This paper presents the results of the Symposium on “Deforestation and reforestation: The Atlas Project”. From the studies presented appeared that at present the causes od deforestation do not arise so much from global climatic causes, but rather from human activity. Both the study conducted on the Nokopo population in Papua New Guinea, by Kocher Schmid, and the one conducted on the Berbers in Morocco, by Camperio Ciani and Arhou, presented a clear role of the local population and (...) its tradition on negatiove forerst iòpact. Agro-forestal grazing and clearing for domestic animal feeding produced heavy forest degeneration. In Morocco the role of mixed herds of a few goats with many sheep produce devastating effects to the undergrowth of the Cedar and Oak forest. While fires ang pig overgrazing produce deforestation in the Nokopo Primary forest region. Further the external impact of foreign culture negatively affects the dinamic relationship between the local culture and the forest environment. The desertification process that emerges is a bottom up one that begins from the undergrowth reduction and ends with tha actual felling of the tree. It is suggested that close monuitoring of the forest condition using biological indicators could be a useful inyegration to remote sensing methods. As an example Macaca sylvanus demography has proven an efficient biological indicator to individuate early forest desertification risks in Morocco. It is proposed the Atlas project that combines reforestation with an efficient monitoring system and the study and development of sustainable alternatives to overgrazing to reduce the desertification process of the last North Africa forest. (shrink)

A growing number of researchers suggest that female homosexuality is at least in part influenced by genetic factors. Unlike for male homosexuality, few familial studies have attempted to explore maintenance of this apparently fitness-detrimental trait in the population. Using multiple recruitment methods, we explored fecundity and sexual orientation within the pedigrees of 1,458 adult female respondents. We compared 487 homosexual and 163 bisexual with 808 heterosexual females and 30,203 of their relatives. Our data suggest that the direct fitness of homosexual (...) females is four times lower than the direct fitness of heterosexual females of corresponding ages. The prevalence of nonheterosexuality within the homosexual female respondents’ families appear to be more than four times higher than the basal prevalence in the Italian population. Pedigree size and relative fecundity in both the paternal and maternal sides of the homosexual women’s families were significantly higher than in the heterosexuals’ families. If confirmed, the relative average fecundity increase within the family seems to offset the loss in fitness due to the low direct fitness of homosexual females. Therefore, the balanced fecundity in the homosexual females’ families may allow the trait to be maintained at a low-frequency equilibrium in the population. (shrink)

Leo Strauss (1899-1973), uno dei maggiori protagonisti della filosofia politica del Novecento, considera Hobbes il vero fondatore della filosofia politica moderna. The Political Philosophy of Hobbes (1936) costituisce l’opera più importante della critica straussiana alla modernità politica e rappresenta “il primo tentativo di una emancipazione radicale dal pregiudizio moderno”, come ebbe a scrivere lo stesso Strauss in una lettera a Alexandre Kojève del 9 maggio 1935. Lo Hobbes di Strauss è un filosofo morale che costruisce un’antropologia pessimistica, scevra da ogni (...) finalismo, fondata sullo studio delle passioni umane, non dei presupposti scientifico-meccanicistici o naturalistici dell’agire, centrandola sulla paura della morte violenta intesa come una passione razionale in grado di fondare la teoria di uno Stato il cui unico scopo è la sicurezza, cioè l’effettività dell’efficacia razionale. Il primo confronto di Strauss con Hobbes avviene, in forma mediata, attraverso la discussione di Der Begriff des “Politischen” (1932) di Carl Schmitt e prosegue fino al capitolo dedicato al filosofo inglese in Diritto naturale e storia (1953) in cui, sostituendo alla nozione di “legge” la nozione di “diritto” inteso come “pretesa soggettiva”, si esplicita la concezione moderna e individualistica del diritto naturale. In Die Religionskritik Spinozas (1930) è presente un capitolo consacrato espressamente alla critica hobbesiana della religione nel quale Strauss analizza il ruolo svolto dal conflitto teologico-politico, che diventa un conflitto eminentemente politico - e solo secondariamente teologico. In Die Religionskritik des Hobbes (1933-1934) Strauss dimostra come Hobbes intraprenda un’approfondita critica della religione rivelata passando dall’epicureismo al secolo radicale dei Lumi, concludendo che la salvezza e la dannazione dell’uomo sono affatto “terrestri” e che soltanto la scienza e la politica consentono all’uomo di sopravvivere in un mondo incomprensibile. Il volume si chiude con un’appendice che ripercorre il rapporto tra Strauss e Schmitt e la pubblicazione di due testi inediti in lingua italiana. (shrink)

The world of synthesizers and synthesists is historically male-dominated. Women in synthesis tend to be obscured by males, and their contribution suffers from erasure. This article considers Suzanne Ciani within the contexts of art, technology, science and culture and her work in composition, performance and media. In particular, her National Endowment for the Arts report of 1976 is a groundbreaking document detailing her composition and performance process using synthesizers. Her composition approach has parallels with techniques drawn from serialism, performed (...) and improvised live using machines. Her performances utilize quadraphonic techniques for spatialized performance as part of the composition and performance. She was the first woman to score a major Hollywood film in 1981. Her work in media and technology highlights a space that women have always worked in but have frequently not been acknowledged as doing so. Ciani’s story reveals tenacity in the face of bias and rejection. It is a tale of someone who always has to claim her credentials, always legitimate her mode of expression, and always counter the assumption that somewhere in her work, there is a man. (shrink)

Ethical attitudes and behaviour are complex. This complexity extends to the influencers operating at different levels both outside and within the organisation, and in different combinations for different individuals. There is hence a growing need to understand the proximal and distal influencers of ethical attitudes, and how these operate in concert at the individual, organisational, and societal levels. Few studies have attempted to combine these main research streams and systematically examine their combined impact. The minority of studies that have taken (...) a combined approach have often done so using conventional statistical and analytical techniques which imply linearity between variables—a situation that rarely exists in business settings and is likely to lead to simplistic or even erroneous conclusions. Applying a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach, this paper reports on the mutual and simultaneous influence of individual demographic factors, as well as proximal and distal factors stemming from within and outside the work environment to understand individuals’ ethical views within the workplace. The multiple configurations that emerged reveal the complex nature of influencers of ethical attitudes, and reinforce the view that “one size does not fit all”. We discuss these implications together with managerial recommendations and future research directions. (shrink)

Bernardi Perini, G. Aceto italico e poesia luciliana: Hor. Sat. I 7.--Bernardinello, S. Bessarione riassume la Fisica di Aristotele.--Bottecchia, M. E. I Mechanicha di Aristotele nel Parisinus graecus 2507.--Bottin, L. La tradizione araba della Retorica di Aristotele e il problema dell'exemplar decurtatum.--Chiereghin, F. Analogie di struttura tra la metodologia della storiografia filosofica di Platone e di Kant.--Ciani, M. G. Poesia come enigma.--Degani, E. Hippon. fr. 40 Med.--Donaldi, F. Note preparatorie all'edizione dell'Encomio di Elena gorgiano nella traduzione latina inedita di (...) Pietro Bembo.--Fumarola, V. Euripide e la tetralogia della femminilità.--Gentilini, A. Una consolatoria inedita del Bessarione.--Ghinatti, F. I culti greci di Paestum.--Longo, O. Note all'Elena e alle Nuvole.--Lunelli, A. Solis rota.--Meschini, A. Su alcuni luoghi del Reso.--Mignucci, M. In margine al concetto aristotelico di esistenza.--Mioni, E. L'Antologia greca da Massimo Planude a Marco Musuro.--Pianezzola, E. Haurio=ferio, perfodio. Un calco omerico mediato dagli scolii.--Pontani, F. M. La distruzione di Melos di Ghiannis Ritsos.--Rinaldi Mioni, G. Aspetto verbale nel greco classico e strutturalismo.--Riondato, E. Problematicità semantica ed etica nell'Etica a Nicomaco.--Serra, G. Alcune osservazioni sulle traduzioni dall'arabo in ebraico e in latino del De generatione et corruptione di Aristotele e dello pseudo-aristotelico Liber de causis.--Traina, A. Convexo nutantem pondere mundum (Verg. Ecl. 4,50).--Valentini, R. La reintroduzione dell'onciale e la datazione dei manoscritti greci in minuscola. (shrink)

The paper builds on the postulate of “myths we live by,” which shape our imaginative life (and hence our social expectations), but which are also open to reflective study and reinvention. It applies this principle, in particular, to the concepts of love and vulnerability. We are accustomed to think of the condition of vulnerability in an objectifying and distancing way, as something that affects the bearers of specific (disadvantaged) social identities. Against this picture, which can serve as a pretext for (...) paternalist and controlling attitudes to the groups in question – notably to women – Anderson urges us to reimagine our vulnerability as a condition not merely of exposure to violence but of openness to mutual affection, love, and friendship. Hegel’s celebrated image of the owl of Minerva, which takes wing only with the coming of dusk, suggests an association of (philosophical) wisdom with negativity – with the experience of death or loss. Anderson, by contrast, proposes an alternative and more hopeful image of the dawn of enlightenment, in the guise of new ethical dispositions shaped by an emancipatory (and so, no longer an oppressive or sexist) conception of our capacity for love. Her main interlocutors or influences in this piece are Judith Butler (who contributes the idea of a “relational ontology”), Michèle Le Doeuff, and Mary Midgley. (shrink)

Open peer commentary on the article “Constructing Constructivism” by Hugh Gash. Upshot: The concept of “constructivist teaching” seems unattainable for two reasons: a philosophical and an empirical one. Also, Hugh Gash’s survey is not so much about radical constructivism in education, but a review of different connected ideas labeled “constructivism” that have dominated the educational field.

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an extraordinarily original thinker, whose influence on twentieth-century thinking far outside the bounds of philosophy alone. In this engaging Introduction, A.C. Grayling makes Wittgenstein's thought accessible to the general reader by explaining the nature and impact of Wittgenstein's views. He describes both his early and later philosophy, the differences and connections between them, and gives a fresh assessment of Wittgenstein's continuing influence on contemporary thought.

The paper is devoted to the subject status of the discipline “Philosophy of Sociology”. Philosophy of sociology is an interdisciplinary direction focusing on the main preconditions of sociological knowledge development as well as cognitive value of sociological facts, theories and conceptions. Its subject can be divided into “philosophical foundations of sociology” and “philosophical problems of sociology”. “Sociologism” as the concept of substitution of social philosophy by sociology as a science which is better empirically oriented and is able to give more (...) exact and proved picture of social reality also poses danger to social philosophy. “Sociologism” presents a positivist attack on social philosophy. Indeed, sociology is no less speculative science than social philosophy is, which is well illustrated by a lot of divergences among its theoretical constructions and empirical data. The main functions of philosophy of sociology in the world of contemporary social-humanitarian knowledge are critical function, integrative function and axiological function. (shrink)

Extensively updated to include clinical findings over the last two decades, this third edition of A Practitioner's Guide to Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy reviews the philosophy, theory, and clinical practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. This model is based on the work of Albert Ellis, who had an enormous influence on the field of psychotherapy over his 50 years of practice and scholarly writing. Designed for both therapists-in-training and seasoned professionals, this practical treatment manual and guide introduces the basic principles of (...) rational-emotive behavior therapy, explains general therapeutic strategies, and offers many illustrative dialogues between therapist and patient. The volume breaks down each stage of therapy to present the exact procedures and skills therapists need, and numerous case studies illustrate how to use these skills. The authors describe both technical and specific strategic interventions, and they stress taking an integrative approach. The importance of building a therapeutic alliance and the use of cognitive, emotive, evocative, imaginal, and behavioral interventions serves as the unifying theme of the approach. Intervention models are presented for the treatment of anxiety, depression, trauma, anger, personality disorders, and addictions. Psychologists, clinical social workers, mental health counselors, psychotherapists, and students and trainees in these areas will find this book useful in learning to apply rational-emotive behavior therapy in practice. (shrink)

Edited with New Translation by Richard McKirahan With a New Preface by Malcolm Schofield This book is a revised and expanded version of A.H. Coxon's full critical edition of the extant remains of Parmenides of Elea—the fifth-century B.C. philosopher by many considered "one of the greatest and most astonishing thinkers of all times." Coxon's presentation of the complete ancient evidence for Parmenides and his comprehensive examination of the fragments, unsurpassed to this day, have proven invaluable to our understanding of the (...) Eleatic since the book's first publication in 1986. This edition, edited by Richard McKirahan and with a new preface by Malcolm Schofield, is released on the 100th anniversary of Coxon's birth. This new edition for the first time includes English translations of the testimonia and of any Ancient Greek throughout the book, as well as an English/Greek glossary by Richard McKirahan, and revisions by the late author himself. The text consists of Coxon's collations of the relevant folios of manuscripts of Sextus Empiricus, Proclus and Simplicius and includes all extant fragments, a commentary, the testimonia, a complete list of sources, linguistic parallels from both earlier and later authors, and the fullest critical apparatus that has appeared since Diels’ _Poetarum Philosophorum Fragmenta _. The collection of testimonia includes the philosophical discussions of Parmenides by Plato, Aristotle and the Neoplatonists, most of which had been omitted by Diels. The introduction discusses the history of the text, the language and form of the poem, Parmenides’ use and understanding of the verb ‘to be’, his place in the history of earlier and later philosophy and the biographical tradition. In the commentary Coxon deals in detail with both the language and the subject matter of the poem and pays full attention to Parmenides’ account of the physical world. The appendix relates later Eleatic arguments to those of Parmenides. (shrink)

Objectives: Evidence based patient choice seems based on a strong liberal individualist interpretation of patient autonomy; however, not all patients are in favour of such an interpretation. The authors wished to assess whether ideals of autonomy in clinical practice are more in accordance with alternative concepts of autonomy from the ethics literature. This paper describes the development of a questionnaire to assess such concepts of autonomy.Methods: A questionnaire, based on six moral concepts from the ethics literature, was sent to aneurysm (...) patients and their surgeons. The structure of the questionnaire was assessed by factor analysis, and item reduction was based on reliability.Results: Ninety six patients and 58 surgeons participated. The questionnaire consisted of four scales. Two of the scales reflected the paternalistic and consumerist poles of the liberal individualist model, one scale reflected concepts of Socratic autonomy and of procedural independence, and the fourth scale reflected ideals of risk disclosure.Discussion: The Ideal Patient Autonomy Scale is a 14 item normative instrument. It is clearly distinct from the generally used psychological preference questionnaires that assess preferences for physician-patient roles. (shrink)

On fundamentals of Vedanta and science; a study.

An alternative model for tunneling processes, based on the capability of the telegrapher's equation to describe stochastic processes, is able to account for delay time results of an optical experiment at the microwave scale, where superluminal behaviors have been evidenced.

In this paper we examine the functional anatomy of volition, as revealed by modern brain imaging techniques, in conjunction with neuropsychological data derived from human and non-human primates using other methodologies. A number of brain regions contribute to the performance of consciously chosen, or ‘willed', actions. Of particular importance is dorsolateral prefrontal cortex , together with those brain regions with which it is connected, via cortico-subcortical and cortico-cortical circuits. That aspect of free will which is concerned with the voluntary selection (...) of one action rather than another critically depends upon the normal functioning of DLPFC and associated brain regions. Disease, or dysfunction, of these circuits may be associated with a variety of disorders of volition: Parkinson's disease, ‘utilization’ behaviour, ‘alien’ and ‘phantom’ limbs, and delusions of ‘alien control’ . Brain imaging has allowed us to gain some access to the pathophysiology of these conditions in living patients. At a philosophical level, the distinction between ‘intentions to act', and ‘intentions in action’ may prove particularly helpful when addressing these complex disturbances of human cognition and conscious experience. The exercise and experience of free will depends upon neural mechanisms located in prefrontal cortex and associated brain systems. (shrink)

The problem of justifying legal punishment has been at the heart of legal and social philosophy from the very earliest recorded philosophical texts. However, despite several hundred years of debate, philosophers have not reached agreement about how legal punishment can be morally justified. That is the central issue addressed by the contributors to this volume. All of the essays collected here have been published in the highly respected journal Philosophy & Public Affairs. Taken together, they offer not only significant proposals (...) for improving established theories of punishment and compelling arguments against long-held positions, but also ori-ginal and important answers to the question, "How is punishment to be justified?"Part I of this collection, "Justifications of Punishment," examines how any practice of punishment can be morally justified. Contributors include Jeffrie G. Murphy, Alan H. Goldman, Warren Quinn, C. S. Nino, and Jean Hampton. The papers in Part II, "Problems of Punishment," address more specific issues arising in established theories. The authors are Martha C. Nussbaum, Michael Davis, and A. John Simmons. In the final section, "Capital Punishment," contributors discuss the justifiability of capital punishment, one of the most debated philosophical topics of this century. Essayists include David A. Conway, Jeffrey H. Reiman, Stephen Nathanson, and Ernest van den Haag. (shrink)