À travers l'analyse d'exemples ethnographiques, la question posée fut de savoir si la séduction a besoin d'un rituel pour se réaliser. Défini comme des modèles de conduite, le rituel engendre une codification et une répétitivité des comportements des acteurs sociaux. Le rituel comporte une transmission d'informations codifiées selon des normes, qui s'applique à la séduction. La séduction se construit sur une invention de l'individu par lui-même, dans l'image qu'il choisit d'endosser afin de susciter un lien avec l'autre sexe. Mode spécifique (...) de communication, la séduction s'élabore sur un acte de parole et une attitude gestuelle prise dans le sens d'un positionnement particulier du corps. Pour créer une mise en scène de soi, l'individu se sert durant l'interaction sociale d'attitudes rituelles et de représentations normatives. Elle a besoin du rituel pour pouvoir être performative et déchiffrée par le récepteur; sans le rituel, elle serait incompréhensible ou mal interprétée par le destinataire du message. Dans la séduction, on peut conclure que le rituel mis en oeuvre relève à la fois de l'auto-séduction, de la théâtralisation et de la mimesis.Through the analysis of ethnographic examples, the question was whether the seduction needed to perform a ritual. Defined as behavior patterns, ritual creates a codification and repetitive behaviors of social actors. The ritual involves the transmission of information coded according to standards which apply to seduction. Seduction is built on an invention by the individual himself in the image he chooses to endorse in order to create a link with the other sex. Specific mode of communication, seduction is developed on an act of speech and gestural attitude taken in the sense of a particular position of the body. To create a staging itself, the individual uses during social interaction ritual attitudes and normative representations. She needs to be performative ritual and decrypted by the receiver without the ritual, it would be incomprehensible or misinterpreted by the recipient. In seduction, we can conclude that the ritual is implemented both self-seduction, and theatrical mimesis. (shrink)

Empirical and experiential investigations allow the distinction between observational and non-observational forms of subjective bodily experiences. From a first-person perspective, the biological body can be (1) an "opaque body" taken as an intentional object of observational consciousness, (2) a "performative body" pre-reflectively experienced as a subject/agent, (3) a "transparent body" pre-reflectively experienced as the bodily mode of givenness of objects in the external world, or (4) an "invisible body" absent from experience. It is proposed that pre-reflective bodily experiences rely on (...) sensori-motor integrative mechanisms that process information on the external world in a self relative way. These processes are identification-free in that the self is not identified as an object of observation. Moreover, it is defended that observational self-consciousness must be grounded on such identification-free processes and pre-reflective forms of bodily experience. (shrink)

Fitness is a central but notoriously vexing concept in evolutionary biology. The propensity interpretation of fitness is often regarded as the least problematic account for fitness. It ties an individual's fitness to a probabilistic capacity to produce offspring. Fitness has a clear causal role in evolutionary dynamics under this account. Nevertheless, the propensity interpretation faces its share of problems. We discuss three of these. We first show that a single scalar value is an incomplete summary of a propensity. Second, we (...) argue that the widespread method of “abstracting away” environmental idiosyncrasies by averaging over reproductive output in different environments is not a valid approach when environmental changes are irreversible. Third, we point out that expanding the range of applicability for fitness measures by averaging over more environments or longer time scales (so as to ensure environmental reversibility) reduces one's ability to distinguish selectively relevant differences among individuals because of mutation and eco‐evolutionary feedbacks. This series of problems leads us to conclude that a general value of fitness that is both explanatory and predictive cannot be attained. We advocate for the use of propensity‐compatible methods, such as adaptive dynamics, which can accommodate these difficulties. (shrink)

Linguistic category learning has been shown to be highly sensitive to linear order, and depending on the task, differentially sensitive to the information provided by preceding category markers (premarkers, e.g., gendered articles) or succeeding category markers (postmarkers, e.g., gendered suffixes). Given that numerous systems for marking grammatical categories exist in natural languages, it follows that a better understanding of these findings can shed light on the factors underlying this diversity. In two discriminative learning simulations and an artificial language learning experiment, (...) we identify two factors that modulate linear order effects in linguistic category learning: category structure and the level of abstraction in a category hierarchy. Regarding category structure, we find that postmarking brings an advantage for learning category diagnostic stimulus dimensions, an effect not present when categories are non‐confusable. Regarding levels of abstraction, we find that premarking of super‐ordinate categories (e.g., noun class) facilitates learning of subordinate categories (e.g., nouns). We present detailed simulations using a plausible candidate mechanism for the observed effects, along with a comprehensive analysis of linear order effects within an expectation‐based account of learning. Our findings indicate that linguistic category learning is differentially guided by pre‐ and postmarking, and that the influence of each is modulated by the specific characteristics of a given category system. (shrink)

In the first part of this paper I characterize a minimal form of self-consciousness, namely pre-reflective self-consciousness. It is a constant structural feature of conscious experience, and corresponds to the consciousness of the self-as-subject that is not taken as an intentional object. In the second part, I argue that contemporary cognitive neuroscience has by and large missed this fundamental form of self-consciousness in its investigation of various forms of self-experience. In the third part, I exemplify how the notion of pre-reflective (...) self-awareness can be of relevance for empirical research. In particular, I propose to interpret processes of sensorimotor integration in light of the phenomenological approach that allows the definition of pre-reflective self-consciousness. (shrink)

This paper is about one of the puzzles of bodily self-consciousness: can an experience be both and at the same time an experience of one′s physicality and of one′s subjectivity ? We will answer this question positively by determining a form of experience where the body′s physicality is experienced in a non-reifying manner. We will consider a form of experience of oneself as bodily which is different from both “prenoetic embodiment” and “pre-reflective bodily consciousness” and rather corresponds to a form (...) of reflective access to subjectivity at the bodily level. In particular, we argue that subjectivity is bodily expressed, thereby allowing the experience of the body′s subjectivity directly during perceptual experiences of the body. We use an interweaving of phenomenological explorations and ethnographical methods which allows validating this proposal by considering the experience of body experts (dancers). (shrink)

A bodily self is characterized by pre-reflective bodily self-consciousness that is.

This article examines the multi-dimensions of bodily self-consciousness. It explains the distinction between the self-as-subject and the self-as-object and argues that each act of consciousness is adequately characterized by two modes of givenness. These are the intentional mode of givenness by which the subject is conscious of intentional objects and the subjective mode by which the subject is conscious of intentional objects as experienced by him. It clarifies the relationship of these modes of givenness to the transitivity and non-transitivity of (...) self-consciousness. (shrink)

Different points of Metzinger's position makes it a peculiar form of representationalism: (1) his distinction between intentional and phenomenal content, in relation to the internalism/externalism divide; (2) the notion of transparency defined at a phenomenal and not epistemic level, together with (3) the felt inwardness of experience. The distinction between reflexive and pre-reflexive phenomenal internality will allow me to reconsider Metzinger's theory of the self and to propose an alternative conception that I will describe both at an epistemic and a (...) phenomenal level. (shrink)

Genomic and neuro-scientific research into the causes and course of antisocial behaviour triggers bioethical debate. Often, these new developments are met with reservation, and possible drawbacks and negative side-effects are pointed out. This article reflects on these scientific developments and the bioethical debate by means of an exploration of the perspectives of one important stakeholder group: juveniles convicted of a serious crime who stay in a juvenile justice institution. The views of juveniles are particularly interesting, as possible applications of current (...) and future scientific findings are considered to be most effective if applied early in life. Based on their statements we come to the following provisional conclusions. Concerns about labelling and stigmatization are recognized and widely shared. Possible effects on one's identity are acknowledged too. Yet, a possible biological underpinning of one's antisocial behaviour is not considered to result in the development of a criminal identity. Nonetheless, psychopharmacological interventions are experienced as endangering one's current self. Concerns regarding the refusal of responsibility and the blaming of one's genes or brain can be put into perspective. Instead, participants emphasize the motive of own choice as underlying their criminal behaviour. Moreover, bioethical debate should pay attention to the role of parents of children at risk and the parent-child relationship in families at-risk. We argue that the short-term and long-term interests of children at risk, as well as their interests and those of society at large, may conflict. In order to deal appropriately with newly arising dilemmas, a normative framework needs to be developed. (shrink)

We discuss the justification of Bickle's “ruthless” reductionism. Bickle intends to show that we know enough about neurons to draw conclusions about the “whole” brain and about the mind. However, his reductionism does not take into account the complexity of the nervous system and the fact that new properties emerge at each significant level of integration from the coupled functioning of elementary components. From a methodological point of view, we argue that neuronal and cognitive models have to exert a mutual (...) constraint(MC) on each other. This approach would refuse to award any priority of cognitive approaches over neuroscience, and reciprocally, to refuse any priority of neuroscience over cognitive approaches. MC thus argues against radicalreductionism at the methodological level. (shrink)

Philosophical considerations as well as several recent studies from neurophysiology, neuropsychology, and psychophysics converged in showing that the peripersonal space is structured in a body-centred manner and represented through integrated sensory inputs. Multisensory representations may deserve the function of coding peripersonal space for avoiding or interacting with objects. Neuropsychological evidence is reviewed for dynamic interactions between space representations and action execution, as revealed by the behavioural effects that the use of a tool, as a physical extension of the reachable space, (...) produces on visual–tactile extinction. In particular, tool-use transiently modifies action space representation in a functionally effective way. The possibility is discussed that the investigation of multisensory space representations for action provides an empirical way to consider in its specificity pre-reflexive self-consciousness by considering the intertwining of self-relatedness and object-directness of spatial experience shaped by multisensory and sensorimotor integrations. (shrink)

Youth antisocial behaviour is frequently considered to be displayed by children and adolescents who suffer from behavioural disorders. Consequently, attempts to reduce ASB have increasingly comprised mental health interventions. Moreover, early signalling of children at risk and early prevention of behavioural problems are regarded as crucial remedies. Critical investigations of these developments, however, are in particular concerned with the consequent medicalization of society and the behaviour exhibited by infants, children and adolescents. Consequently, the new Dutch youth law even refers to (...) demedicalization as a central aim. From an ethical point of view, this article critically discusses the meaning and relevance of the medicalization reproach in the context of ASB. The aim is to show that the term medicalization can reasonably be attached to three different developments: the biomedical turn, an increase in youth mental health care and early signalling and prevention. The ethical implications of these developments, however, are diverse, referring to both risks and benefits. By itself, neither the term medicalization nor demedicalization carries a self-evident normative meaning. Therefore, a careful ethical analysis is needed to reveal which social developments are actually recommendable or disadvantageous. (shrink)

Innovative organizing strategies in the labor movement are being driven by the realization that labor law is of virtually no help in helping workers exercise their rights. Unions are increasingly designing strategies that go beyond traditional workplace tactics and draw on a wide range of social actors and relationships in an effort to find and harness new leverage sources. Service Employees International Union Local 1199 Florida provides one such example. 1199 Florida has a multilayered, multifaceted organizing strategy that attempts to (...) surmount the obstacles of employer resistance and weak labor laws by mobilizing a range of allies and engaging political and regulatory actors. (shrink)

Mit From Value to Rightness liefert Vuko Andrić einen innovativen, scharfsinnigen und erfreulich klaren Beitrag zur Frage nach der Perspektivabhängigkeit moralischer Pflichten im Allgemeinen und dem angemessenen Verständnis des Konsequentialismus im Besonderen. Andrićs ideenreiches Buch geht der zentralen Frage, ob und in welchem Sinne konsequentialistische Theorien handlungsleitend sein sollten, dabei entlang dreier Argumentationsstränge nach. In diesem Kommentar konzentrieren wir uns auf den zweiten Argumentationsstrang, der die Vereinbarkeit von objektivem und subjektivem Konsequentialismus mit “ Sollen impliziert Können " behandelt. Wir möchten (...) einerseits auf Schwachstellen an Andrićs Kritik am objektiven Konsequentialismus und andererseits auf Probleme, die sich aus Andrićs Evidenzbegriff ergeben, hinweisen. (shrink)

?After the fall of the wall, the East German center of PEN, the worldwide association of writers, came under criticism. Its members were accused of collaboration with the dictatorial state power and of having failed as intellectuals. The book starts with considerations about the discourse on intellectuals and writers. On the basis of comprehensive source studies, it gives an overview of fifty years of East German PEN history, from the beginning of the German PEN and from its division as a (...) result of the Cold War to the reunification of the two German centers. (shrink)

Dans L’Homme faillible, Ricœur découvre, au cœur de l’homme, une faille. À cause d’elle, l’homme est fragile: il est fragile médiation de lui-même et du monde, médiation à faire et à refaire, au risque permanent de se défaire. C’est ainsi que l’homme fragile est aussi faillible. Dans Soi-même comme un autre, Ricœur revient sur cette faille qui passe au cœur de soi, entre l’idem et l’ipse, livrant accès à l’alter. Cette image, la faille, guide Ricœur dans chacun de ces deux (...) textes: elle nous donne accès à leur continuité mais aussi à l’écart qui les sépare. D’autre part, si cette image a inspiré l’œuvre de Ricœur, elle donne aussi de la critiquer: relisant la Symbolique du mal, nous mettrons en lumière une dimension de l’homme peu explorée par Ricœur et que notre actualité nous pousse à retrouver: le corps et le geste. (shrink)

Reproductive division of labor has been proposed to play a key role for evolutionary transitions in individuality (ETIs). This chapter provides a guide to a theoretical model that addresses the role of a tradeoff between life-history traits in selecting for a reproductive division of labor during the transition from unicellular to multicellular organisms. In particular, it focuses on the five key assumptions of the model, namely (1) fitness is viability times fecundity; (2) collective traits are linear functions of their cellular (...) counterparts; (3) there is a tradeoff between cell viability and fecundity; (4) cell contribution to the collective is optimal; and (5) there is an initial reproductive cost in large collectives. Thereafter the chapter contrasts two interpretations of the model in the context of ETIs. Originally, the model was interpreted as showing that during the transition to multicellularity the fitness of the lower-level (the cells) is “transferred” to the higher level (the collective). Despite its apparent intuitiveness, fitness transfer may obscure actual mechanisms in metaphorical language. Thus, an alternative and more conservative interpretation of the model that focuses on cell traits and the evolutionary constraints that link them is advocated. In addition, it allows for pursuing subsequent questions, such as the evolution of development. (shrink)

Over the last few years, the amount of space occupied by bees in the French public debate together with the well-known benefits of the products of their hive has attracted the interest of social scientists. Indeed, bees have become a symbol of the biodiversity crisis. Social scientists, like us, are sometimes invited to join multidisciplinary projects run by biologists specializing in bees. The aim of such involvement is to help the biologists to convince professional beekeepers to make their practices greener, (...) notably with respect to their handling of the Varroa mite. However, the beekeepers we studied in the south of France are not keen to give up their conventional practices. Based on chemical products, these are efficient, simple, and cheap as opposed to environmentally friendly, chemical-free techniques, which are seen to be riskier and more complicated to implement. This article describes and analyzes these obstacles and the relationship to scientific and nonscientific knowledge they reveal. (shrink)

This paper focuses on the debate about the utilization of new reproductive technologies in Brazil, and the paths taken in the Brazilian National Congress in an attempt to draw up legislation to regulate the clinical practice of human assisted reproduction. British documents, such as the Warnock Report and Human Fertilization and Embriology Authority (HFEA) are used for thorough reference. The analysis of the Law Projects in the National Congress, the Resolution by the Federal Medicine Council, Resolution 196/96 and documents by (...) the Ministério Público (Public Prosecution Office), suppled the bases for the discussion. The principal question involved is the observation of different technical and moral prientations that influence the conduct of the issue in the legislative process. It is possible to observe that the main focus of the projects relates to the rights and interests of the children, to those possibly benefited by the technique and to embryo reduction. Very little attention has been directed to the issues of sexual and reproductive rights and to the health of the women submitted to the new reproductive techologies. (shrink)

Neste livro, novos desafios da ética em pesquisa com seres humanos são explorados pelos autores - da pesquisa com populações vulneráveis às pesquisas em Ciências Sociais. Dentre os destaques da obra está o caso do Sangue Yanomami e a pesquisa antropológica e genética conduzida nos anos 1970.

Name der Zeitschrift: Das Mittelalter Jahrgang: 22 Heft: 2 Seiten: 294-313.

Qua hermeneutic-linguistic-pragmatic turn wurde die Freisetzung kommunikativen Handelns kommunikationslogisch, entwicklungstheoretisch und diskursethisch entwickelt und die Form der Verstandigung intersubjektivitatstheoretisch als Moglichkeit sozialer Identitat bestimmt. Mit Peirce kann man das Verstandigungstheorem als Intersubjektivitatsrelation lesen, Intersubjektivitat selbst strukturlogisch "deduzieren". So prazisiert wird die von Habermas vollzogene Umstellung von Subjektivitat auf formale Intersubjektivitat uber Kant, Hegel, Husserl und Mead rekonstruierbar. Dabei kann das begrundungstheoretische Defizit des nur postulierten Formganzen gesellschaftlicher Rationalitat behoben, der formalpragmatisch ausgedunnte Lebensweltbegriff substantiiert und die nicht konsequent ausgefuhrte Methodologie mit (...) der Trias von Metatheorie, empirischer Soziologie und Gesellschaftstheorie scharfer gestellt werden. Die relationenlogische Analyse drangt zur Neulekture des Intersubjektivitatsgedankens. (shrink)

We explore the idea that a testimony is always constituted by at least three parts—the word of the witness, the listening of the one to whom it is addressed, and language as a symbolic register where speaking and listening are inscribed. Thus, the structure of testimony would not be captured only by the subjective formula “I was there”—a subject designates himself in reference to a past experience—, nor by the intersubjective formula “I am speaking to you”—a subject designates himself and (...) his listener in the synchrony of the word addressing the other. What is also necessary to consider, in order to capture the structure of testimony, is that “there is language”—the testimony transcends diachronically the speaker and the hearer by inscribing them inseparably in the symbolic register that they share, namely language. (shrink)

Is self-consciousness intentional? Consciousness of oneself-as-object is, in the sense that the subject is there taken as its own object of intentional consciousness. Contrastively, it has been argued that consciousness of oneself-as-subject is not intentional, precisely in that it does not involve taking oneself as an intentional object. Here, it is rather proposed that consciousness of oneself-as-subject is tied to intentionality in that it involves being conscious of oneself as an intentional subject, i.e. as a subject directed at intentional objects (...) transcending oneself-as-subject. This form of self-consciousness is neither reflective, in the sense that it does not involve to take oneself as an object of reflection, nor reflexive, in the sense that it does not involve to be related to oneself but to what-one-is-not, i.e. to the transcending intentional object. It is further argued that consciousness of oneself-as-subject involves two dynamics, as the subject would be indicated to himself by the objects towards which he directs himself. These considerations are here unfolded to consider in particular bodily self-consciousness. (shrink)

This paper discusses the validity of nudges to tackle time-inconsistent behaviours. I show that libertarian paternalism is grounded on a peculiar model of personal identity, and that the argument according to which nudges may improve one’s self-assessed well-being can be seriously questioned. I show that time inconsistencies do not necessarily reveal that the decision maker is irrational: they can also be the result of discounting over the degree of psychological connectedness between our successive selves rather than over time. Time inconsistency (...) can call for paternalism if and only if we accept that an individual is characterised by stable “true” preferences over time-dependent outcomes, and that she is rationally required to make time-consistent choices. This model is descriptively and normatively questionable. I then argue that behavioural findings may still justify paternalistic interventions, but on a non-welfarist basis. (shrink)

Neuroscientific findings have often been argued to undermine notions of free will and to require far-reaching changes of our political and legal systems. Making a difference between the metaphysical notion of free will and the political notion of autonomy,Dubljevi´c (2013) argues this switchover to be mistaken. While we appreciate attention to the social limits of neuroscientific findings, we also have a twofold concern with his proposal. The first covers the nontransparent way in which he either rejects or embraces certain scientific (...) findings, which renders the background andmotivation of his argument unclear. The second revolves around his idea of a “rational life-plan,” which, while it covers a person’s capacity to conform to social and external factors, misses out what it means to act for a reason or be the source of one’s actions. Revisiting the example of former addict Tommy McHugh and invoking the example of a resigned addict, we present the idea of an “autonomous life-plan,” which is metaphysically sound and practically relevant. (shrink)

In Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind, Evan Thompson defends the thesis of a “deep continuity of life and mind” according to which “life and mind share a set of basic organizational properties . . . . Mind is life-like and life is mind-like” . On the one hand, Thompson uncovers mind in life, by considering life and explaining how living organisms are organized in a way that involves the biological implementation of properties that are usually (...) attributed to mental states. On the other hand, he roots mind in life by considering the mind and explaining how mental states are anchored to biological processes. Following the lead of Merleau–Ponty and his notion of “comportment” , Thompson argues that the notion of autonomous dynamic system can integrate the orders of life and mind, and account for the originality of each order, allowing the understanding that “on the one hand, nature is not pure exteriority, but rather in the case of life has its own interiority and thus resembles mind. On the other hand, mind is not pure interiority, but rather a form of structure of engagement with the world and thus resembles life”. (shrink)

This paper considers critically the enterprise of naturalizing the subjective experience of acting intentionally. I specifically expose the limits of the model that conceives of agency as composed of two stages. The first stage consists in experiencing an anonymous intention without being conscious of it as anybody's in particular. The second stage disambiguates this anonymous experience thanks to a mechanism of identification and attribution answering the question: "who is intending to act?" On the basis of phenomenological, clinical, methodological and empirical (...) considerations, I contrast the two-stage anonymity-attribution model of agency with an alternative view that intends to bypass these problems by defining agency as intrinsically subjective at the pre-reflective level. (shrink)

In the context of increasingly frequent climate-related disasters, this article examines whether and how private sector actors can participate in disaster response and work closely with established authorities. We adopt the concept of territoriality from human geography to explain why actors in authoritative positions may exclude others from participation even when they present a clear value proposition. Grounded in an in-depth case study of a local private sector organization in Vanuatu, we identify three relational dynamics between a private sector organization (...) and sovereign authorities in disaster response. We observe that mutually defined collaboration fosters pragmatic legitimacy for private actors. Private actors’ unilateral role expansion in search of moral legitimacy, however, threatens sovereign authorities. This threat leads to a collaboration deadlock as sovereign actors reinforce a traditional division of labor between sectors and delegitimize the private actor’s participation. Our study contributes to the literature on cross-sector social interactions (CSSI) by explaining how authority constrains cross-sector collaboration and how private actors can gain and lose legitimacy for such collaborations. We further explore the tensions that arise when private actors use crises as windows of opportunity for showcasing the societal value of their participation. We conclude by offering practical recommendations for enhancing private sector participation in disaster response. (shrink)

In french and english speaking countries, the articulation between epistemological beliefs, conceptions of teaching and learning and pedagogical practices of secondary school teachers in the natural sciences and humanities has been little studied (Araújo-Oliveira, 2012 ; Bartos et Lederman, 2014 ; Wanlin et al., 2019). Yet, while teachers display predominantly constructivist beliefs about teaching and learning, their teaching practices remain rather passive (OECD, 2019). Like in Therriault et al. (2018-2023), this article explores the characteristics of epistemological beliefs, conceptions of teaching (...) and learning, and teaching practices among a population of 112 secondary school teachers (beginners, intermediate and experienced) in the humanities and natural sciences in French-speaking Belgium. In a second step, we explore the articulations between these three theoretical constructs either from statistical analyses or from a more interpretative perspective. Quantitative analysis of the data (PCA, factorial ANOVA, correlations and Chi-square) show that teachers’ epistemological beliefs are rather refined, that there is an effect of professional seniority on these beliefs and that there is a link between refined epistemological beliefs and traditional conceptions of teaching and learning. Finally, teachers’ self-reported practices appear to be insensitive to the discipline being taught. (shrink)

Dorothee Gelhard ergänzt die Untersuchungen zu Walter Benjamin und dem Phänomen des Darstellbaren in Sprache und Bild. Sie zeigt, dass sich Benjamin mit dem Thema der Erfahrung und der Wahrnehmung im Kontext der Malerei tiefgehend auseinandergesetzt hat. Die Beschäftigung mit Kandinsky, dem Blauen Reiter und Chagall hat bei Benjamin zu einem Nachdenken über Farben und Formen geführt. In den Texten über Phantasie und Wahrnehmung verbindet er seine Beobachtungen der modernen Malerei mit den aus den frühen phänomenologischen Studien gewonnenen Erkenntnissen, sodass (...) sich schliesslich der Begriff des "Denkbildes" und des "dialektischen Bildes" immer klarer herausbildet. Diese frühen Überlegungen Benjamins haben sein Passagen-Werk vorbereitet, in dem er das Nachleben der Vergangenheit in der modernen Grossstadt aufspürt und nach dem Verbleib des Bildbewusstseins des Einzelnen in einer immer technischer werdenden Moderne fragt. (shrink)

Linguistic category learning has been shown to be highly sensitive to linear order, and depending on the task, differentially sensitive to the information provided by preceding category markers (premarkers, e.g., gendered articles) or succeeding category markers (postmarkers, e.g., gendered suffixes). Given that numerous systems for marking grammatical categories exist in natural languages, it follows that a better understanding of these findings can shed light on the factors underlying this diversity. In two discriminative learning simulations and an artificial language learning experiment, (...) we identify two factors that modulate linear order effects in linguistic category learning: category structure and the level of abstraction in a category hierarchy. Regarding category structure, we find that postmarking brings an advantage for learning category diagnostic stimulus dimensions, an effect not present when categories are non‐confusable. Regarding levels of abstraction, we find that premarking of super‐ordinate categories (e.g., noun class) facilitates learning of subordinate categories (e.g., nouns). We present detailed simulations using a plausible candidate mechanism for the observed effects, along with a comprehensive analysis of linear order effects within an expectation‐based account of learning. Our findings indicate that linguistic category learning is differentially guided by pre‐ and postmarking, and that the influence of each is modulated by the specific characteristics of a given category system. (shrink)

Is there any witness to death? As detailed by Jacques Derrida, any testimony is detached from the direct perception of the event it reports. Thus, a testimony may report one’s encounter with death, not only with the death of the other, but also with one’s own death, even though it can never by experienced as such. In particular, reports from “survivors” ought to be taken un-metaphorically as they confront us with what Maurice Blanchot related as “the encounter of death with (...) death.” In line with such testimonies, Donald Woods Winnicott helps us here in considering an “anterior death,” a death that already happened without being experienced as such and which may haunt the subject until it remembers it. But how may one remember a past that has never been present? And how may one remember death without dying? In dialogue with Maurice Blanchot, we are guided toward a manner of considering silence as an oblivious remembrance of that which can be brought back from death. (shrink)

Childhood self-control is currently receiving great scientific and public attention because it could predict much of adult’s life success and well-being. Specialized interventions based on findings in social psychology and neuroscience potentially enhance children’s capacity to exercise self-control. This perspective triggers hopes that self-control enhancement allows us to say good-bye for good to potentially unsafe psychopharmacological agents and electronic brain stimulants. This chapter provides an in-depth ethical analysis of pediatric self-control enhancement and points toward a series of serious conceptual and (...) ethical concerns. First, it gives an overview of current psychological as well as neuroscientific research on self-control, and it presents longitudinal studies that emphasize the importance of childhood self-control for adult life success. Second, it critically discusses the concept of self-control presupposed in these approaches and points to crucial limitations. Going beyond an understanding of self-control as a sophisticated means of goal-achievement, I will argue for a comprehensive understanding that takes the inherent normativity of self-controlled behavior seriously. In that context, self-control enhancement appears as not necessarily desirable and occasionally even detrimental. Finally, this chapter questions the notion of childhood implicit in current research and how values typically put on this phase of life could get affected by self-control enhancement. I finish with an exploration of the conditions under which pediatric self-control enhancement is either impermissible, permissible, or maybe obligatory. (shrink)

The notion of ‘givenness of consciousness’ needs further elucidation. On the one hand, I agree with Lyyra (this volume) that one sense for ‘givenness of consciousness’ is not enough to account for consciousness and self-consciousness. On the other hand, I will argue that Lyyra’s paper is problematic precisely because he fails to consider one basic sense for ‘givenness of consciousness’. Lyyra and I thus agree that there must be (at least) two senses for ‘givenness of consciousness’; we disagree, however about (...) which modes of givenness are involved. (shrink)