This volume critically discusses the relationship between democracy and constitutionalism. It does so with a view to respond to objections raised by legal and political philosophers who are sceptical of judicial review based on the assumption that judicial review is an undemocratic institution. The book builds on earlier literature on the moral justification of the authority of constitutional courts, and on the current attempts to develop a system on "weak judicial review". Although different in their approach, the chapters all focus (...) on devising institutions, procedures and, in a more abstract way, normative conceptions to democratize constitutional law. These democratizing strategies may vary from a radical objection to the institution of judicial review, to a more modest proposal to justify the authority of constitutional courts in their "deliberative performance" or to create constitutional juries that may be more aware of a community's constitutional morality than constitutional courts are. The book connects abstract theoretical discussions about the moral justification of constitutionalism with concrete problems, such as the relation between constitutional adjudication and deliberative democracy, the legitimacy of judicial review in international institutions, the need to create new institutions to democratize constitutionalism, the connections between philosophical conceptions and constitutional practices, the judicial review of constitutional amendments, and the criticism on strong judicial review. (shrink)

This study examines the impact of a social desirability response bias as a personality characteristic (self-deception and impression management) and as an item characteristic (perceived desirability of the behavior) on self-reported ethical conduct. Findings from a sample of college students revealed that self-reported ethical conduct is associated with both personality and item characteristics, with perceived desirability of behavior having the greatest influence on self-reported conduct. Implications for research in business ethics are drawn, and suggestions are offered for reducing the effects (...) of a socially desirable response bias. (shrink)

How should one describe the irreducible relationships in photopoetry observed in intermedial literary photobooks? According to most authors, in literary photobooks, the verbal sign system is linked to the photographic image as a bidirectional interaction, creating a coupled system that can be seen as a new sign system. Mutually modulatory influences link verbal text and photography. But the nature of such influences needs to be explained in detail and with accuracy. What kind of relation are we dealing with? Many authors (...) have tried to explain this phenomenon through several epistemic metaphors. The problem is that these metaphors are rarely subjected to any general theory of meaning. Surprisingly, this is not even mentioned as a problem. In this article, we propose a general semiotic model to describe the irreducible photography-poetry relation, derived from C. S. Peirce’s pragmatic theory of signs, and we also present some preliminary results of the analysis of Quarenta Clics em Curitiba, a photobook by Paulo Leminski and Jack Pires. Our purpose here is to introduce and explore this model to describe the photography-poetry relationship in coupled systems. This relationship is decomposed, in the functional roles occupied by poems and photographs, into a sign-object-interpretant relation. The triadic irreducibility that characterizes semiosis (à la Peirce) is the main property applied to photograph-poetry coupling in Quarenta Clics em Curitiba. (shrink)

Research teams have used extra-uterine systems to support premature fetal lambs and to bring them to maturation in a way not previously possible. The researchers have called attention to possible implications of these systems for sustaining premature human fetuses in a similar way. Some commentators have pointed out that perfecting these systems for human fetuses might alter a standard expectation in abortion practices: that the termination of a pregnancy also entails the death of the fetus. With Biobags, it might be (...) possible, some argue, that no woman has the right to expect that outcome if the technology is able to sustain fetal lifeafteran abortion. In order to protect the expectation that the termination of a pregnancy always entails the death of the fetus, Elizabeth Romanis has argued that fetuses sustained in Biobags have a status different than otherwise ‘born’ children. In support of that view, she argues that these ‘gestatelings’ are incapable of independent life. This argument involves a misunderstanding of the gestational support involved, as well as a misapprehension of neonatology practice. Here, we argue that any human fetus sustained in a Biobag would be as ‘independent’ as any other premature infant, and just as ‘born’. Neonatologists would seem to have certain presumptive moral responsibilities toward any human fetus gestating in a Biobag. It remains a separate question whether the perfection and widespread application of Biobags for premature human beings would or should alter the expectation that ending a pregnancy also entails fetal death. (shrink)

Conferência apresentada no Departamento de Filosofia da UFRN, no dia 22 de novembro de 2007. Título original: “The Existence of God”.

Neste artigo, discuto os _déficits_ de institucionalização e socionormativo da esfera pública, “ignorados” por Habermas desde _Mudança estrutural da esfera pública_ (1962) e obras imediatamente posteriores, prosseguindo com uma abordagem insatisfatoriamente esclarecedora sobre o tema na _Teoria da ação comunicativa_ (1981). Esses _déficits_ representam um sério problema à institucionalização do “uso público da razão”, o que demanda repensar a articulação entre os conceitos de sociedade civil, esfera pública e aprendizagem social e política em resposta aos _déficits_ de aprendizagem cognitivo-epistêmico, prático-moral (...) e político. Assim, assumo a conjectura de que os _déficits_ de institucionalização e socionormativo da esfera pública respondem pelos _déficits_ de aprendizagem social e política, porque a ausência de instituições sociais com potencial socionormativo dificulta a efetiva participação social da sociedade civil em contextos normativos de resolução de problemas prático-morais e políticos. Na medida em que a institucionalização do “uso público da razão” não deve ficar limitada ao nível do discurso, especialmente no caso do discurso político, a formulação teórico-estrutural e o teor institucional-normativo da esfera pública deveriam ser compatíveis com a pretensão epistêmica dos processos de aprendizagem social esboçados na _Teoria da Ação Comunicativa_, um dos _blind spots_ do “programa político” da obra de 1981. (shrink)

This paper consists in an analysis of two explanatory models of human behaviour which play a prominent role in the contemporary literature on human action. The first model - the causalist - aims at explaining action in terms of causes and general laws. The second model - the intentionalist - explains human action in terms of intentions and practical syllogism. The difficulties of both models are presented and in the last part of the essay we propose one alternative model, based (...) on the notion of retroduction.O trabalho consiste numa análise de dois modelos explicativos do comportamento humano considerados fundamentais na literatura contemporânea sobre teoria da ação. O primeiro modelo, o causalista, tenta explicar as ações em termos de causas e leis gerais. O segundo explica a ação em termos de intenções e silogismos práticos. As dificuldades e problemas de ambos modelos são apresentadas e na última parte do ensaio propomos um modelo alternativo baseado na noção de retrodução. (shrink)

We apply the Galilean covariant formulation of quantum dynamics to derive the phase-space representation of the Pauli–Schrödinger equation for the density matrix of spin-1/2 particles in the presence of an electromagnetic field. The Liouville operator for the particle with spin follows from using the Wigner–Moyal transformation and a suitable Clifford algebra constructed on the phase space of a (4 + 1)-dimensional space–time with Galilean geometry. Connections with the algebraic formalism of thermofield dynamics are also investigated.

Transracialism, defined as both experiencing oneself as, and being, a race other than the race assigned to one by society, does not exist. Translated into hermeneutics, transracialism is an unintelligible phenomenon in the specific sociocultural context of the United States in the early twenty-first century. Within this context, race is a function of ancestry, and is therefore defined in terms of something that is external to the self and unchangeable. Since transracialism does not exist, the question of whether transracialism would (...) be ethically advisable if it did exist is inapposite. Nonetheless, at a minimum we can say that racial transition (defined as attempting to change one’s race through artificial and/or associative changes, and living life as a race other than the race assigned to one by society, etc.) is possible, but is very likely unethical, since it is the same as racial passing. (shrink)

Humans’ attitudes towards an event often vary depending on whether the event has already happened or has yet to take place. The dread felt at the thought of a forthcoming examination turns into relief once it is over. People also value past events less than future ones – offering less pay for work already carried out than for the same work to be carried out in the future, as recent research in psychology shows. This volume brings together philosophers and psychologists (...) with a shared interest in such psychological past/future asymmetries. It asks questions such as: What different kinds of psychological past/future asymmetries are there, and how are they related? Under what conditions do humans exhibit them? To what extent do they reflect features of time itself, or particular beliefs people have about time? Are they rational, or at least rationally permissible, or should we aspire to being temporally neutral? What exactly does temporal neutrality consist in? (shrink)

Abstract6‐methyladenine (6mA) is fairly abundant in nuclear DNA of basal fungi, ciliates and green algae. In these organisms, 6mA is maintained near transcription start sites in ApT context by a parental‐strand instruction dependent maintenance methyltransferase and is positively associated with transcription. In animals and plants, 6mA levels are high only in organellar DNA. The 6mA levels in nuclear DNA are very low. They are attributable to nucleotide salvage and the activity of otherwise mitochondrial METTL4, and may be considered as a (...) price that cells pay for adenine methylation in RNA and/or organellar DNA. Cells minimize this price by sanitizing dNTP pools to limit 6mA incorporation, and by converting 6mA that has been incorporated into DNA back to adenine. Hence, 6mA in nuclear DNA should be described as an epigenetic mark only in basal fungi, ciliates and green algae, but not in animals and plants. (shrink)

Este artigo propõe considerações sobre o conceito de experiência [Erfahrung] a partir do texto Experiência e Pobreza, de Walter Benjamin, publicado em 1933, no qual o intelectual alemão desenvolve argumentos relacionados à experiência e à cultura observando o desenvolvimento tecnológico a partir da modernidade do século XIX, e sugere que haveria um “empobrecimento da experiência”, fazendo referência ao que chama de “cultura de vidro”. Articula-se essa leitura ao que tem sido chamado de “cultura de telas” - momento em que a (...) tecnologia exige contato permanente com as telas dos dispositivos eletrônicos que se tornam, cada vez mais, extensões do corpo e da mente humanos. Ao final, fornece observações que permitem propor novas perspectivas sobre um suposto “empobrecimento” ou surgimento de novas formas de experiência a partir do uso desses dispositivos. (shrink)

Neste artigo, tratamos de um desafio lançado inicialmente por Derek Parfit contra a teoria da justiça de Rawls, que diz respeito ao problema da identidade pessoal e como isso pode se relacionar com os princípios distributivos da justiça. Acreditamos, como indicado por Paul Weithman, que tal problema desempenha um papel relevante na guinada política de Rawls – movimento pelo qual designamos as transformações em sua teoria do período de Uma Teoria da Justiça para o da publicação de Political Liberalism. O (...) próprio Weithman já forneceu uma análise acurada de como essa objeção, a qual daqui em diante nos referimos como a objeção do self parfitiano, minou a primeira tentativa de Rawls de mostrar como sua concepção de justiça seria estável. É provável, no entanto, que seja fácil perder o rumo desse debate, que foi de certa forma mediado por Samuel Scheffler. É por isso que fornecemos uma exposição cronológica desse debate na seção 1. Depois disso, na seção 2, reafirmamos o relato de Weithman de como o self parfitiano mina a estabilidade da concepção de justiça de Rawls em Uma Teoria da Justiça. Por fim, na seção 3, examinamos se essa dificuldade é devidamente tratada em Political Liberalism. Assim, sobretudo com este último passo, esperamos que esta abordagem possa acompanhar e complementar as contribuições anteriores de Weithman. (shrink)

Aiming to identify the importance given by teachers to the national curriculum and its contextualisation, this paper presents a study focused on teachers’ most-used curricular practices. The analys...

We will seek to position certain aspects of Pascal’s speculationfrom an epistemological background. We are going to frame them, moreprecisely, within what is called, in Theory of Knowledge, the traditionof Epistemic Foundationalism. The intention here will be to show thegenesis of the first principles, essential for the entire epistemologicalframework in this tradition, and the consequences arising therefrom.For this purpose, we will compare the pascalian developments with thecartesian ones on the subject. We hope, at the end of the article, to havedemonstrated (...) the strength and novelty of the pascalian solution and the moral desideratum to which it can lead us. (shrink)

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) foi um proeminente escritor e um dos maiores intelectuais europeus do movimento positivista do século XIX. Filósofo, sociólogo, biólogo, educador e cientista, fortemente influenciado pela teoria da evolução de Charles Darwin, foi também autor de prolíficas obras filosóficas e educativas, como Os Princípios da Sociologia, A Educação Intelectual, Moral e Física. Do livro intitulado The Philosophy of Style, publicado originalmente na Inglaterra, em 1852, apresenta-se as traduções de seis ensaios filosófico-literários ao português brasileiro, nos quais Spencer discorreu (...) sobre a aplicação da economia às palavras, ao texto literário e traços peculiares da linguagem estética.Palavras-chave: Herbert Spencer. Filosofia. Linguagem. Estilo. (shrink)

Apresentação do Dossiê - "Relações Étnicas, Educação e Cidadania".

A Dirac-like equation for a massive field obeying the classical Proca equations of motion (PMO) is proposed in close analogy with Majorana’s construct for Maxwell electrodynamics. Its underlying algebraic structure is examined and a plausible physical interpretation is discussed. The behavior of the PMO equations in the presence of an external electromagnetic field is also investigated in the low energy limit, via unitary transformations similar to the Foldy-Wouthuysen canonical transformation for a Dirac fermion.

O artigo apresenta os elementos filosóficos constitutivos da crítica, lançada por Jacobi a Fichte em sua Carta a Fichte, segundo a qual “Idealismo é niilismo”. Para tanto, reconstitui a crítica de Jacobi à pretensão idealista de estabelecer um sistema absoluto do conhecimento que, partindo da atividade originária e infinita do pensamento, põe a objetividade do mundo na medida em que o pensa; dá atenção à centralidade do problema do absoluto/de Deus na argumentação de Jacobi e sua relação com as noções (...) de não-filosofia, não-saber e crença, além de apontar para as conexões destas noções com o emergente problema do niilismo na modernidade. Por fim, estabelece um breve contraponto com a filosofia de Nietzsche. (shrink)

O objetivo do artigo é apresentar como Simondon concebe o objeto técnico, a mediação e o ensino refletido da técnica. Num primeiro momento será apresentada a defesa dos objetos técnicos frente a acusação de restrição da experiência humana, da cultura. Num segundo, será apresentada a genealogia do objeto técnico, compreendido enquanto mediação entre o homem e a natureza, para então abordar o tema do ensino refletido da técnica.

La arquitectura digital ha alterado de manera decisiva la sociedad y, en consecuencia, demanda respuestas legales. De la Internet desarrollada en la década de 1970 con fines militares, casi nada permanece igual. La plataforma ha otorgado un poder sin igual a las empresas de tecnología, cambiando la forma en que nos comunicamos, abordamos la política, negociamos y también cómo nos relacionamos. En la economía digital actual, la atención de los usuarios es el principal producto, y estos usuarios también son productores (...) de contenido. En este modelo, se facilita la propagación de información falsa, lo que pone en riesgo la democracia y la ciencia. Para abordar estos fenómenos, es fundamental desarrollar y aplicar mecanismos adecuados de regulación de las plataformas para proteger a la sociedad y la libertad. Este estudio se basa en este contexto para analizar algunas respuestas regulatorias que se están debatiendo en Brasil. (shrink)

The paper focuses in philosophical problems concerning the nature of intentionality and mental representation. The first part presents a historical outline of the problem and reviews some classical/contemporary writings on the question. The second part examines the so-called Chinese Room Argument formulated by J. Searle. The third part presents a few arguments aiming to show the inadequacy of the functionalist model for the design of robots. The conclusion points to some alternatives to the traditional functionalist model such as, for instance, (...) the connectionist model.O artigo aborda problemas filosóficos relativos à natureza da intencionalidade e da representação mental. A primeira parte apresenta um breve histórico dos problemas, percorrendo rapidamente alguns episódios da filosofia clássica e da filosofia contemporânea. A segunda parte examina o Chinese Room Argument formulado por J. Searle. A terceira parte desenvolve alguns argumentos visando mostrar a inadequação do modelo funcionalista de mente na construção de robots. A conclusão aponta algumas alternativas ao modelo funcionalista tradicional, como, por exemplo, o conexionismo. (shrink)

Review: Rabossi, E. (org). 2004. La Mente y sus Problemas – Temas actuales de filosofia de la psicología. Buenos Aires: Catálogos S. R. L.

A growing body of research suggests that children with autism spectrum disorder are at risk of reading and learning difficulties. However, there is mixed evidence on their weaknesses in different reading components, and little is known about how reading skills characterize in ASD. Thereby, the current study aimed to systematically review the research investigating this function in children with ASD. To this purpose, we reviewed 24 studies that compared children with ASD and children with typical development in word and nonword (...) reading performance, children with ASD and normative data of word and nonword reading tests, and the results obtained by children with ASD in word and nonword reading tests. Most of the comparisons contrasting the reading performance of children with ASD and children with TD did not find significant differences between groups in both word and nonword reading. However, all the comparisons that reported standardized results showed that children with ASD had scores that fell within population norms. Regarding the third comparison of interest, about 54% of the studies presented data for both word and nonword reading, but only one study tested the difference between them and showed that children with ASD had higher levels of word than of nonword reading. Despite these results, the heterogeneous and small samples do not allow to draw sound conclusions regarding the strategies that children with ASD use to read words. As consequence, the nature of reading difficulties presented by children with ASD are still unknown, requiring future research conducted with larger and well-characterized samples of ASD and TD, using homogeneous specific tasks designed to assess word reading strategies. (shrink)

A recent logical anti-exceptionalist trend proposes that logical theories are revisable in the same manner as scientific theories, either on grounds of the method of theory selection or on what counts as evidence for this revision. Given this approximation of logic and science, the present essay analyzes the commitments of both these varieties and argues that, as it currently stands, this kind of anti-exceptionalism is committed to scientific realism, that is, to realism about some unobservable entities evoked in logical theories. (...) The essay argues that anti-exceptionalism cannot be separated into metaphysical and epistemological varieties, and proposed rather to label anti-exceptionalists views either broadly in terms of theory revision, or narrowly in terms of logic’s affinity with science. (shrink)

Esta reflexão pretende mostrar o discurso racional cartesiano na segunda prova da existência de Deus. Para tanto, Descartes se depara com uma pergunta central: qual a causa da existência da res cogitans que é finita e possui a ideia de infinito? A resposta é encontrada na desproporcionalidade ontológica entre o finito e o infinito. Essa desproporcionalidade é elucidada mediante dois conceitos: o princípio de causalidade que determina que a causa deve ser igual ou superior a coisa causada e o princípio (...) de criação contínua em que a causa que criou o ser não é menor do que aquela que o conserva em sua existência. As objeções destacadas no texto contra os argumentos cartesianos foram escolhas deliberadas que servem para elucidar a importância da racionalidade como fundamento para a prova da existência de Deus. A relação entre o entendimento e a liberdade, apresentada no texto sucintamente, justifica a impossibilidade da res cogitans ser causa de si mesma. Palavras-chave: Infinito; finito; causalidade; criação contínuaThis essay aims to show the rational Cartesian discourse on the second proof of God’s existence. In order to do so, Descartes faces a core question: which is the cause for the existence of the res cogitans that is finite in front of the idea of the infinite? The answer is found in the ontological disproportionality between the finite and the infinite. This disproportionality is elucidated through a couple crucial concepts: the principle of causality, which determines that the cause must be equal or superior to the caused thing and the principle of continuous creation, in which the cause that created the being is not inferior than the one that preserves its existence. The objections highlighted in the text against the Cartesian arguments were deliberated choices, to elucidate the relevance of rationality as the foundation for the proof of God’s existence. The relation between the understanding and the liberty, showed on the text even if succinctly, justifies the impossibility of the res cogitans to be the cause of itself. Key words: Infinite; finite; causality; creation continuous. (shrink)

Introduction: More than half a century after the introduction of effective pharmacotherapy for the illness, in most patients schizophrenia remains a chronic, relapsing condition with poor long-term outcomes. Methods: We examine the pharmacological treatment of schizophrenia from different perspectives to understand why there have not been significant advances, and to consider what the future might hold in store. Results: We argue that the treatment of schizophrenia addresses the phenotype and not the cause; that the causes may not be treatable even (...) if identifiable; that secondary prevention approaches involving treating the phenotype before full-fledged illness develops have, so far, not yielded promising results; and that shifting the focus of treatment from dopamine to other neurotransmitter systems is merely a tertiary prevention approach which will not reverse the extensive structural and functional pathology of schizophrenia. Conclusions: We believe that, given the current state of our knowledge of the illness, the future of the pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia looks bleak. (shrink)

Na história educacional, em particular nos PCNS (1997), a ética adquire o status de tema transversal para uma educação básica de qualidade, quando são inseridos os conceitos de justiça, dialogo, afetos e emoções, reciprocidade, diálogo e racionalidade enquanto conteúdos comuns para as práticas pedagógicas e para os conhecimentos específicos das disciplinas. Na BNCC, a referência exata a esse conceito se faz nas competências gerais 6, 7, 9 e 10, como também, na menção do termo formação que está presente na introdução (...) dos tópicos que propõe bases para o pensar educativo das ciências humanas e sociais. Desta forma, a intenção é propor, pela filosofia de Jürgen Habermas, uma nova abordagem conceitual sobre ética presente na BNCC. A pesquisa se constitui por uma análise bibliográfica e interpretativa da Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC), das obras de Jürgen Habermas e de artigos referentes à educação e agir comunicativo. Logo, no campo educacional, o conceito de ética, na BNCC, pode ter uma estruturação com indicações racionais e comunicativas, conteúdos possibilitados pelo filosofar brasileiro, e mobilização de conhecimentos a partir de princípios e lógicas de ordem geográfica e simbólica. Esta ordem tem como base procedimentos, conceitos e entendimentos intersubjetivos, dimensões que são conduzidas através de aprendizagens construídas pelo discurso, tanto em sua forma multidimensional como concordante entre os atores sociais. (shrink)

This work relates L. S. Vygotsky’s theory to the rhetorical and poetic pedagogy, which is a set of educational ideas and practices derived from the philosophical-educational tradition initiated by the Sophists. It is verified that the Vygotskyan concepts contribute to broaden the foundations of poetic and rhetorical pedagogy, presenting a psychology of language that integrates decorum, kairos and antilogical argumentation within aesthetic experiences; communication sustains knowledge and reflection of reality, aiming at the strengthening of the individual’s identity, the education of (...) the creative subject and the improvement of the collective. It is considered that the rhetorical and poetic character of Vygotsky’s theory encourages the contemporary school to be a space for investigation and search for creative solutions, contradicting the measurementist pedagogical tendencies that dehumanize education. (shrink)