The hypothalamus is a specialized area in the brain that integrates the control of energy homeostasis. More than 70 years ago, it was proposed that the central nervous system sensed circulating levels of metabolites such as glucose, lipids and amino acids and modified feeding according to the levels of those molecules. This led to the formulation of the Glucostatic, Lipostatic and Aminostatic Hypotheses. It has taken almost that much time to demonstrate that circulating long‐chain fatty acids act as signals of (...) nutrient surplus in the hypothalamus. Moreover, pharmacological and/or genetic inhibition of fatty acid synthase, AMP‐activated protein kinase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 results in profound decrease in feeding and body weight in rodents. The molecular mechanism behind these actions depends on changes in the cellular pool of malonyl‐CoA and fatty acyl‐CoAs. Current evidence also suggests that this pathway may play a major role in the physiological regulation of feeding, by integrating hormonal and nutrient‐derived signals in the hypothalamus. Here, we summarize what is known about hypothalamic fatty acid metabolism and feeding control and provide future directions for research. Understanding these molecular mechanisms could provide new targets for the treatment of obesity and related disorders. BioEssays 29: 248–261, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

This article describes and discusses the ideas of Patrick Heelan about the nature of visual perception, which he argues as not being intrinsically Euclidian, but rather as being described both in Euclidian and not-Euclidian geometries. Another objective is to place Heelan’s ideas in the context of the attempts to grasp the nature of science from the hermeneutical standpoint, in agreement with the so called analytical philosophy of science, noticing that his philosophical perspective is determined by phenomenology, in particular that inspired (...) by Heidegger. Heelan’s phenomenology and philosophy of science are innovative and original deserving to be described and analysed. It is proposed that the investigation of Heelan’s project opens up new perspectives in both phenomenology and philosophy of science. (shrink)

Through the analysis of the thought of Mach and Duhem, who have felt the need to re-evaluate the relationship between metaphysics and physics, we study in what measure the authors had a position relating to an eventual weakening of the traditional epistemic criteria, which were until their time used for the evaluation of scientific theories, and those criteria should respect the distinction between fact and value. We investigate the way each argues for a division between science and metaphysics, as well (...) as the reasons for this. For both authors, adopting mechanicism as the basis for modern science is in the origin of the emergence of the materialist metaphysics, which should now be abandoned. Every metaphysics built from physical results would be a disrespect to the distinction between fact and value. Duhem and Mach argue for a new role for the common sense, which should not be taken as the source of error anymore. (shrink)

This essay explores the anonymous articles published by Sartre in Les Lettres Françaises, a clandestine journal edited by the National Committee of Writers in occupied France. The goal is to reconstruct the historical context of this intervention, examining its conceptual foundations and literary influences. Central to this exploration is an analysis of “Literature, this Freedom!”, in which the political significance of writing emerges from the experience of resistance. The investigation culminates in an assessment of the initial struggles of commitment.

The concept of assisted death includes a heterogeneous variety of practices, whose common denominator is to guarantee citizens their right to participate in decisions related to their own death process, to make it as consistent with their preferences as possible. It’s one of the most controversial and discussed topics in recent decades, both in the academic field and in public opinion. This paper examines the two main justifications for its legalization: to guarantee individual autonomy as in other areas of life, (...) and to avoid unnecessary suffering to the dying. It will be argued that, although both are related and both tie the ethics of care with the autonomy of the subject, the justification for autonomy is stronger and resists better the objections of those opposed to the legalization of this right. (shrink)

Ernst Bloch formulated problems of enormous philosophical and human relevance. He held that in our contemporary situation we have but two questions concerning the fundamental direction of our lives and history: we must choose, first, between hopeless nihilism and transcendent hope; and, second, between transcendent hope with transcendence and transcendent hope without transcendence. Bloch opted for the transcendent hope without transcendence and formulated a hard critique of hope with transcendence. Josef Pieper and Bernard Schumacher have offered a competent response to (...) Bloch from the Catholic perspective. However, we offer here a little explored aspect of the problem by demonstrating that Bloch’s metaphysical arguments do not consider that (a) a material reality necessarily has the concrete potentiality of dissolving, and (b) therefore, left to itself, it will dissolve necessarily in infinite time; and that (c) no effect can have a reality disproportionate to its cause, which is the reason why (d) no immortal reality can proceed from mortal reality without the intervention of a higher cause. (shrink)

El artista menorquín Pascual Calbó Caldés, autor de una enciclopedia científica que ha llegado hasta nosotros con el nombre de Obras didácticas, pintó en el salón de la Casa Vidal una cenefa en la que aparecen representaciones alegóricas de la escultura, pintura, arquitectura, astronomía, música, literatura, matemáticas y agricultura. En este artículo mostramos algunos detalles relativos a las alegorías de las matemáticas y la astronomía que pueden escapar al ojo del observador común. Palabras clave: Pascual Calbó, Matemáticas, Pintura, Menorca, (...) Siglo XVIII. ABSTRACT The artist from Menorca Pascual Calbó Caldés, author of a scientific encyclopedia which has been preserved under the title of Obras didácticas, painted in the living room of the Casa Vidal a frieze in which we can find allegorical representations of sculpture, painting, architecture, music, literature, mathematics and agriculture. In this paper, we present some details regarding the allegories of mathematics and astronomy that may scape the eye of the common observer. Keywords: Pascual Calbó, Mathematics, Painting, Minorca, 18th century. (shrink)

The grammatical constraints on anaphoric binding, known as binding principles, are observed to form a classical square of oppositions. These constraints are then analysed as the effect of phase quantifiers over reference markers in grammatical obliqueness hierarchies, and the resulting phase quantifiers are shown to be organised in a square of logical duality. The impact of this result on the distinction between quantificational and referential nominals as well as on the logical foundations of the semantics of nominals in general is (...) discussed. (shrink)

This book explores the philosophical writings of Gerda Walther (1897-1977). It features essays that recover large parts of Walther's oeuvre in order to show her contribution to phenomenology and philosophy. In addition, the volume contains an English translation of part of her major work on mysticism. The essays consider the interdisciplinary implications of Gerda Walther's ideas. A student of Edmund Husserl, Edith Stein, and Alexander Pfänder, she wrote foundational studies on the ego, community, mysticism and religion, and consciousness. Her discussions (...) of empathy, identification, the ego and ego-consciousness, alterity, God, mysticism, sensation, intentionality, sociality, politics, and woman are relevant not only to phenomenology and philosophy but also to scholars of religion, women's and gender studies, sociology, political science, and psychology. Gerda Walther was one of the important figures of the early phenomenological movement. However, as a woman, she could not habilitate at a German university and was, therefore, denied a position. Her complete works have yet to be published. This ground-breaking volume not only helps readers discover a vital voice but it also demonstrates the significant contributions of women to early phenomenological thinking. (shrink)

Este artículo pretende analizar la relación entre la biopolítica, la teoría de la securitización y la geopolítica en el contexto de la pandemia por COVID-19. Para ello se ha revisado la bibliografía sobre la pandemia en estudios de seguridad, postestructuralistas y geopolíticos, confirmándose una ausencia de investigaciones que consideren conjuntamente estas tres dimensiones de la pandemia. Por este motivo, este artículo propone un enfoque diferente que integra estas tres dimensiones. De este modo, el argumento principal de la investigación engloba las (...) siguientes afirmaciones. En primer lugar, que la securitización de la salud es un tipo específico de biopolítica. En segundo lugar, que la biopolítica es una práctica geopolítica debido a las consecuencias espaciales que genera en la gestión de los procesos biológicos de la sociedad. En tercer lugar, que la securitización del coronavirus conllevó una forma específica de organizar el espacio para maximizar el control de la población por parte de las autoridades. Para comprobar estas hipótesis se han analizado las políticas de salud pública adoptadas por las democracias liberales de América, Europa, Asia y Oceanía, así como sus efectos en la organización del espacio. Los resultados de este estudio muestran que la securitización del COVID-19 creó un espacio biopolítico a nivel local, nacional e internacional que implicó la restricción y suspensión de la libertad de movimiento y del derecho a reunión. Además, el Estado asumió poderes extraordinarios, lo que permitió a las autoridades intervenir en casi todas las esferas de la vida y en todas partes dentro de las fronteras nacionales. (shrink)

Revonsuo proposed an intriguing and detailed evolutionary theory of dreams which stipulates that the biological function of dreaming is to simulate threatening events and to rehearse threat avoidance behaviors. The goal of the present study was to test this theory using a sample of 212 recurrent dreams that was scored using a slightly expanded version of the DreamThreat rating scale. Six of the eight hypotheses tested were supported. Among the positive findings, 66% of the recurrent dream reports contained one or (...) more threats, the threats tended to be dangerous and aimed at the dreamer, and when facing a threat, the dreamer tended to take defensive or evasive actions that were possible and reasonable. However, less than 15% of the recurrent dreams depicted realistic and probable situations critical for one’s physical survival or reproductive success and the dreamer rarely succeeded in fleeing the threat despite important and appropriate efforts. The findings thus provide mixed support for the threat simulation theory. (shrink)

La pregunta que articula este artículo es acerca del tipo de sujeto que se esconde tras los requisitos formales del acto en Žižek. ¿Quiénes son los sujetos empíricos implicados en su concepción de acto? El acto lo es sin sujeto, carece de explicación causalista; sin embargo, si bien no aporta una noción positiva con contornos específicos y un contenido determinado, sí existe una dimensión sociológica implícita. ¿Dónde ubica sociológicamente ese “universal concreto”? Si el efecto más inmediato de lo que Žižek (...) denomina “posmodernismo” es la despolitización de la economía, ¿Quién es, entonces, el agente de la repolitización? ¿qué podría ocupar hoy el lugar de “posición proletaria”? Argumentamos que si bien Žižek se propone repetir Lenin contra las concepciones economicistas, su apuesta por el lumpen como “individuo universal” lo aproxima más bien a los planteamientos bakunianos contra Marx, al observar en las figuras de la exclusión un potencial sujeto revolucionario. (shrink)

The article discusses Pausanias’ obscure statement (1.26.3) that the early Hellenistic Athenian general Olympiodoros ‘recovered the Piraeus and Mounychia’. By understanding the feat as an episode within the wider context of the Athenian stasis of 295 between the ‘tyrant’ Lachares and Olympiodoros’ democratic resistance, the article shows that the narrative of the enterprise (most likely based on an honorific decree) aimed to i) establish a parallel between Olympiodoros and the illustrious democratic recovery by Thrasyboulos, ii) rehabilitate Olympiodoros as a democratic (...) hero after his involvement in the oligarchic years of the second regime of Demetrios Poliorketes in Athens, and iii) serve as a call to action to recover the Piraeus, which was under Macedonian control when the honours were bestowed. (shrink)

We propose the “microbiota‐inflammasome” hypothesis of major depressive disorder (MDD, a mental illness affecting the way a person feels and thinks, characterized by long‐lasting feelings of sadness). We hypothesize that pathological shifts in gut microbiota composition (dysbiosis) caused by stress and gut conditions result in the upregulation of pro‐inflammatory pathways mediated by the Nod‐like receptors family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome (an intracellular platform involved in the activation of inflammatory processes). This upregulation exacerbates depressive symptomatology and further compounds gut (...) dysbiosis. In this review we describe MDD/chronic stress‐induced changes in: 1) NLRP3 inflammasome; 2) gut microbiota; and 3) metabolic pathways; and how inflammasome signaling may affect depressive‐like behavior and gut microbiota composition. The implication is that novel therapeutic strategies could emerge for MDD and co‐morbid conditions. A number of testable predictions surface from this microbiota‐gut‐inflammasome‐brain hypothesis of MDD, using approaches that modulate gut microbiota composition via inflammasome modulation, fecal microbiota transplantation, psychobiotics supplementation, or dietary change. (shrink)

Las escápulas de bóvido inscritas con alifatos o basmala son hallazgos relativamente frecuentes en la arqueología medieval de la Península Ibérica. En este artículo se dan a conocer cuatro escápulas de bóvido inéditas y se presentan otras diez que ya habían sido publicadas por otros autores, a menudo consideradas como tablillas para la enseñanza de la escritura. Se propone una nueva interpretación de estas escápulas inscritas en árabe como amuletos, hipotéticamente vinculados a prácticas mágicas relacionadas con la protección de reservas (...) de grano a largo plazo en silos. (shrink)

The ‘bat and ball’ is one of the problems most frequently employed as a testbed for research on the dual-system hypothesis of reasoning. Frederick (J Econ Perspect 19:25–42, 2005) is the first to envisage the possibility that different numerical arrangements of the ‘bat and ball’ problem could lead to different dynamics of activation of the dual-system, and so to different performances of subjects in task accomplishment. This possibility has triggered a strand of research oriented to accomplish ‘sensitivity analyses’ of the (...) ‘bat and ball’ problem. The scope of this paper is to test experimentally the specific hypothesis that numerals are responsible for the selective activation of the two systems of reasoning in this task. In particular, we argue that their role goes beyond and cannot be reduced to that of numbers conceived as magnitudes. To test our hypothesis, we devise an experimental setting in which the role of numbers (as magnitudes) is rendered irrelevant. We find experimental results consistent with our hypothesis. We further provide a link between the literature on mathematical problem-solving and that on mathematical cognition research, in particular that branch labeled embodied mathematical cognition. (shrink)

Significant individual differences exist in dream recall frequency but some variance is likely attributable to instrument choice in measuring DRF. Three hundred and fifty eight participants estimated their weekly DRF and recorded their dreams in either a narrative log or checklist log for 2–5 weeks. There was an early peak in DRF within the first week of both types of prospective logs after which DRF remained relatively stable. Although the two groups did not differ in their estimated DRF, significantly fewer (...) dreams were reported per week on the narrative logs and only checklist logs yielded significantly higher DRF than participants’ questionnaire estimates. The interactions between DRF measures did not vary across groups with low, medium or high baseline levels of DRF. Keeping a dream log does not necessarily increase DRF and narrative logs’ time consuming nature can impact subjects’ motivation to report all of their dreams over time. (shrink)

Este artigo destina-se a introduzir a conferência de Heisenberg "A doutrina goethiana e newtoniana das cores à luz da física moderna", proferida em 1941, cuja tradução é aqui publicada. Analisa-se primeiramente o projeto filosófico de uma ordenação da realidade, desenvolvido pelo físico no início da década de 1940, o qual subjaz à discussão sobre as doutrinas das cores em Goethe e Newton. No segundo momento, faz-se uma exposição de algumas das implicações filosóficas da teoria quântica, com ênfase na interpretação da (...) assim denominada escola de Copenhague. Por fim, procura-se mostrar como a querela entre Goethe e Newton é utilizada para defender as abstrações da física teórica dos ataques da assim denominada "física ariana" e, ao mesmo tempo, preservar o valor das considerações intuitivas de Goethe. This paper aims at exposing the Heisenberg's conference "The teachings of Goethe and Newton on colors in the light of modern physics", presented in 1941, whose translation is presented here. In the first place the paper analyzes the philosophical project of an ordination of the reality, developed by the physicist in the early 1940s and which is the basis for the discussion of the "Teachings of Goethe and Newton on colors". Secondly it exposes some philosophical implications of the quantum theory by emphasizing the point of view of the Copenhagen school. Finally, it shows how the dispute between Goethe and Newton is exploited to defend the abstractions of the theoretical physics against the attacks of the so called "German physicists" and, at the same time, to preserve the worth of the Goethe's intuitive analysis. (shrink)

These are the lecture notes from a 10-hour course that the author gave at the University of Notre Dame in September 2010. The objective of the course was to introduce some basic concepts in computable structure theory and develop the background needed to understand the author’s research on back-and-forth relations.

Antropologia individualistica e democrazia -- Nuova antropologia. Soggetto e libertà nella democrazia di Tocqueville -- Sball-democrazia -- Simboli del potere -- Oltre la frontiera. Soggettività globale -- Ecity. Tecnica senza storia.

La determinación del significado filosófico de la «religión» es una tarea compleja, que debe considerar lo histórico, lo descriptivo y lo crítico, tratando de abarcar los distintos elementos implicados en un concepto tan saturado de matices. El examen de algunas manifestaciones prehistóricas, como las pinturas rupestres, cuyo sentido determinado posiblemente se nos escape para siempre, puede servir paradójicamente como vía de acceso a algunos elementos constitutivos de lo religioso, precisamente situados más allá de su concreción cultural.