Two theories of implicit domain restriction have gained considerable prominence over the last two decades. According to von Fintel (Restrictions on quantifier domaines, Ph.D. thesis, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1994), quantifiers come with covert restrictors and, as a result of this, induce domain restriction; according to Stanley [in Gerhard and Peter (eds) Logical form and language, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2002; Stanley and Szabó (Mind Lang 15(2–3):2192–2161, 2000)], by contrast, nouns, as opposed to quantifiers, come with covert restrictors. In this (...) article, I do three things. First, I assess the arguments that have been given for and against these two accounts and show that none of them is conclusive. Second, I advance a novel empirical argument based on the observed pragmatic behaviour of bare nouns, an argument that falsifies Stanley’s theory while providing clear evidence in support of von Fintel’s (1994). Finally, I discuss the relevance of the bare noun data in the context of another important debate—namely, whether domain restriction is a local mechanism only, or whether it can also be achieved by global means. (shrink)

Skepticism: From Antiquity to the Present is an authoritative and up-to-date survey of the entire history of skepticism. Divided chronologically into ancient, medieval, renaissance, modern, and contemporary periods, and featuring 50 specially-commissioned chapters from leading philosophers, this comprehensive volume is the first of its kind.

Desde hace varias décadas, los estudiosos debaten si la conceptualización aristotélica de la amistad se enmarca en concepciones éticas egoístas o altruistas. Aunque el Estagirita sostiene que los virtuosos aman y desean el bien de su amigo “por el amigo mismo” y que son capaces de actos altruistas como sacrificarse por el prójimo, también realiza afirmaciones consistentes con el egoísmo, a saber, que las relaciones amistosas y las marcas de la amistad se originan y se encuentran eminentemente en la relación (...) que el hombre bueno mantiene consigo mismo, que el amor hacia los amigos procede del amor por uno mismo, que cada uno es el mejor amigo de sí mismo, y que debemos amarnos, ante todo, a nosotros mismos. En este trabajo, me propongo analizar los pasajes que han suscitado la polémica en cuestión (IX. 4 y 8) focalizando en la función argumentativa que desempeña la premisa del amigo en tanto “otro sí mismo”. Puesto que tanto las lecturas altruistas como egoístas presuponen esta premisa, es imprescindible realizar un examen de las interpretaciones más relevantes del amigo en tanto “otro yo”. En suma, ya sea que se defienda una concepción egoísta o altruista de la amistad virtuosa, el eje del debate pasa por esclarecer la conceptualización aristotélica del amigo en tanto “otro sí mismo” y el papel desempeñado por los amigos en la _eudaimonía_. Aquí sostengo una lectura “analógica” del amigo en tanto “otro sí mismo”, de acuerdo con la cual el amor por el amigo es análogo e irreductible al amor propio, lo cual es compatible con reconocer que la amistad tiene por condición de posibilidad el amor de sí mismo. (shrink)

In his account of Pyrrhonism, Sextus Empiricus talks about the disturbance concerning matters of opinion that afflicts his dogmatic rivals and that he himself was afflicted by before his conversion to Pyrrhonism. The aim of the present paper is to identify the distinct sources of doxastic disturbance that can be found in that account, and to determine whether and, if so, how they are related. The thesis to be defended is that it is possible to discern three sources of doxastic (...) disturbance and that two of them are to be explained by reference to the third, which is the real cause of mental distress. The paper also considers whether the thesis in question entails that there is no reason for the Pyrrhonist to suspend judgment across the board, but only to suspend judgment about evaluative matters. (shrink)

My purpose in this article is to revisit an issue concerning the state of undisturbedness or tranquility (ἀταραξία) in ancient Pyrrhonism as this skeptical stance is depicted in Sextus Empiricus’s extant works. The issue in question is whether both the pursuit and the attainment of undisturbedness in matters of opinion should be regarded as defining features of Pyrrhonism not merely from a systematic standpoint that examines Pyrrhonism as a kind of philosophy, but mainly according to Sextus’s own account of that (...) skeptical stance. In exploring this issue, I will develop an interpretation defended in previous work, responding to some objections, discussing alternative interpretations, offering further textual support, and putting forward new arguments. It is my contention that examining whether both the pursuit and the attainment of undisturbedness in matters of opinion are essential to Pyrrhonism will make it possible to gain a more accurate understanding of this brand of skepticism. (shrink)

The purpose of the present paper is twofold. First, to examine what beliefs, if any, underlie (a) the Pyrrhonist’s desire for ataraxia and his account of how this state may be attained, and (b) his philanthropic therapy, which seeks to induce, by argument, ejpochv and ataraxia in the Dogmatists. Second, to determine whether the Pyrrhonist’s philanthropy and his search for and attainment of ataraxia are, as scholars have generally believed, essential aspects of his stance.

In his Pyrrhonian Outlines , Sextus Empiricus employs an argument based upon the possibility of disagreement in order to show that one should not assent to a Dogmatic claim to which at present one cannot oppose a rival claim. The use of this argument seems to be at variance with the Pyrrhonian stance, both because it does not seem to accord with the definition of Skepticism and because the argument appears to entail that the search for truth is doomed to (...) failure. In the present paper, I examine the passages in which Sextus utilizes the argument from possible disagreement and offer an interpretation that makes the use of this argument compatible with the Pyrrhonian outlook. (shrink)

We give a short proof of the fundamental theorem of central element theory. The original proof is constructive and very involved and relies strongly on the fact that the class be a variety. Here we give a more direct nonconstructive proof which applies for the more general case of a first-order class which is both closed under the formation of direct products and direct factors.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: to discuss some challenging issues concerning Sextus’ works and outlook, and to offer an overview of the influence exerted by Sextan Pyrrhonism on both early modern and contemporary philosophy.

The Pyrrhonian skeptic’s stance, as described by Sextus Empiricus, is in good part defined by his suspending judgment or belief about all the matters he has so far investigated. Most interpreters of Pyrrhonism maintain that it is a mistake to understand this form of skepticism in terms of doubt because suspension as conceived of by the Pyrrhonist is markedly different from the state of doubt. In this article, I expound the reasons that have been offered in support of that prevailing (...) view and assess their strength. (shrink)

It is generally thought that suspension of judgment about a proposition p is the doxastic attitude one is rationally compelled to adopt whenever the epistemic reasons for and against p are equipollent or equally credible, that is, whenever the total body of available evidence bearing on p epistemically justifies neither belief nor disbelief in p. However, in a recent contribution to this journal, Jan Wieland proposes “to broaden the conditions for suspension, and argue that it is rational to suspend belief (...) on a certain issue even if one’s current evidence is not neutral (or even close to neutral)”. My aim in this paper is to point to a number of problems in Wieland’s position, some of which in connection with the account of Pyrrhonian skepticism found in the extant works of Sextus Empiricus. (shrink)

Microbes can influence host physiology and behavior in many ways. Here we review evidence suggesting that some microbes can contribute to host stress (and other microbes can contribute to increased resilience to stress). We explain how certain microbes, which we call “stress microbes,” can potentially benefit evolutionarily from inducing stress in a host, gaining access to host resources that can help fuel rapid microbial replication by increasing glucose levels in the blood, increasing intestinal permeability, and suppressing the immune system. Other (...) microbes, which we term “resilience microbes,” can potentially benefit from making hosts more resilient to stress. We hypothesize that “stress microbes” use a fast life history strategy involving greater host exploitation while “resilience microbes” use a slow life history strategy characterized by more aligned evolutionary interests with the host. In this paper, we review the evidence that microbes affect host stress and explain the evolutionary pressures that could lead microbes to manipulate host stress, discuss the physiological mechanisms that are known to be involved in both stress and microbial activity, and provide some testable predictions that follow from this hypothesis. (shrink)

En el siguiente artículo se expondrán algunos apartados específicos de la obra Los principios de la ciencia de Eduardo Nicol y cómo tal texto tuvo una repercusión destacable dentro del pensamiento latinoamericano de la década de los sesenta. El planteamiento aquí expuesto gira en torno a la influencia de Nicol que se desprende del momento en que nuestro autor viaja y publica extensivamente por diversos países en América Latina, ejemplos de ello serían sus cursos en la Universidad de La Habana (...) en 1955 o su visita a Colombia a principios de los 60. Momento en que sus publicaciones estimuladas por la editorial Fondo de Cultura Económica le llevaron a ser estudiado en diferentes facultades de manera interdisciplinaria. A partir de esto, sin la pretensión de abarcar las ramificaciones que puede llegar a tener el pensamiento de Nicol en América Latina, nos centraremos en un caso específico, la presencia de su obra en el libro ¿Extensión o comunicación? del pensador Paulo Freire. (shrink)

Several scholars familiar with Sextus Empiricus’s Pyrrhonism who have attentively read his Against the Ethicists have gotten the impression that something strange is going on in this book. For, at variance with the ‘official’ Pyrrhonian attitude of universal suspension of judgment, a number of passages of Against the Ethicists seem to ascribe to the Pyrrhonist both a type of negative dogmatism and a form of realism, which together amount to what may be called ‘moderate ethical realism’. The purpose of this (...) paper is to determine whether Sextus does embrace such a position in Against the Ethicists. (shrink)

This paper presents philosophical perspectives related to the concept of boredom from the point of view of its forms and structural modes as developed by Martin Heidegger in his lectures at the University of Freiburg during the winter semesters of 1929 and 1930. We highlight a philosophical stance often overlooked in comparison to more traditional positions in Western philosophical thought—through the proposed hermeneutic-phenomenological processes, this will allow us to interweave their philosophical images with cinematographic narratives that enrich the factual understanding (...) of modernity. For this reason, we assume boredom and its essence, “tediousness”, as the fundamental mood of our era, thus permitting other mobilities of thought that warrant a study of phenomena relating to cultural entertainment as a symptom of the modern disease that distances Dasein from meeting, questioning, and self-care. (shrink)

Este artigo traduz a discussão que vem sendo construída sobre a indumentária étnica, especificamente de matriz afro-brasileira. Para tal narrativa, a temática envereda-se em apresentar alguns artefatos pertencentes à Coleção Perseverança: faixa, peitoral, coroa capacete, pulseiras e bolsas. Esta pesquisa seleciona, dentre as 215 peças da coleção, os adornos utilizados nos terreiros de Xangôs do estado de Alagoas. É importante entendermos que os artefatos selecionados representam a memória do “Quebra do Xangô”, em 1912, ato conhecido como a invasão e destruição (...) de todos os terreiros nas cidades alagoanas, principalmente a capital Maceió. A Perseverança nasce nesse contexto, representando, além do fato que lhe deu origem, a cultura africana presente no estado. Portanto, a descrição, a seguir, traz o diálogo entre a memória, a representação e plasticidade. Palavras-chave: indumentária, coleção, memória, plasticidade. (shrink)

Al cumplirse los 50 años de la publicación de la Populorum Progressio este artículo presenta los orígenes y la evolución del concepto del desarrollo y de la reflexión en torno a las políticas de desarrollo. A continuación, se hace un breve recorrido del Magisterio pontificio sobre la cuestión, desde la Populorum Progressio a la Laudato Si’. Sintetizando lo aprendido en ambos recorridos, el artículo concluye presentando las exigencias y los desafíos con los que se enfrenta el discípulo misionero a propósito (...) del desarrollo. (shrink)

In this essay, I consider an evolutionary debunking argument (EDA) that purports to undermine the epistemic justification of the belief in the reliability of our belief-forming processes, and an evolutionary vindicating argument (EVA) that seeks to establish that such a belief is epistemically justified. Whereas the EDA in question seems to fall prey to crippling self-defeat, the EVA under consideration seems to fall prey to vicious circularity. My interest in those arguments and the problems they face lies in what they (...) might tell us about the possibly aporetic nature of reason. For, if we take the EDA and the EVA in question to consist of true or plausible premises and valid inferences at which we arrive through a meticulous use of reason, then their falling victim to either crippling self-defeat or vicious circularity might be regarded as a sign that, when we push rational reflection on the reliability, or lack thereof, of our belief-forming capacities to the limit, we end up in a situation of aporia from which there seems to be no escape. (shrink)

Julia Annas has affirmed that the kind of modern moral skepticism which denies the existence of objective moral values rests upon a contrast between morality and some other system of beliefs about the world which is not called into doubt. Richard Bett, on the other hand, has argued that the existence of such a contrast is not a necessary condition for espousing that kind of moral skepticism. My purpose in this paper is to show that Bett fails to make a (...) good case against Annas’ thesis. To accomplish this, it will be helpful to consider the Pyrrhonean attitude towards morality as expounded in Sextus Empiricus’ work. (shrink)

Suicidal men feel the need to be self-reliant and that they cannot find another way out of relationship or socioeconomic issues. Suicide prevention is of crucial importance worldwide. The much higher rate of suicide in men engenders action. The prelude is a subjective experience that can be very isolating and severely distressing. Men may not realize a change in their thinking and behaviors, which makes it more difficult to seek and get help, thereby interrupting a “downward spiral”. Stoicism often prevents (...) men from admitting to their personal struggle. The lack of “quality” connections and “non-tailored” therapies has led to a high number of men “walking out” on traditional clinical approaches. But there are complicated relationships in motivations and formative behaviors of suicide with regards to emotional state, psychiatric disorders, interpersonal life events and suicidal behavior method selection. Middle-aged and older men have alternated as the most at-risk of suicide. There is no one solution that applies to all men, but digital tools may be of assistance. Digital interventions require higher levels of effectiveness for distress and suicidality but self-guided approaches may be the most suitable for men especially where linked with an integrated online suicide prevention platform. Furthermore, technology-enabled models of care offer promise to advance appropriate linking to mental health services through better and faster understanding of the specific needs of individuals and the type and level of suicidality experienced. Long-term evidence for suicidality and its evaluation may benefit from progressing human computer-interaction and providing impetus for an eminent integrated digital platform. (shrink)

Este trabajo tiene por objeto demostrar la importancia de la Ética en las Constituciones políticas y Tratados internacionales desde la teoría de la virtud aristotélica. Dicho objeto es imprescindible debido al aumento de la frivolidad, decadencia institucional y corrupción política en diversos gobiernos y administraciones públicas contemporáneas.

En este artículo tratamos sobre los aspectos empíricos y conceptuales en la Genética Mendeliana y analizamos los vínculos entre ellos. Primero discutimos las ventajas de una representación gráfica de las teorías empíricas; luego pormenorizamos la estructura conceptual de la genética; en seguida, esquematizamos su protocolo experimental, a continuación destacamos los engarces entre ambas representaciones y, por último, proporcionamos una caracterización holista de la práctica genética, donde el representar y el intervenir se encuentran entremezclados.In this article we deal with the conceptual (...) and empirical features of Mendelian Genetics, and analyze the links between them. First we discuss the advantages of portraying empirical theories as graphical representations. We then give a detailed account of the conceptual structure underlying Mendelian Genetics, followed by a schematization of the experimental protocol involved in this line of research. Links between both representations are highlighted. Finally, we provide a holistic characterization of Mendelian practice, where representing and intervening are intertwined. (shrink)

En este trabajo sostengo que el alterum non laedere es el principio rector de la responsabilidad civil, y sin él muchas de las características de nuestros sistemas de derecho de daños se tornan ininteligibles. Una vez que se aprecia el rol que cumple el alterum non laedere en el razonamiento jurídico puede comprenderse que la práctica de la responsabilidad civil está articulada sobre la evitación de daños y solo subsidiariamente sobre la reparación. Esta tesis, además, tiene importantes consecuencias dogmáticas.

El presente artículo pretende evaluar las consecuencias de la tesis de la cognición extendida para la antropología filosófica. Dicha interrogación se enmarca en lo que denominamos el “giro tecnológico” en las ciencias sociales y humanas, un fenómeno relativamente reciente que produce una reorientación en clave posthumanista de la pregunta antropológica. De acuerdo con este giro, la tecnología adquiere una importancia central para la comprensión de lo humano, tanto en su dimensión ontológica como en su presente condición histórica. A su vez (...) este giro tecnológico tiende a rechazar la idea misma de una naturaleza humana ahistórica e inviolable, y postula en su lugar a la figura del “humano distribuido”, íntimamente constituido por su relación con los artefactos y la cultura material. En este contexto, el principal objetivo de este trabajo es rastrear la evolución de la tesis de la cognición extendida a lo largo de cuatro “olas” que marcan su despliegue con el objeto de ofrecer una cierta reinterpretación de esta tesis en el ámbito de la pregunta antropológica. (shrink)

British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Volume 19, Issue 3, Page 573-579, May 2011.

Recently, we have presented data supporting the notion that PIKfyve not only produces the majority of constitutive phosphatidylinositol 5‐phosphate (PtdIns5P) in mammalian cells but that it does so through direct synthesis from PtdIns. Another group, albeit obtaining similar data, suggests an alternative pathway whereby the low‐abundance PtdIns(3,5)P2 undergoes hydrolysis by unidentified 3‐phosphatases, thereby serving as a precursor for most of PtdIns5P. Here, we review the experimental evidence supporting constitutive synthesis of PtdIns5P from PtdIns by PIKfyve. We further emphasize that the (...) experiments presented in support of the alternative pathway are also compatible with a direct mechanism for PIKfyve‐catalyzed synthesis of PtdIns5P. While agreeing with the authors that constitutive PtdIns5P could theoretically be produced from PtdIns(3,5)P2 by 3‐dephosphorylation, we argue that until direct evidence for such an alternative pathway is obtained, we should adhere to the existing experimental evidence and quantitative considerations, which favor direct PIKfyve‐catalyzed synthesis for most constitutive PtdIns5P. (shrink)