Think tanks became key political and economic actors during the twentieth century, creating and occupying an intellectual and political position between academic institutions, the state, civil society, and public debate on organization and management. Think tanks are especially active in setting frames for what constitutes politically and socially acceptable ways of thinking about economic activity and the rights or obligations of corporations. Their operation and influence has been acknowledged and analysed in political science and policy analysis, but in organization and (...) management studies they are almost entirely ignored. In this paper, we review the existing literature on think tanks to develop an ethical–political framework based on a Gramsci’s account of state–civil society relations, referring to historical case materials relating to a significant Brazilian think tank, the Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Sociais. We show how the IPES was successful in bringing then-controversial neoliberal perspectives on management and organization into mainstream political debate, where they could be discussed and ultimately accepted as morally and intellectually legitimate. We note the importance of management education and business schools with respect to think tanks in the development of a hegemonic pro-capitalist interpretation of corporate responsibility, and suggest this is worth more investigation. We conclude by outlining how think tanks are central to civil society acceptance of pro-corporate ideologies, how they might be researched regarding the ethical implications of the work they do, and how our approach provides a foundation for this. (shrink)

Skipper and Millstein (2005) argued that existing conceptions of mechanisms failed to "get at" natural selection, but left open the possibility that a refined conception of mechanisms could resolve the problems that they identified. I respond to Skipper and Millstein, and argue that while many of their points have merit, their objections can be overcome and that natural selection can be characterized as a mechanism. In making this argument, I discuss the role of regularity in mechanisms, and develop an account (...) of stochastic (i.e., probabilistic) mechanisms. Explaining the phenomenon of adaptation through the mechanism of natural selection illustrates the power and flexibility of using mechanistic strategies to explain natural phenomena. (shrink)

We hypothesize that effective collaboration is facilitated when individuals and environmental components form a synergy where they work together and regulate one another to produce stable patterns of behavior, or regularity, as well as adaptively reorganize to form new behaviors, or irregularity. We tested this hypothesis in a study with 32 triads who collaboratively solved a challenging visual computer programming task for 20 min following an introductory warm‐up phase. Multidimensional recurrence quantification analysis was used to examine fine‐grained (i.e., every 10 (...) s) collective patterns of regularity across team members' speech rate, body movement, and team interaction with the shared user interface. We found that teams exhibited significant patterns of regularity as compared to shuffled baselines, but there were no systematic trends in regularity across time. We also found that periods of regularity were associated with a reduction in overall behavior. Notably, the production of irregular behavior predicted expert‐coded metrics of collaborative activity, such as teams' ability to construct shared knowledge and effectively negotiate and coordinate execution of solutions, net of overall behavioral production and behavioral self‐similarity. Our findings support the theory that groups can interact to form interpersonal synergies and indicate that information about system‐level dynamics is a viable way to understand and predict effective collaborative processes. (shrink)

Instances of negative causation—preventions, omissions, and the like—have long created philosophical worries. In this paper, I argue that concerns about negative causation can be addressed in the context of causal explanation generally, and mechanistic explanation specifically. The gravest concern about negative causation is that it exacerbates the problem of causal promiscuity—that is, the problem that arises when a particular account of causation identifies too many causes for a particular effect. In the explanatory context, the problem of promiscuity can be solved (...) by characterizing the phenomenon to be explained as a contrast between two or more events or non-events. This contrastive strategy also can solve other problems that negative causation presents for the leading accounts of mechanistic explanation. Along the way, I argue that to be effective, accounts of causal explanation must incorporate negative causation. I also develop a taxonomy of negative causation and incorporate each variety of negative causation into the leading accounts of mechanistic explanation. (shrink)

Ensaio visual acerca do livro de artista (EN)TERRA BRASILIS (2020), de Daniela Amon, que, por meio de um diálogo com a história da arte e da articulação entre linguagem, matéria e símbolo, oferece uma reflexão a respeito da história do Brasil, desde tempos coloniais até os dias atuais, e uma crítica ao manejo da atual crise pandêmica.

The importance of touch to mammalian survival and well-being cannot be overstated. The capacity for action depends on the sense of touch, which is a necessary feature of an animal’s being-in-the-world (O’Shaughnessy, 1989, pp. 38–39). Interpersonal touch has been shown to be an important part of human welfare, including disease prevention and treatment (see Field, 2001 for review). Throughout a mammal’s lifespan, social relation- ships are also mediated by touch behavior (see Thayer, 1986 for review). Given these facts, the sense (...) of touch is relevant to a variety of topics in psychology, including but not limited to: perception, action, nonverbal behavior, relationships, development, emotion, and health. (shrink)

A basic principle of objectification theory is that a mere glance from a stranger represents the potential to be sexualized, triggering women to take on the perspective of others and become vigilant to their appearance. However, research has yet to document gendered gaze patterns in social groups. The present study examined visual attention in groups of varying gender composition to understand how gender and minority status influence gaze behavior. One hundred undergraduates enrolled in psychology courses were photographed, and an additional (...) 76 participants viewed groupings of these photographs while their point of gaze was recorded using a remote eye-tracking device. Participants were not told that their gaze was being recorded. Women were viewed more frequently and for longer periods of time than men in mixed-gender groups. Women were also more likely to be looked at first and last by observers. Men spent more time attending to pictures of women when fewer women were in the group. The opposite effect was found for pictures of men, such that male pictures were viewed less when fewer pictures of men were in the group. Female observers spent more time looking at men compared to male observers, and male observers spent more time looking at women than female observers, though both female and male observers looked at women more than men overall. Consistent with objectification theory, women’s appearance garners more attention and interest in mixed-gender social groups. (shrink)

O objetivo do presente texto é retomar a discussão sobre a presença do pensamento de Maquiavel nas obras de Espinosa, observando a figura do governante que se defronta com a Fortuna. Começamos nossa leitura mostrando como no realismo maquiaveliano acerca do poder, especialmente em O Príncipe, o governante assume a condição de alguém que se põe na situação de embate. Já no Tratado Teológico-Político a relação do governante com a Fortuna será daquele que deve decifrar os desígnios da potência infinita (...) de Deus. Ao final, faremos uma leitura de trechos das obras políticas destes dois filósofos para mostrar que, em Maquiavel, a relação que se estabelece entre o homem de ação e a Fortuna é de enfrentamento e, no caso de Espinosa, ela se compreende no registro do conhecimento. (shrink)

Ces deux ouvrages collectifs dirigés par Susan Broomhall s’inscrivent dans le cadre des travaux menés par l’Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, 1100-1800. Publiés en 2015, ils ont pour ambition de croiser sur la longue durée, du Moyen Âge à l’époque moderne, trois axes de questionnement : les « idéologies du genre » (gender ideologies), les expériences émotionnelles et les discours et les pratiques du pouvoir. Authority, Gender and Emotions in Late Me...

Agostinho da Silva, de engajado filólogo a humanista militante e crítico: itinerário seareiro em tempos de formação do Salazarismo Resumo: Este estudo reconstitui o itinerário teórico-político de Agostinho da Silva entre os anos de 1928 e 1933, sobretudo através da análise de uma série de artigos que publicou na Seara Nova, relevante revista portuguesa de “doutrina e crítica”. À luz desse recorte temático-cronológico, o viés aqui privilegiado perspectiva: 1) uma parte pouco conhecida, porém representativa, da obra de juventude de Agostinho (...) da Silva, por meio da qual podemos conhecer a atuação de um jovem e polêmico filólogo, engajado numa ofensiva de renovação dos Estudos Clássicos em Portugal, ao arrepio do establishment intelectual; 2) a gestação do humanismo militante e crítico que, doravante, se estabelecerá como fundamento decisivo do seu pensamento e ação; e 3) a institucionalização coetânea, no plano macro-político, do Estado Novo de Antônio de Oliveira Salazar. Ao chegar às considerações finais, poderá o leitor compreender a forma como os três aspectos analisados ao longo do estudo encontram-se estreitamente articulados, na medida em que quedará demonstrado como a trajetória teórica e política do jovem pensador recapitula as grandes questões daquela conjuntura portuguesa e europeia do Entre-Guerras. Nesse sentido, a história do indivíduo, aqui, é também retrato condensado de uma época. Palavras-chave: Agostinho da Silva. Seara Nova. Crítica dos intelectuais e do salazarismo. Helenismo e humanismo. Modernização europeísta. Agostinho da Silva, from engaged philologist to militant and critical humanist: a Seara Nova collaborator’s path in times of formation of Salazarism: This study reconstructs the theoretical-political path of Agostinho da Silva between the years of 1928 and 1933, mainly through the analysis of a series of articles published in Seara Nova, a relevant Portuguese journal of “doctrine and criticism”. In the light of this thematic and chronological approach, the point of view distinguished here focuses on: 1) a little-known, but representative, part of Agostinho da Silva's youth work, through which we can know the performance of a young and polemical philologist, engaged in an offensive to renew the Classical Studies in Portugal, against the intellectual establishment; 2) the gestation of the militant and critical Humanism that will henceforth be established as the decisive foundation of his thought and action; and 3) the contemporary institutionalization, at the macro-political level, of the New State led by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. Upon reaching the final considerations, the reader will be able to understand how the three aspects analyzed throughout the study are closely articulated, inasmuch as it will be demonstrated how the theoretical and political trajectory of the young thinker recapitulates the major issues of that Portuguese and European context of the interwar period. In this sense, the history of the individual, here, is also the condensed portrait of an era. Keywords: Agostinho da Silva. Seara Nova. Criticism of the intellectuals and of Salazarism. Hellenism and Humanism. Europeanist modernization. Agostinho da Silva, de filólogo comprometido a humanista militante y crítico: itinerario seareiro en tiempos de formación del Salazarismo Resumen: Este estudio reconstituye el itinerario teórico-político de Agostinho da Silva entre los años 1928 y 1933, sobre todo a través del análisis de una serie de artículos que publicó en Seara Nova, una relevante revista portuguesa de “doctrina y crítica”. A la luz de este abordaje temático-cronológico, el punto de vista aquí privilegiado enfoca: 1) una parte poco conocida pero representativa de la obra de juventud de Agostinho da Silva, a través de la cual podemos conocer la actuación de un joven y polémico filólogo, comprometido en una ofensiva para renovar los Estudios Clásicos en Portugal, contra el establishment intelectual; 2) la gestación del humanismo militante y crítico que en adelante se establecerá como la base decisiva de su pensamiento y acción; y 3) la institucionalización coetánea, a nivel macropolítico, del Estado Nuevo de Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. Al llegar a las consideraciones finales, el lector podrá comprender cómo se articulan estrechamente los tres aspectos analizados a lo largo del estudio, en la medida en que quedará demostrado cómo la trayectoria teórica y política del joven pensador recapitula las grandes cuestiones de aquella coyuntura portuguesa y europea de entreguerras. En este sentido, la historia del individuo, aquí, es también el retrato condensado de una época. Palabras clave: Agostinho da Silva. Seara Nova. Crítica de los intelectuales y del salazarismo. Helenismo y humanismo. Modernización europeísta. Data de registro: 20/03/2020Data de aceite: 23/09/2020. (shrink)

En este escrito se presentan algunos desarrollos de la teoría política de John Rawls ahondando en aquellas categorías que permitan contrastar aspectos de los planteamientos rawlsianos con spectos del pensamiento utilitarista clásico. El propósito es discernir qué tan grande es la deuda que tienen pensadores contemporáneos como Rawls con autores clásicos del siglo XIX tales como Bentham y Mill.

In this paper we examine some proposals to disprove the hypothesis that the interaction between mind and matter causes the collapse of the wave function, showing that such proposals are fundamentally flawed. We then describe a general experimental setup retaining the key features of the ones examined, and show that even a more general case is inadequate to disprove the mind-matter collapse hypothesis. Finally, we use our setup provided to argue that, under some reasonable assumptions about consciousness, such hypothesis is (...) unfalsifiable. (shrink)

The social and cognitive science replication crisis is partly due to the limitations of commonly used statistical tools. Inferential statistics require that unsystematic measurement variation is independent of system history, and weak relative to systematic or causal sources of variation. However, contemporary systems research underscores the dynamic, adaptive nature of social, cognitive, and behavioral systems. Variation in human activity includes the influences of intrinsic dynamics intertwined with changing contextual circumstances. Conventional inferential techniques presume milder forms of variability, such as unsystematic (...) measurement error, as in a Gaussian distribution. Inferential statistics indicate an elementary Newtonian cause-effect metaphor for change that is inconsistent with known principles of change in complex systems. Pattern formation in self-organizing systems and quantum probability are used to illustrate theoretical metaphors that instantiate alternative notions of change in complex systems. Inferential statistics and related techniques are crucial scientific resources. However, in the social and behavioral sciences, they must be practiced in conjunction with an appropriate general systems framework that accommodates intrinsic fluctuations and contextual adaptation. (shrink)

Analisa-se a construção dos conceitos de público, privado e privatização na cobertura jornalística da Folha de São Paulo sobre o processo de privatização no Brasil, de 1990 a 1994. Insere- se o estudo na linha de pesquisa "Comunicação e processos sociais’, que concebe as instituições de comunicação contemporâneas corno urna das instâncias principais da geração e difusão de discursos, considerando-se o caráter mediador da informação entre os indivíduos, as instituições sociais e entre estes e o Estado. Baseia-se nas formulações de (...) Hannah Arendt e Jürgen Habermas no que se refere aos conceitos de público e privado. (shrink)

RESENHA: COMBLIN, José. O Espírito Santo e a tradição de Jesus . São Paulo: Nhanduti, 2012.

Este artigo trata do lugar de Palestrina no primeiro período da filosofia de Nietzsche. Na tentativa de situar o célebre compositor renascentista no seio de algumas observações articuladas pelo filósofo alemão, mostrar-se-á, qual instigante e invulgar problemática acerca da origem da linguagempode, a partir de tal registro teórico, vir à tona.

A Sogra (Hecyra) é uma comédia de Terêncio que trata dos desencontros entre personagens que constituem dois grupos familiares: a família de Laques, constituída de seu filho Pânfilo, sua nora Filumena, sua esposa Sóstrata. A família de Filumena, cujo pai é Fidipo e sua esposa Mírrina. A trama gira em torno de desencontros, convenções sociais que sobrepujam os sentimentos entre os parentes e a presença de uma prostituta de nome Báquis. Trata-se de uma peça com base em dramas burgueses que (...) atravessam todas as sociedades no tempo e no espaço. Analisaremos a estrutura familiar aqui presente e suas convenções que impõem certo padrão de comportamento. As relações afetivas e desejos fazem parte da trama de forma acentuada, pois, aqui os desencontros são entre o que se deseja e o que a convenção social estabelece como comum. A cortesã, o filho, o pai, a sogra são elementos fulcrais desta trama, no que diz respeito a convenção social; já os laços afetivos estabelecidos no meio familiar e extra-familiar constituem o lado não convencional que se choca com a convenção social. Assim analisaremos estes fatores na estrutura da trama da peça de Terêncio. (shrink)

A intenção do artigo é examinar a reflexão de Algernon Sidney no que se refere ao direito de resistência do povo contra governos tirânicos. Amplamente discutido por autores das mais diversas vertentes políticas, o direito de resistência ocupou um lugar de destaque no debate jurídico, teológico e político no decorrer dos séculos XVI e XVII. Além dos tradicionais argumentos apresentados por huguenotes franceses, monarcômacos escoceses e defensores da causa parlamentar durante as guerras civis inglesas, a defesa de Sidney do direito (...) do povo de julgar, combater e depor tiranos é feita também com base em princípios republicanos, como o império da lei, o bem comum e, principalmente, a liberdade. (shrink)

Integrated Information Theory (IIT) is one of the most influential theories of consciousness, mainly due to its claim of mathematically formalizing consciousness in a measurable way. However, the theory, as it is formulated, does not account for contextual observations that are crucial for understanding consciousness. Here we put forth three possible difficulties for its current version, which could be interpreted as a trilemma. Either consciousness is contextual or not. If contextual, either IIT needs revisions to its axioms to include contextuality, (...) or it is inconsistent. If consciousness is not contextual, then IIT faces an empirical challenge. Therefore, we argue that IIT in its current version is inadequate. (shrink)

Cognitive Science, Volume 45, Issue 11, November 2021.

In this paper we analyze the existence of joint probabilities for the Bell-type and GHZ entangled states. We then propose the usage of nonmonotonic upper probabilities as a tool to derive consistent joint upper probabilities for the contextual hidden variables. Finally, we show that for the extreme example of no error, the GHZ state allows for the definition of a joint upper probability that is consistent with the strong correlations.

(Spanish) RESUMEN: La libertad absoluta postulada por Viktor Emil Frankl y Jean-Paul Sartre, la Shoah y la creencia en un dios omnipotente, bueno y justo parecen contradecirse. La pregunta por el sentido del sufrimiento de las víctimas del Holocausto (la verdadera catástrofe, el mayor crimen contra la humanidad), simbolizado por Auschwitz, y como punto de inflexión en la historia, es terriblemente dolorosa y parece no tener una respuesta filosófica ni teológica. A mi juicio, es importantísimo distinguir entre las víctimas inocentes (...) de la Shoah que perecieron y las víctimas inocentes que sufrieron un verdadero infierno y perdieron a sus seres queridos, pero que lograron sobrevivir. Ambas son víctimas, por supuesto, pero así como encontrarle un posible sentido al sufrimiento de las víctimas masacradas y gaseadas podría suponer un insulto a su sufrimiento y agonía –en especial, al horror que sufrieron los niños–, el horrible sufrimiento de los supervivientes pudo dar, tal vez, de alguna manera, un sentido a sus vidas después de la liberación de los campos de concentración y exterminio, ya fuera como voz, como protesta o como simple supervivencia. Frankl apuesta por un sentido último (que abraza el sentido del sufrimiento de las víctimas), y Sartre, aunque parezca no apostar por sentido alguno, volcó su vida al compromiso político después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y ello parece vislumbrar una minúscula pizca de sentido después de la barbarie. La filosofía de Frankl es un sí a la vida incluso en las situaciones más extremas, un grito casi nietzscheano que exalta el valor de la vida más allá de cualquier sufrimiento. Frankl, padre de la logoterapia y superviviente del Holocausto, abre una puerta a Dios al hablar de un dios inconsciente, una dimensión suprahumana y una fe incondicional, y define la religión como espiritualidad y como la búsqueda del hombre por el sentido último. Según Frankl, la libertad no se contradice con Dios, y la religión existe no a raíz de la barbarie, sino a pesar de la barbarie. El existencialismo sartreano es una filosofía de la libertad radical y de la responsabilidad. El hombre está condenado a ser libre. El ser humano es un ser en el que la existencia precede a la esencia. Somos totalmente responsables de lo que somos. Sartre afirma que la libertad humana es incompatible con Dios. En un mundo sin Dios, la moral la construyen los hombres, con sus propias decisiones y sus acciones, y la existencia y el sufrimiento de las víctimas no tienen sentido alguno. Sartre define al hombre como libertad, responsabilidad, angustia y contingencia. Frankl define al hombre como libertad, responsabilidad, espiritualidad y búsqueda de sentido. Con esta tesis me propongo entrar en la resbaladiza dimensión del dolor, la desesperación, el sentido y sinsentido del sufrimiento de las víctimas (teniendo presente los horrores de Auschwitz, que en teología y filosofía ha simbolizado desde la liberación de los campos la muerte de Dios y la muerte de la moral). Es verdad que no solo los hombres, mujeres y niños judíos fueron víctimas de la barbarie alemana, pero, como reza el mensaje de Elie Wiesel en la exposición permanente del Block 27 del Auschwitz-Birkeanu State Museum: "Not all victims were Jewish in this place, but all Jews were victims". La Shoah no es un episodio dentro de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, sino un punto de inflexión en la historia de la humanidad, y es una catástrofe que nos concierne a todos, hombres y mujeres judíos y no judíos, religiosos e irreligiosos, creyentes e increyentes, como seres libres, responsables y morales que somos –o que deberíamos ser. Muchas de las víctimas del Holocausto, en medio de la desesperación, entraron en las cámaras de gas orando, aferrándose a la esperanza de que ese final espeluznante no era un punto final. Con esta tesis no me propongo de ninguna manera responder a la eterna pregunta de si Dios existe o no, sino que propongo interpretar ese grito hacia Dios como un desesperado anhelo de esperanza. También me propongo encontrar una coherencia en las posturas de estos dos grandes pensadores para quienes la libertad y la responsabilidad definen al hombre: Frankl (quien apuesta por una dimensión suprahumana donde existe un sentido último en el que el sufrimiento de las víctimas tiene que tener algún sentido, aunque ese sentido sea completamente incomprensible en la dimensión humana) y Sartre (el existencialista ateo por excelencia, para quien el mundo, la existencia y el sufrimiento son absolutamente contingentes). En el primer capítulo expongo la logoterapia y el existencialismo sartreano: describo las tres dimensiones del hombre y las tres búsquedas de sentido propuestas por Frankl, y expongo las cinco consecuencias de "l'existence précède l'essence", centrándome en la libertad y la responsabilidad, y hablo del suicidio. El segundo capítulo está dedicado al dios inconsciente frankleano, la dimensión suprahumana, la búsqueda por el sentido último y la fe incondicional. En el tercer capítulo ilustro la libertad sin Dios sartreana, la ontología sartreana, el ateísmo sartreano y el humanismo sartreano, y hablo sobre la responsabilidad, la mauvaise foi, la contingencia, la situation y la angustia. El cuarto capítulo es necesariamente histórico (sin dejar de ser filosófico): me pregunto por la muerte de Dios después de Auschwitz, argumento y defiendo la unicidad del Holocausto (la Shoah es un punto de inflexión en la historia de la humanidad), describo las masacres antes de los campos de exterminio (Einsatzgruppen, Ordnungspolizei y Wehrmacht), el gigantesco complejo de Auschwitz (Stammlager, Auschwitz-Birkenau y Monowitz-Buna), reflexiono sobre Dios y el mal (centrándome en los niños de Auschwitz), describo los días de Frankl en Auschwitz, hablo de Dios como esperanza, de la inmortalidad y la escatología, de la crueldad de Dios, de la relación entre el cristianismo y el antisemitismo, del islam y el antisemitismo, critico el silencio de Dios, hablo de la muerte de Dios y del juicio contra Dios. En el quinto capítulo expongo la moral frankleana (una moral que atañe al hombre y no a Dios), basándome en su teoría del amor y en su única obra de teatro (Synchronisation in Binkerwald), y la moral sartreana (una moral que atañe a una humanidad sin Dios), recordando a Dostoyevsky, analizando la famosa cita de Garcin en Huis clos "L'enfer, c'est les Autres", criticando el marxismo de Sartre y cuestionando (con la mirada de Frankl y Sartre) el verso de Brecht "Erst kommt das Fressen, dann kommt die Moral"; al final del capítulo incluyo una reflexión propia y las críticas frankleana y sartreana sobre la impunidad de los verdugos y colaboradores después del Holocausto (con el permiso de Dios). Después de la Conclusión, añado un Apéndice sobre las vidas de Frankl y Sartre, para poder entender mejor su obra. PALABRAS CLAVE: logoterapia, existencialismo sartreano, búsqueda de sentido, libertad, responsabilidad, moral, angustia, sufrimiento, supervivientes, víctimas, contingencia, espiritualidad, religión, Dios, esperanza, antisemitismo, culpa, Auschwitz, Holocausto, Shoah. /// (English) ABSTRACT: The absolute freedom defended by Viktor Emil Frankl and Jean-Paul Sartre, the Shoah and the belief in an omnipotent, benevolent and just God seem to contradict each other. The question of the meaning of the victims' suffering of the Holocaust (the true catastrophe, the biggest crime against humanity), simbolised by Auschwitz and as a turning point in History, is terribly painful and doesn't seem to have an answer. In my opinion, it's crucial to distinguish between the innocent victims of the Shoah who perished and the innocent victims who sufferend a real hell and lost their loved ones, but managed to survive. Both are victims, of course, but just as finding a possible meaning to the suffering of the massacred and gassed victims could result in an insult to their suffering and agony –especially to the horror that the children suffered– the gigantic suffering of the survivors could, maybe, somehow, give a meaning to their lives after the liberation of the concentration and extermination camps, either as a voice, as a protest, or as a simple survival. Frankl believes in an ultimate meaning (that embraces the meaning of the victims' suffering), and Sartre, even if it appears not to embrace any meaning, turned his life to political engagement after War World II, and that attitude seems to give a tiny glimpse of meaning after the barbarity. Frankl's philosophy says yes to life even in the most extreme situations, and it's a Nietzschean-like scream that exalts the value of life beyond any monstrous suffering. Frankl, the father of logotherapy and a Holocaust survivor, opens a door to God when he talks about an unconscious God, a supra-human dimension and an unconditional faith; he defines religion as spirituality and as man's search for ultimate meaning. According to Frankl, freedom is not contradictory with God, and religion exists not because of the barbarity but in spite of the barbarity. Sartrean existentialism is a philosophy of radical freedom and responsibility. Men are condemned to be free. We are beings where the existence precedes the essence. We are completely responsible of what we are. Sartre argues that human freedom is incompatible with God. In a godless world, morality is constructed by people, with their own choices and actions, and human existence and the suffering of the victims don't have any meaning. Sartre defines man as freedom, responsibility, Angst and contingency. Frankl defines man as freedom, responsibility, spirituality and search for meaning. With this dissertation I attempt to enter in the slippery dimension of the pain, despair, meaning and meaninglessness of the victims' suffering (having in mind the horrors of Auschwitz, that in theology and in philosophy have simbolised, since the liberation of the camps, the death of God and the death of morality). It's true that not only Jewish men, women and children were victims of the German barbarity, but, as Elie Wiesel's message from the permanent exhibition from Block 27 of the Auschwitz-Birkeanu State Museum reads: "Not all victims were Jewish in this place, but all Jews were victims". The Shoah is not an episode inside War World II, but a turning point in the history of humankind, and a catastrophe that embraces us all, Jewish and not not Jewish men and women, religious and not religious, believers and not believers, as the free, responsible and moral beings that we all are –or that we should be. A lot of the victims, in the midst of their desperation, entered into the gas chambers praying, holding to the hope that their horrifying end was not the ultimate end. With this dissertation I do not attempt to answer the eternal question of the existence of God, rather, I will try to interpret that scream to God as a longing for hope. I also intend to find a coherence between the thought of these two great thinkers for whom freedom and responsibilty define man: Frankl (who argues that there is a suprahuman dimension where an ultimate meaning exists and where the victims' suffering has to have a meaning, even if this meaning is completely incomprehensible in the human dimension) and Sartre (the atheist existentialist par excellence, for whom the world, human existence and suffering are absolutely contingent). In the first chapter I expose logotherapy and Sartrean existentialism: I describe the three dimensions of man, the three searches for meaning, the five consequences of "l'existence précède l'essence" and I speak about suicide. The second chapter delves into the unconscious God, the supra-human dimension, the ultimate meaning and the unconditional faith. In the third chapter I expose the freedom without God defended by Sartre, Sartre's ontology, Sartre's atheism, Sartre's humanism, and his ideas about responsibility, mauvaise foi, contingency, situation, and Angst. The fourth chapter is necessarily historical (while being philosophical too): I wonder about the death of God after Auschwitz, I argue and defend the uniqueness of the Holocaust (the Shoah is a turning point in the history of humankind), I describe the massacres before the extermination camps (Einsatzgruppen, Ordnungspolizei y Wehrmacht), the gigantic Auschwitz camp complex (Stammlager, Auschwitz-Birkenau y Monowitz-Buna), I reflect on God and evil (focusing on the children of Auschwitz), I describe Frankl's days in Auschwitz, I talk about God as hope, about immortality and escathology, I discuss God's cruelty, the relationship between Christianity and antisemitism and Islam and antisemitism, I question the silence of God, and I talk about the death of God and about the trial against God. In the fifth chapter I talk about the Franklean morality (a morality that concerns man and not God), on the basis of his love theory and his only work of theater (Synchronisation in Binkerwald), and the Sartrean morality (a morality that concerns a humanity without God), remembering Dostoyevsky, analysing Garcin's famous quote in Huis clos "L'enfer, c'est les Autres", crticizing Sartre's marxism and questioning (with Frankl's and Sartre's eyes) Brecht's verse "Erst kommt das Fressen, dann kommt die Moral"; at the end of the chapter I include my own reflection (and Frankl and Sartre's critique) about the impunity of the executioners and collaborators after the Holocaust (with God's permission). After the Conclusion, I add an Appendix about the lives of Frankl and Sartre, which helps understanding better their work. KEYWORDS: logotherapy, existentialism, search for meaning, freedom, responsibility, morality, Angst, suffering, survivors, victims, contingency, spirituality, religion, God, hope, antisemitism, guilt, Auschwitz, Holocaust, Shoah. (shrink)

O presente texto visa avaliar o estatuto da revolução a partir da obra de dois filósofos franceses, por assim dizer, que empenharam parte considerável de seu trabalho na investigação sobre a história: Voltaire e Jean Bodin. Nossa intenção é entender a relação entre as noções de transformações, revolução e guerra, conflitos, tumultos. Não pretendemos estabelecer uma comparação rígida, porque anacrônica, entre as obras desses filósofos que trabalharam sobre a história. O que intentamos aqui é investigar algumas linhas de força de (...) seus argumentos que visam explicar as revoluções, suas origens e consequências para mostrar como a articulação entre esses elementos possibilita a Voltaire e a Bodin que realizem o que chamaremos de desmistificação de aspectos pertinentes tanto à filosofia quanto à história. Trata-se ainda de mostra em que medida Bodin e Voltaire divergem e se encontram no que tange ao tratamento filosófico desses temas. This paper aims at evaluating the status of the idea of revolution presented by Voltaire and Bodin. Both philosophers' works are mostly directed to the investigation of history. The purpose of this paper is to understand the connection between the ideas of change, revolution, war, turmoil and conflicts. There is no intention of establishing a strict comparison between the two works, as for that would be anachronistic. On the contrary, this paper intends to investigate some of the main arguments used by both authors to explain the revolutions, its origins and consequences, to show how the articulation between those elements enables them to demystify relevant aspects present in both history and philosophy. Finally, it also aims at pointing at the extent to which the authors diverge and converge in their philosophical approach to the referred themes. (shrink)

Neuroscience research has shown that meditation practices have effects on brain structure and function. However, few studies have combined information on the effects on structure and function in the same sample. Long-term daily meditation practice produces repeated activity of specific brain networks over years of practice, which may induce lasting structural and functional connectivity changes within relevant circuits. The aim of our study was therefore to identify differences in FC during the resting state between 23 Sahaja Yoga Meditation experts and (...) 23 healthy participants without meditation experience. Seed-based FC analysis was performed departing from voxels that had shown structural differences between these same participants. The contrast of connectivity maps yielded that meditators showed increased FC between the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex but reduced FC between the left insula and the bilateral mid-cingulate as well as between the right angular gyrus and the bilateral precuneus/cuneus cortices. It thus appears that long-term meditation practice increases direct FC between ventral and dorsal frontal regions within brain networks related to attention and cognitive control and decreases FC between regions of these networks and areas of the default mode network. (shrink)

O presente trabalho pretende resgatar o debate entre Richard Rorty e Nancy Fraser, ocorrido no início da década de 1990, especificamente a partir do texto Feminismo e Pragmatismo apresentado na Tanner Lectures on Human Value. Nesta conferência o filósofo discorreu sobre a possibilidade de conciliação entre o seu pragmatismo e o feminismo. Rorty aborda o feminismo enquanto autocriação da mulher através da “redescrição” mediante a manifestação poética, onde o filósofo encara as feministas como criadoras do novo. Em seguida, exporemos a (...) crítica de Fraser, que trabalha sobre a proposta apresentada pelo pragmatista e que oferece suas próprias ideias dentro de uma concepção do feminismo como movimento democrático de massa. Ao final, uma breve avaliação das implicações das críticas e sugestões apresentadas por Rorty ao feminismo e também da resposta de Fraser. (shrink)

O objetivo deste manual é orientar pesquisadores e autores que desejem submeter seus textos à revista _HORIZONTE._.

Este trabajo estudió la defensa del niño concebido aún no nato y el reconocimiento del no nacido en los casos que se trate de su bien en el ordenamiento jurídico venezolano. El objetivo general estuvo dirigido al examen del ordenamiento jurídico patrio en cuanto a las normas que salvaguardan la vida desde la concepción en el seno materno. Se trata pues de una investigación documental, en donde se analizó la doctrina nacional y foránea sobre la protección del no nacido, su (...) reconocimiento, además se tomó en cuenta lo establecido en el Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica y en el Compendio de la Doctrina Social de la Iglesia sobre el aborto y la defensa de la vida, también se analizaron las leyes nacionales que tratan sobre la materia objeto de estudio. Se concluyó que aunque el ordenamiento jurídico venezolano no expresa claramente la defensa de la vida desde el momento de su concepción, reconoce los derechos del no nacido cuando se trate de su bien; tomando esto en cuenta se hace un análisis extenso haciendo uso de la hermenéutica jurídica para determinar que la norma protege la vida del concebido puesto que el bien más preciado que tiene el hombre es el derecho a la vida. . (shrink)

RESUMO O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a concepção de liberdade encontrada em "Discourses concerning government" de Algernon Sidney. Mantendo a perspectiva republicana, a liberdade é definida pela ausência de dominação, ou seja, pela não submissão, sujeição ou exposição à vontade arbitrária de outra pessoa; e assumindo a perspectiva jusnaturalista, a liberdade é considerada um direito natural, inerente à condição humana, que deve ser preservado e assegurado pela autoridade política. Pretende-se discutir como Sidney articula essas duas perspectivas em sua teoria (...) política, projetando a concepção republicana de liberdade na modernidade.ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to analyze the concept of freedom found in Algernon Sidney’s "Discourses Concerning government". Keeping the republican thought, freedom is defined by the absence of domination, i.e., the denial of submission, bondage or exposure to the arbitrary will of another person; and taking the jusnaturalist thought, freedom is considered a natural right inherent to the human condition, which must be preserved and guaranteed by the political authority. I intend to discuss how Sidney articulates these two perspectives in his political theory, outlining the republican conception of freedom in modernity. (shrink)

Como é possível extrair filosofia de um texto de quatro ou cinco páginas, arbitrariamente montado ao longo de mil anos de citações na Antiguidade, cujo tamanho original se desconhece, e suas partes, precariamente conectadas, juntam-se a partir de critérios e suposições tardias? Normalmente, nem se quer refletimos sobre questões desse tipo quando tratamos de estudar o pensamento de um autor, pois é comum que o estudo de um filósofo não passe pela história da obra em questão, quando e de que (...) forma ocorreu a transmissão do texto ao longo da história. No presente artigo, teceremos algumas considerações importantes que leitor não familiarizado com o Poema de Parmênides tem de ter para que evite cair em armadilhas e reproduza dogmaticamente interpretações convencionalmente estabelecidas. (shrink)

Este trabajo orienta su contenido a las aplicaciones de la lógica borrosa, pero no desde una aproximación que trate de abordar ciertas caracterrsticas relevantes de algunas de ellas y/o comentar sus coincidencias y discrepancias desde el punto de vista dei soporte dado por la lógica borrosa. Existen excelentes y abundantes revisiones de este estilo, por lo que nosotros hemos optado por introducir algunas reflexiones a modo de respuesta a preguntas formuladas al hilo de la más general que da trtulo al (...) trabajo. Contestar a algunas de ellas es, sin duda, uncometido realmente arriesgado, como ocurre al tratar de plasmar, por ejemplo, y aunque sea con trazos “borrosos”, cuáles serán las aplicaciones futuras de la lógica borrosa. Esperamos que se nos disculpe si el acierto torna a ser escaso.This paper discusses about the field of fuzzy logic applications, but not from the point of view of its importance or commenting their main features and how they are formally supported by fuzzy logic. Very good, exist in this field, and so we decided to present some reflections trying to answer very general questions about this issue. Answering, for example, to the question about possible futureapplications of fuzzy logic is, no doubts, a very risky task. We look forward to be forgiven if our approach proves not to be very successful. (shrink)