer (...) here the two main elements of such a theory: a framework and a methodology. (shrink)

now, there is a debate about the “nature” of the Renaissance French writer Michel de Montaigne’s skepticism that could be similar, in some way, to the Quarrel between the Ancient and the Modern. some authors believe that Montaigne was a completely innovative author, who would have broken completely with the ancient skeptical tradition. others, however, feel that he has made little changes in the skeptical arguments and that his role would be reduced to a mere transmitter of the ancient forgotten (...) thought. Faced with both interpretations, it would be our intention, first of all, to explain the relevance of the montanian skepticism, its importance in the work of the author, and second exposing traditional and innovative positions, make clear their limits. This try to conclude the “truly” skeptical nature the of montanian skepticism, innovative and traditional at the same time. In addition, it attempts to resist the classification of dogmatic theories, traditional or renewal, which would seek to impose their own systems rather than read the author in his own terms. (shrink)

One big challenge faced by cognitive science is the development of a unified theory that integrates disparate scales of analysis of cognitive phenomena. In this paper, I offer a unified framework that provides a way to integrate neural and behavioral scales of analysis of cognitive phenomena—typically addressed by neuroscience and experimental psychology, respectively. The framework is based on the concept of resonance originated in ecological psychology and aims to be the foundation for a unified theory for radical embodiment; that is, (...) a unified theory for that dissident part of cognitive science that shares a methodological commitment to dynamic systems theory and remains skeptical about the adequacy of mechanism and representationalism as the guiding ideas in the field. In the course of my presentation, I analyze different issues regarding the requirements and constraints unification poses to radical embodiment. (shrink)

Much of what we say is never said aloud. It occurs only silently, as inner speech. We chastise, congratulate, joke and cajole, all without making a sound. This distinctively human ability to create public language in the privacy of our own minds is no less remarkable for its familiarity. And yet, until recently, inner speech remained at the periphery of philosophical and psychological theorizing. This essay collection, from an interdisciplinary group of leading philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists, displays the rapidly growing (...) interest among researchers in the puzzles surrounding the nature and cognitive role of the inner voice. Questions explored include: the aids and obstacles inner speech presents to self-knowledge; the complex relation it bears to overt speech production and perception; the means by which inner speech can be identified and empirically assessed; its role in generating auditory verbal hallucinations; and its relationship to conceptual thought itself. (shrink)

Following some of the main arguments Derrida develops in ‘White Mythology’, in this article I propose an unexplored dialogue between Derrida and Althusser considering the use and the place that each of them gives to metaphor in their philosophical strategies. I give special attention to some rather isolated passages of ‘Elements of Self-Criticism’ and ‘Lenin and Philosophy’, where Althusser, against all evidence, seems to be quite aware of the importance of metaphor and mataphorization in every philosophical practice. As Balibar has (...) argued, contrary to the metaphysical tradition, metaphor would not be the opposite but what anticipates the concept. In this sense, it is possible to observe how Althusser’s work has continuously put into practice – as the singular signature of his theoretical practice – something that I call the ‘detour of metaphor’ as a necessary ‘deviation’ for the production of new concepts. Without any evidence that Althusser may have known Derrida’s essay, I show how Althusser’s own theoretical work, one in which ‘metaphor’ as a philosophical theme appears to be rather anecdotic, is unexpectedly close to Derrida’s own positions concerning the margins of philosophy and its ‘outside’, the relation to the metaphysical tradition, and the importance of strategy in philosophy. (shrink)

La figura de Walter Benjamin ha venido adquiriendo en los últimos años una inesperada actualidad. Su contribución al pensamiento de nuestro siglo aparece hoy como una intervención singular e irrepetible, producto de una encrucijada cultural patentemente determinada por la conciencia de crisis generalizada por la modernidad. En este contexto, la presente investigación trata de ofrecer una aproximación informativa y ajustada al conjunto de la obra de Benjamin, en una lectura efectuada desde el punto de vista de la Estética. En consecuencia, (...) el libro recorre puntualmente la sinuosa trayectoria de Benjamin desde sus tempranos escritos juveniles, pasando por su maduración crítica en sus trabajos en torno al universo romántico y el barroco, hasta su conversión al materialismo histórico y su explosiva dispersión en la obra de los Pasajes. (shrink)

Maïmonide (Cordoue 1138 - Fostat 1204) fait partie de ces rares penseurs du Moyen Age à avoir franchi les siècles en laissant une oeuvre encore très actuelle. Les écrits médicaux de ce philosophe, talmudiste et médecin, puisent dans les sagesses juives, grecques et arabes. Son sens de l'observation, son intérêt pour la clinique, son besoin permanent d'associer expérience pratique et savoir théorique, sa vision de la prévention font de ce grand médecin l'un des précurseurs de la médecine moderne. Il a (...) compilé toute la jurisprudence talmudique, étudié les grands textes de la médecine arabe et grecque, et a passé sa vie à essayer de concilier la pensée d'Aristote avec celle du judaïsme. Ariel Toledano nous propose une biographie intellectuelle et médicale de Maïmonide et nous immerge au sein de ses dix traités médicaux qui reflètent son éthique du soin : une philosophie qui vise à placer l'humain et sa santé dans une unité associant le corps et l'esprit. A l'heure du 880e anniversaire de la naissance de Maïmonide, cet ouvrage rappelle l'étendue de sa contribution scientifique, la modernité et la part universelle de son oeuvre. (shrink)

In this paper we discuss a phenomenon we call perspectival plurality, which has gone largely unnoticed in the current debate between relativism and contextualism about predicates of personal taste. According to perspectival plurality, the truth value of a sentence containing more than one PPT may depend on more than one perspective. Prima facie, the phenomenon engenders a problem for relativism and can be shaped into an argument in favor of contextualism. We explore the consequences of perspectival plurality in depth and (...) assess several possible responses on behalf of advocates of relativism. (shrink)

We recorded participants' eye movements while they read sentences containing verb‐phrase coordination. Results showed evidence of immediate processing disruption when a reflexive pronoun embedded in the conjoined verb phrase mismatched the sentence subject. We argue that this result is incompatible with models of human parsing that employ only bottom‐up parsing procedures, even when flexible constituency is employed. Models need to incorporate a mechanism similar to the adjoining operation in Tree‐Adjoining Grammar, in which one structure is inserted into another.

Spanish naturalists established the Viceregal Botanical Garden of New Spain in Mexico City in 1788 to advance agriculture, manufacturing, and medicine. This colonial institution also served the ideological role of cultivating agents of empire. Rather than establish the garden in the already robust tradition of American botany, the Spanish appropriated this space, employing Creole students and servant workers to Europeanize local botanical knowledge through taxonomic colonialism. The different agendas at work in the botanical garden, which straddled the colonial and revolutionary (...) periods in Mexico, destabilized not only this institution, but also the empire itself from the ground up. That the contributions of the agents of the garden have been forgotten is evidence of the fragility and failure of a European institution in the American colonial state. (shrink)

La novela Habana Underguater y los cuentos del universo Underguater, publicados por el autor cubano Erick J. Mota en la primera década del siglo xxi, reflejan una forma diferente de hacer ciencia ficción en Cuba, y proponen una reapropiación y modernización de los mitos y las culturas transculturadas locales y caribeñas, poniendo énfasis en las culturas y etnias de origen afrodescendiente. A través de un ciberpunk —con “i” latina—, el universo Underguater reflexiona sobre el pasado, el presente y el futuro (...) distópicos de la isla caribeña y se pone como ejemplo de las propuestas de muchos otros escritores del fantástico caribeño del siglo xxi. (shrink)