This article examines how local experiments and negotiation processes contribute to social and field-level learning. The analysis is framed within the niche development literature, which offers a framework for analyzing the relation between projects in local contexts and the transfer of local experiences into generally applicable rules. The authors examine 2 case studies drawn from a meta-analysis of 27 new energy projects. The case studies, both pertaining to biogas projects for local municipalities, illustrate the diversity of applications for a technology (...) through processes of local variation and selection. The authors examine the diversity of expectations and the negotiation and alignment of these expectations underlying the diversity of local solutions. Moreover, the authors address how the transfer of lessons from individual local experiments can follow different pathways and yet always require due attention to the social and cultural limits to the transferability of solutions. (shrink)

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Veit suggests that the challenge of coordinating movement in multicellular organisms led to the evolution of a prioritizing value system, which rendered organisms complex enough to be sentient and drove the Cambrian explosion, while the absence of this evaluation system led to the demise of Ediacaran animals. In this commentary we criticize Veit’s terminology and evolutionary proposals, arguing that his terminology and evolutionary scenarios are problematic, and put forward alternative proposals. We suggest that sentience is a system property, and that (...) the evolution of sentience was the outcome of the evolution of open-ended associative learning, which included the coevolution of sensory, motor, memory, and value subsystems. We suggest that these coevolutionary system dynamics were a factor in the Cambrian explosion and contributed to the extinction of the Ediacaran biota. (shrink)

Science is fundamentally devoted to generating original knowledge, and therefore concepts of scientific originality are keys to understanding its very essence. Scientific originality has long been thought of as discovery, but new studies of the humanities and social sciences have shown that other, discipline-specific concepts of originality are used in these fields of study. Does this finding also hold for disciplines in the natural science, medicine, and engineering? Are concepts of originality scientifically grounded or do they instead reflect extrascientific modes (...) of originality? These questions lie at the heart of research proposals responding to an initiative explicitly calling for original scientific projects. The proposals undergo a two-step analysis based on grounded theory[Per style, reference citation is not allowed in abstract section. Hence, we have deleted Charmaz, 2006. Please approve.]. First, three empirically identified modes of scientific originality are described: temporal, partially different, and revolutionary. The three modes of originality are consistent with extrascientific ones such as those in art and fashion. Second, six disciplines—two each in the natural science, medical, and engineering—are analyzed for ways the three modes of originality are used and for their associated disciplinary characteristics in order to identify discipline-specific concepts of originality. (shrink)

The debate on abortion has tended to avoid the psychological significance of an unwanted pregnancy, dominated istead by the strong emotions the subject excites. Eva Pattis Zoja examines the thoughts that surround a woman's decision to end a pregnancy, and presents the challenging thesis that voluntary abortion can often be a violent and unconscious act of self-realisation. Treating a theme which is central to our existence, the author makes no attempt to argue for or against, or to deny the painful (...) nature of the subject which she tackles, but instead looks at the way in which a decision to abort can affect a woman's inner life. (shrink)

In the modern age, the political secret has acquired a bad reputation. With modern democracy’s ideal of transparency, political secrecy is identified with political crime or corruption. The article argues that this repression of secrecy in modern democracies falls short of a substantial understanding of the structure and workings of political secrecy. By outlining a genealogy of political secrecy, it elucidates the logic as well as the blind spots of a current culture of secrecy. It focuses on two fundamental logics (...) of secrecy, deduced from the Latin terms ‘ arcanum’ and ‘ secretum’. Whereas the logic of arcanum regards secrecy as a legitimate dimension of government, a modern logic of secretum is marked by an inextricable dialectics between the withdrawal and communication of knowledge, between secrecy and publicity. Here, the secret is not so much a piece of withheld knowledge as a ‘secrecy effect’ that binds the realm of secrecy to the public sphere by a dialectics of permanent suspicion and scandal. Instead of falling into the trap of this ‘secrecy effect’ it is worth taking a closer look at the tradition of thought on the arcana imperii, from Tacitus to early modern doctrines of raison d’état to Carl Schmitt. What this tradition deals with is the functionality of secrecy and its complicated relation to the law. The arcana tradition elaborates the crucial point of secrecy: its potential, but also its profound ambivalence. Secrecy opens up a discretionary space of action exempt from the rule of law, and, according to Carl Schmitt, ignores the law so as to allow it to become effective. Secrecy serves to protect and stabilize the state, but at the same time it opens a space of exception from the rule of law that breeds violence, corruption and oppression. Instead of seeing secrecy as the opposite of a political culture of transparency, it is more productive to regard secrecy as transparency's complement – a counterpart, however, that is marked by the profound paradox of being both a consolidation of and a threat to democracy. (shrink)

Although the concept of “AI governance” is frequently used in the debate, it is still rather undertheorized. Often it seems to refer to the mechanisms and structures needed to avoid “bad” outcomes and achieve “good” outcomes with regard to the ethical problems artificial intelligence is thought to actualize. In this article we argue that, although this outcome-focused view captures one important aspect of “good governance,” its emphasis on effects runs the risk of overlooking important procedural aspects of good AI governance. (...) One of the most important properties of good AI governance is political legitimacy. Starting out from the assumptions that AI governance should be seen as global in scope and that political legitimacy requires at least a democratic minimum, this article has a twofold aim: to develop a theoretical framework for theorizing the political legitimacy of global AI governance, and to demonstrate how it can be used as a compass for critially assessing the legitimacy of actual instances of global AI governance. Elaborating on a distinction between “governance by AI” and “governance of AI” in relation to different kinds of authority and different kinds of decision-making leads us to the conclusions that much of the existing global AI governance lacks important properties necessary for political legitimacy, and that political legitimacy would be negatively impacted if we handed over certain forms of decision-making to artificial intelligence systems. (shrink)

According to a mainstream position in contemporary cognitive science and philosophy, the use of abstract compositional concepts is amongst the most characteristic indicators of meaningful deliberative thought in an organism or agent. In this article, we show how the ability to develop and utilise abstract conceptual structures can be achieved by a particular kind of learning agent. More specifically, we provide and motivate a concrete operational definition of what it means for these agents to be in possession of abstract concepts, (...) before presenting an explicit example of a minimal architecture that supports this capability. We then proceed to demonstrate how the existence of abstract conceptual structures can be operationally useful in the process of employing previously acquired knowledge in the face of new experiences, thereby vindicating the natural conjecture that the cognitive functions of abstraction and generalisation are closely related. (shrink)

Etude du phénomène du kitsch à travers les littératures et cultures d'Europe, d'Amérique du Nord et du Sud et du Japon.

Goethe belongs to the phenomenological tradition for a number of reasons: He shared Husserl's deep mistrust of the mathematization of the natural world and the ensuing loss of the qualitative dimension of human existence; he understood that the phenomenological observer must free him/herself from sedimented cultural prejudices, a process which Husserl called the epoche; he experienced and articulated the new and surprising fullness of the world as it reveals itself to the patient and participatory phenomenological observer. Goethe's phenomenological sensibilities and (...) insights become more apparent when his work is brought into dialogue with Husserl's thinking. In turn Goethe challenges Husserlian phenomenology to a more careful investigation of the natural world and human participation within its order. Both Goethe and Husserl are searching for a science of the qualitative dimension of being. (shrink)

This article explores the ways in which ultrasound screening influences the temporal dimensions of prevention in the obstetrical management of pregnancy. Drawing on praxeographic perspectives and empirically based on participant observation of ultrasound examinations in obstetricians’ offices, it asks how ultrasound scanning facilitates anticipatory modes of pregnancy management, and investigates the entanglement of different notions of time and temporality in the highly risk-oriented modes of prenatal care in Germany. Arguing that the paradoxical temporality of prevention—acting now in the name of (...) the future—is intensified by ultrasound screening, I show how the attribution of risk regarding foetal growth in prenatal check-ups is based on the fragmentation of procreative time and ask how time standards come into play, how pregnancy is located in calendrical time, and how notions of foetal time and the everyday life times of pregnant women clash during negotiations between obstetricians and pregnant women about the determination of the due date. By analysing temporality as a practical accomplishment via technological devices such as ultrasound, the paper contributes to debates in feminist STS studies on the role of time in reproduction technologies and the management of pregnancy and birth in contemporary societies. (shrink)

A comprehensive exploration of theories of citizenship and inclusiveness in an age of globalization. The authors analyze democracy and the political community in a transnational context, using new critical, conceptual and normative perspectives on the borders, territories and political agents of the state.

Dupras and Bunnik’s strong statement against the normative approach of genetic exceptionalism, which can no longer be justified in the midst of multi-omic research, is of great importance fo...

Today, friendship, love and sexuality are mostly viewed as private, personal and informal relations. In the mediaeval and early modern period, just like in ancient times, this was different. The classical philosophy of friendship included both friendship and love in the concept of philia. It was also linked to an argument about the virtues needed to become an excellent member of the city state. Thus, close relations were not only thought to be a matter of pleasant gatherings in privacy, but (...) just as much a matter of ethics and politics.What, then, happened to the classical ideas of close relations when they were transmitted to philosophers, clerical and monastic thinkers, state officials or other people in the medieval and early modern period? To what extent did friendship transcend the distinctions between private and public that then existed? How were close relations shaped in practice? Did dialogues with close friends help to contribute to the process of subject-formation in the Renaissance and Enlightenment? To what degree did institutions of power or individual thinkers find it necessary to caution against friendship or love and sexuality? (shrink)

During the past few years, the IRBIT domain has emerged as an important add‐on of S‐adenosyl‐L‐homocystein hydrolase (AHCY), thereby creating the new family of AHCY‐like proteins. In this review, we discuss the currently available data on this new family of proteins. We describe the IRBIT domain as a unique part of these proteins and give an overview of its regulation via (de)phosphorylation and proteolysis. The second part of this review is focused on the potential functions of the AHCY‐like proteins. We (...) propose that the IRBIT domain serves as an anchor for targeting AHCY‐like proteins towards cytoplasmic targets. This leads to regulation of (i) intracellular Ca2+ via the inositol 1,4,5‐trisphosphate receptor (IP3R), (ii) intracellular pH via the Na+/HCO3− cotransporters (NBCs); whereas inactivation of the IRBIT domain induces (iii) nuclear translocation and regulation of AHCY activity. Dysfunction of AHCY‐like proteins will disturb these three important functions, with various biological implications. BioEssays 30:642–652, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Propongo dilucidar en la filosofía práctica madura de Kant la relevancia del cultivo de la virtud y de la educación para el progreso de las comunidades políticas y ética y muestro que ello puede abordarse de forma integrada desde el paralelo ético-político. Primero, explicaré que la tarea y el deber del ser humano de realizar el fin del bien supremo ético y político se puede esclarecer en relación con el destino de la humanidad. Después argumentaré que la tarea de los (...) seres humanos radica en el cultivo de la virtud, que es un deber que podemos llamar ético-político en el sentido de que las disposiciones morales de los individuos se desarrollan socialmente y sirven a fines comunitarios. Por último, en una visión integrada del paralelismo ético-político, argumentaré que la educación es un medio necesario para lograr el progreso de las comunidades. (shrink)

Taking my cue from Judith Schalanskys 2018 work Verzeichnis einiger Verluste, I discuss the striking presence of lists and list-like, enumerative structures in contemporary literature. As a poetic principle, the use of lists and enumerations becomes a means of defamiliarizing the mundane and familiar, and at the same time also shows a preoccupation with existential issues.

Dans le présent article, il s’agit de reconsidérer le rapport entre pyrrhonisme et scepticisme académicien dans Les Essais de Montaigne, en posant l’hypothèse que le philosophe aurait, dès le début de sa réflexion, perçu ces deux tendances sceptiques comme des philosophies très proches, voire compatibles, malgré leurs divergences importantes. Son intérêt croissant pour les Academica de Cicéron, dans les versions postérieures des Essais, le conduirait donc non seulement à transformer son propre scepticisme (qu’il découvre de plus en plus proche de (...) celui de Cicéron), mais aussi à affiner son jugement sur les rapports entre les deux philosophies. En conclusion, l’article évoque brièvement ce qu’apportent ces éléments dans la perspective d’une nouvelle vision des relations entre Montaigne et Cicéron. (shrink)

Research question The secondary research use of treatment data has the potential to expand medical knowledge and improve patient care. Hospitals play an important role in systematic secondary research use: they generate large amounts of treatment data and are supposed to establish the necessary structures for their use in research. This raises the ethical question: do hospitals have a moral duty to support secondary research use of treatment data by establishing and operating the necessary resources and infrastructure? Procedure Our aim (...) is to outline a conceptual framework to discuss the question and to propose a first normative position. Building on insights from business and organizational ethics, we develop a conceptual framework in which we view hospitals as moral actors. Our normative-ethical analysis is based on a reconstructive stakeholder approach, in which we identify the following general duties of hospitals: orientation towards patient wellbeing; cost efficiency; enabling employees to act in accordance with professional ethical standards; supporting public health and research. We examine whether these general duties provide reasons for a specific duty of hospitals to support secondary research use of treatment data. We discuss potential objections to such a duty arising from other, potentially conflicting general duties of hospitals (e.g., data protection), from practice (e.g., costs/resources), or related discourses (data ownership). Conclusion Certain general duties (orientation towards patient wellbeing, cost efficiency, support of public health) justify a duty of hospitals to support secondary research use of treatment data. The duty to enable employees to act in accordance with professional ethical standards is only an indirect reason; the duty to support research applies solely to university hospitals. Potential objections apply to a certain extent but can be mitigated through targeted measures. (shrink)

La noción de sustancia es sin duda una de las más importantes, más estudiadas y, a la vez, más difíciles de abordar, dentro del pensamiento de Aristóteles. Dicha noción está, a su vez, estrechamente ligada a otra, el acto, ambas tratadas, entre otros lugares, en los libros Θ y Λ de Metafísica en donde se puede apreciar una cierta similitud respecto sus tratamientos, similitud que podría llevar a considerar un cierto vínculo entre la doctrina de la prioridad del acto y (...) la existencia de una sustancia divina. El propósito de este trabajo es tratar de establecer que, efectivamente, existe tal conexión, aclarando de paso, la naturaleza de esta y demostrando, además, que el entendimiento de una es de gran importancia para la comprensión de la otra. (shrink)

The COVID‐19 pandemic triggered an unprecedented health crisis that impacted healthcare systems worldwide. This study explores how Spanish healthcare workers learned, internalised and integrated values and work behaviours during the COVID‐19 pandemic and their impact on the personal sphere. This documentary research, using images, narratives and audiovisual content, was framed within the interpretative hermeneutic paradigm. Categories and subcategories emerged after a final theoretical sampling that focused on the analysis. Data triangulation between researchers favoured theoretical saturation. A total of 117 images (...) and 27 texts were selected. The analysis identified three stages: bewilderment, seeking functionality in the chaos and integrating chaos into care. The data reflects how the need for security and knowledge, and the exhaustion and frustration caused by the initial working conditions, prompted adaptive responses. These responses involved focusing on problem‐solving and strengthening group sentiments and solidarity. Subsequently, the data indicates the acceptance of new structural, organisational and communication aspects. The findings of the analysis will contribute towards finding a framework that can help understand community health crisis events. (shrink)

It is shown in this article in how far one has to have a clear picture of Gödel’s philosophy and scientific thinking at hand (and also the philosophical positions of other philosophers in the history of Western Philosophy) in order to interpret one single Philosophical Remark by Gödel. As a single remark by Gödel (very often) mirrors his whole philosophical thinking, Gödel’s Philosophical Remarks can be seen as a philosophical monadology. This is so for two reasons mainly: Firstly, because it (...) pictures a monadology already via its form. And secondly, because Gödel wanted to establish in his Philosophical Remarks a modern monadology in adapting the philosophical principles of Leibniz’s monadology to modern science. This article will only deal with the first aspect that has been mentioned namely that a single remark by Gödel (very often) mirrors his whole philosophy (at the time) for example: set theory, perception and intuition of mathematical objects and axioms, the nature of the human mind, the concept and existence of God, and so on. This renders it extremely difficult to interpret Gödel’s philosophical remarks but interpreting it provides also a deep insight in Gödel’s philosophical thoughts. (shrink)

The literature on sensory processing disorders in institutionalized infants highlights the impact of early deprivation on infant perception. Through a Merleau-Pontian, hyperdialectic analysis of the extraordinary development of infant perception under circumstances of severe deprivation the intimate link between environmental affordances and perceptual systems becomes apparent. This paper offers an updated reading of Merleau-Ponty’s late work as a philosophy of systems and outlines some fertile philosophical concepts and methods developed by Merleau-Ponty in The visible and the Invisible. Merleau-Ponty’s concept of (...) the chiasm, understood from a systems perspective, and his method of the hyperdialectic are applied in a child case study of an infant who suffered severe neglect in a Romanian orphanage. (shrink)

Aggregation of variables allows to approximate a large scale dynamical system (the micro-system) involving many variables into a reduced system (the macro-system) described by a few number of global variables. Approximate aggregation can be performed when different time scales are involved in the dynamics of the micro-system. Perturbation methods enable to approximate the large micro-system by a macro-system going on at a slow time scale. Aggregation has been performed for systems of ordinary differential equations in which time is a continuous (...) variable. In this contribution, we extend aggregation methods to time-discrete models of population dynamics. Time discrete micro-models with two time scales are presented. We use perturbation methods to obtain a slow macro-model. The asymptotic behaviours of the micro and macro-systems are characterized by the main eigenvalues and the associated eigenvectors. We compare the asymptotic behaviours of both systems which are shown to be similar to a certain order. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft Jahrgang: 25 Heft: 2 Seiten: 263-286.

Actualmente, «pensar la mujer» constituye una tarea inacabada y debatida. En pleno siglo XX, la fenomenóloga Edith Stein explora tal despliegue interrogándose por su naturaleza y valor propio. La presente investigación expone el itinerario que establece la filósofa desde la reflexión de la persona humana a la comprensión de la mujer. Para tal efecto, se articulan desde la obra steiniana los principales conceptos y matices que, mediante el análisis fenomenológico posibilita examinar las nociones constituyentes del sujeto en su dimensión corporal (...) y espiritual. Finalmente, se esboza la peculiaridad de la esencia femenina, cuya indagación permite detenerse en la pregunta esencial por la mujer. La conclusión avanza hacia un balance de los principales aspectos desarrollados como aporte al diálogo contemporáneo. (shrink)

Von Klarheit über Gefühle hängt viel ab: sowohl das Gelingen zwischenmenschlicher Beziehungen als auch die Möglichkeit eines selbstbestimmten Lebens. Die Autorin fragt dezidiert, was es heißt, Emotionen zu verstehen, fremde und eigene;wiedas Verstehenvor sich geht und wie weit wir damit kommen können. Dazu gehören die Punkte: Was ist es für eine Emotion, warum ist sie entstanden, was bewirkt sie oder wie echt ist sie? Emotionen und Verstehen werden in wechselseitigem Bezug aufeinander erläutert. Die differenzierte, beispielreiche Antwort ist sowohl ein Beitrag (...) zur Philosophie der Psychologie als auch zur Hermeneutik. (shrink)