Several countries maintain universal health coverage, which implies responsibility to organize delivery formats of healthcare services and products for citizens. In Brazil, the health system has a principle of universal access for more than 30 years, but many deficiencies remain and the country observes a day practice for those seeking judicial decisions to determine provision of healthcare.

Os tempos conjunturais de 1745 a 1818 são, tal como a vida e actuação de António Ribeiro dos Santos, diversificados e dissonantes. Qual o problema de fundo deste artigo? Tentar retraçar e compreender as linhas de um desenho, de componente biográfico-intelectual, em que as cores da paleta do barroco atlântico-joanino paulatina mas persistentemente se tornam mutáveis em luzes enciclopédicas e europeias. O Reino estendia-se em paisagens de senhorios e concelhos, pontuadas por uma rede crescente de espaços urbanos em extensões (...) de império atlântico e olhadas intermitentes ou dependentes da Europa. Os poderes do rei afirmavam-se, mas limitavam-se com o crescimento das estruturas da administração e das justiças. Um instituto jurídico, que se ia tornando distinto, ganhava e afirmava-se sob a designação de Estado. Os privilégios e excepções sentiam o crescimento do Estado, que vivia das leis, perante as quais, cada vez mais, todos se queriam iguais. Nas paisagens, sujeitos àqueles poderes, viviam vassalos. Vassalos que eram uma das preocupações da época. (shrink)

Formative intervention methodologies, such as the Change Laboratory, are increasingly being used in work environments. However, the learning process entailed in the application of these methodologies has received insufficient attention and may be facilitated through the use of learning platforms. We examined the development of learning and training strategies for implementing formative interventions, drawing on the experiences of a research group focusing on workers’ health. Information obtained from individuals involved in CL formative activities was analyzed and interpreted using Cultural-Historical Activity (...) Theory and the theory of expansive learning. The process of learning to implement formative interventions unfolded gradually, beginning with the interventionists’ initial exposure to abstract concepts that they subsequently internalized via various mediations and applied in concrete situations. Four key interventionist training strategies used to foster collective learning were identified: promoting dialogues and exchange of experiences, creating environments for continuous learning and permanent discussion, creating spaces for experimentation and the practical application of concepts, and the use of the double stimulation method during training programs. (shrink)

Esse artigo teórico tem como objetivo discutir o problema do suicídio praticado por homens e suas implicações para os serviços de atenção básica à saúde. Utilizou-se o método da revisão narrativa, uma forma de pesquisa que visa contribuir para a reflexão e a discussão sobre um assunto sem pretender reproduzir dados ou responder questões quantitativas específicas. Tendo como base os descritores “suicídio”, “homem” e “saúde”, identificou-se a partir das plataformas Scielo e Pubmed 56 artigos produzidos nos últimos cinco anos em (...) português e inglês, dentre os quais seis foram selecionados. A análise dos resultados indica que no Brasil as ocorrências de suicídio são mais elevadas nas Regiões Sul e Centro Oeste, onde cerca de 70% dos casos são de homens jovens que optam pelo enforcamento. Pode-se identificar como causa aspectos sociais, econômicos, relacionais, psicológicos e aspectos culturais que implicam transformações nas formas como a sociedade vê os homens e na necessidade de que eles reconheçam suas fragilidades. As masculinidades tradicionais precisam ser revistas a fim de que lhes seja possível reconhecer suas limitações diante da vivência de problemas emocionais, buscando-se superar sua recusa a buscar ajuda nos momentos de fragilidade e intenso sofrimento. Conclui-se que os serviços básicos precisam dinamizar suas ações e promover campanhas preventivas, participação da comunidade, facilitação do acesso a profissionais da saúde mental e diversificação de abordagens, compreendendo o suicídio praticado por homens em suas especificidades. Enquanto problema de saúde pública, o suicídio precisa ser abordado de forma preventiva com ações voltadas para o público em geral, sendo importante compreender sua complexidade no que se refere às questões das masculinidades. (shrink)

El texto siguiente trae una discusión en el campo teórico y empírico, de las relaciones entre grupos pantaneros y la naturaleza, en el entorno de las haciendas que se encuentran alrededor de Corumbá y Ladario, ciudades situadas a las márgenes del río Paraguay. En este texto, se comunican resultados parciales del proyecto de investigación acerca del conocimiento, de la cultura y de las representaciones producidas en el contexto de esas poblaciones en el proceso de apropiación de los recursos naturales. De (...) esa forma, se busca mostrar como estos grupos humanos piensan y actúan con relación al territorio pantanero. Finalmente se debate sobre las posibilidades de desarrollo local en el contexto de esas tradiciones. (shrink)

Ethical review systems need to build on their experiences of COVID-19 research to enhance their preparedness for future pandemics. Recommendations from representatives from over twenty countries include: improving relationships across the research ecosystem; demonstrating willingness to reform and adapt systems and processes; and making the case robustly for better resourcing.

Due to the rapid advance of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, several countries perceived that human and material resources would be insufficient to meet the demand of infected patients. The aim of this study is to analyze the knowledge of health professionals working in the pandemic about the application of ethical criteria in decision-making in situations of resource scarcity. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive, and quantitative survey study, conducted from June to December 2020, with health professionals working in the COVID-19 (...) pandemic in Brazil. We applied a questionnaire to assess the professionals’ knowledge about ethical criteria in decision-making in the allocation of scarce resources during the pandemic, containing 14 questions and possible score from 0 to 70, which was developed by researchers from documents and protocols validated by organizations from various countries, available in the first months of the pandemic, a sociodemographic characterization questionnaire and a self-assessment questionnaire regarding knowledge about bioethics. A total of 197 health professionals participated in the study, 37.6% of whom were nurses and 22.8% of whom were physicians, working in the Family Health Unit (28.4%) with a degree at the level of specialization (46.2%). Moreover, (9.5%) of nurses, (18.2%) of dental surgeons and (24.4%) of physicians reported that they have no prior knowledge about bioethics. Physicians and hospital workers scored higher on the knowledge assessment questionnaire. The mean score of the participants was 45.4 (SD = 7.2). Investments in training and professional education in the field of health focused on Bioethics are necessary, considering models and ethical theories that help professionals, managers and society to better position themselves in the face of pandemic contexts. (shrink)

Em A última razão dos reis, Renato Janine Ribeiro se volta para a sociedade e a política do Antigo Regime, buscando entender em que condições algo de novo se pode gerar na aventura humana. Trata-se, aqui, de estudar o passado para verificar o quanto ele nos serve e, inversamente, até que ponto continua a nos governar. Por que uma ética aristocrática é a que melhor convém à fortuna? Por que, no mito de D. Juan, o tema do ateísmo (...) veio a ser posteriormente recalcado, restando apenas o do sedutor? Como e quando teve início a moderna análise de texto? O que existe em comum entre o discurso de um filósofo contemporâneo, Michel Foucault, e o dos moralistas franceses do século XVII? Qual a relação entre uma concepção da história centrada na idéia de novidade e as diversas vertentes da doutrina da soberania surgidas nos séculos XVII e XVIII? O que distingue a revolução socialista da burguesa no Dezoito Brumário de Marx? Questões que o autor analisa neste livro unindo clareza de estilo e erudição, e que interessam às mais variadas áreas, da filosofia à literatura, passando, evidentemente, pela política e pela história. (shrink)

The text describes the research Geopartitura executed by the team MidiaLab Computer art research laboratory, that raises the thought about social artists and urban space. As a work of art it can be considered activist action. As a system, it is composed by software, database, locative media and mobile devices. The work was created to be performed as urban interactive cyberintervention, in order to interact with passers-by, a bias of social inclusion, transforming the urban landscape and its noises, at a (...) dimension of open space for discussion. As active and engaged art, presents the artist as social citizen. (shrink)

O objetivo do presente texto é trançar experiências com o magistério indígena, dialogando com nossas memórias e referenciais. O texto sai então do trivial, abrindo espaço-tempo para outro modo de escrita coletiva. O inacabamento caracteriza nossa opção, ressaltando mais a riqueza do processo intercruzado, tecido a partir de nossos encontros e conversas, a princípio, aleatórios e depois mais estruturados para a condução deste texto. No ano de 2019, tivemos a fecunda e singular oportunidade de, a partir de distintas áreas de (...) conhecimento e ênfases teórico-metodológicas, atuar como professores de estudantes indígenas, guarani e pataxó, de maneira a contribuir com um curso de qualificação, intermediado por um projeto, vinculado ao Estado do Rio de Janeiro. A rememoração do curso através dos nossos diálogos e escrita exibe a insistência daquela experiência em e entre nós, sinalizando sentidos e se fazendo como acontecimento propício a sentir/pensar processos de alteridade-mesmidade. (shrink)

Alfonso X, o sábio, monarca castelhano do século XIII. patrocinou uma produção intelectual de grande envergadura em todos os campos do conhecimento. No grupo de obras políticas, destaca-se como sua produção mais importante 'Las Siete Partidas'. Influenciada pelo Direito Romano, esta obra visa constituir um código legal com amplitude superior aos antigos fueros locais. Objetivamos estudar como 'Las Siete Partidas' desvelam as aspirações políticas do Rei Sábio, ou seja, o reforço do poder real, sua autoridade como monarca, através da elaboração (...) de uma linha teórica que vise a coesão das leis. (shrink)

Analisa-se o sentido histórico-social das expressões rûªH yhwh (“espírito de Yahweh”), rûªH-rä`â më´ët yhwh (“espírito mau desde junto de Yahweh”), rûªH-´élöhîm rä`â (“espírito mau de Deus”), rûªH-´élöhîm (“espírito de Deus”) e rûªH härä`â (“espírito mau”), de e em 1 Sm 16,14-23. Postula-se a identidade comum de todos esses personagens noológicos. Guiado por um exercício de crítica aplicada a versões da passagem, bem como pela consulta crítica por amostragem de comentários internacionais, aplica-se análise retórica e histórico-social à narrativa. Conclui-se que, no (...) horizonte de produção do texto, concebia-se essa figura celeste como o equivalente noológico de oficiais a serviço de reis, incumbidos de atividades que tanto podiam ser classificadas eticamente como boas quanto más, correspondendo tal concepção teológica ao estado da cultura judaico-israelita pré-persa. Não se trata de dois personagens: o “espírito de Yahweh” / o “espírito de Deus”, de um lado, e o “espírito mau (de Yahweh ou de Deus)” de outro, mas da descrição diferenciada da mesma figura em conformidade com a ação interpretada como realizada por ele no exercício de sua prestação de serviços ao deus-rei. Palavras-chave : 1 Sm 16,14-23. Espírito de Yahweh. Espírito de Deus. Espírito mau de Yahweh. Espírito mau de Deus. Espírito mau.The sociohistorical meaning of the expressions rûªH yhwh (“spirit of Yahweh”), rûªH-rä`â më´ët yhwh (“evil spirit from Yahweh”), rûªH-´élöhîm rä`â (“evil spirit of God”), rûªH-´élöhîm (“spirit of God”) and rûªH härä`â (“evil spirit”) of and in 1 Sm 16.14-23 is analyzed. The common identity of all these noological characters is postulated. Guided by an exercise of criticism applied to versions of the passage as well as the critical search of samples of international commentaries, rhetoric and the social-historical analysis is applied to the narrative. It is reasoned that, in the text’s production horizon, this celestial figure is conceived as the noological equivalent to officials at service of kings, responsible for activities that could be classified as both ethically good and bad, such theological conception correspond to the pre-Persian state of Jewish-Israeli culture. They are not two characters: the “spirit of Yahweh” / “spirit of God” on one side , and the “evil spirit (of Yahweh or God)” on the other, but different descriptions of the same figure in accordance to the action interpreted as carried out by him in the provision of services to the god-king . Keywords: 1 Sm 16,14-23. Spirit of Yahweh. Spirit of God. Evil spirit of Yahweh. Evil spirit of God. Evil spirit. (shrink)

This revolutionary work transforms the burgeoning interdisciplinary debate on emotion by suggesting, instead, a positive relation between the "death of the ...

In Looking Away, Rei Terada revisits debates about appearance and reality in order to make a startling claim: that the purpose of such debates is to police feelings of dissatisfaction with the given world. Terada proposes that the connection between dissatisfaction and ephemeral phenomenality reveals a hitherto-unknown alternative to aesthetics that expresses our right to desire something other than experience "as is", even those parts of it that really cannot be otherwise.

The author- following his own research on the subject- argues that Wittgenstein ignores argumentation theory and in general, the problems of rhetoric and argumentation. From this point of view, he frames Stephen Toulmin’s reading of Wittgenstein, arguing that the British philosopher- who was a student of the Austrian- advocates precisely the same thesis. He explains that this happens in a very peculiar (rhetorical) context on Toulmin’s part; a context in which, in essence, Wittgenstein’s philosophy is being rehabilitated.

This paper makes a plea for more reflexive attempts to develop and anchor the emerging concept of responsible research and innovation. RRI has recently emerged as a buzzword in science policy, becoming a focus of concerted experimentation in many academic circles. Its performative capacity means that it is able to mobilise resources and spaces despite no common understanding of what it is or should be ‘made of’. In order to support reflection and practice amongst those who are interested in and (...) using the concept, this paper unpacks understandings of RRI across a multi-disciplinary body of peer-reviewed literature. Our analysis focuses on three key dimensions of RRI that remain particularly opaque. A total of 48 publications were selected through a systematic literature search and their content was qualitatively analysed. Across the literature, RRI is portrayed as a concept that embeds numerous features of existing approaches to govern and assess emerging technologies. Our analysis suggests that its greatest potential may be in its ability to unify and provide political momentum to a wide range of long-articulated ethical and policy issues. At the same time, RRI’s dynamism and resulting complexity may represent its greatest challenge. Further clarification on what RRI has to offer in practice—beyond what has been offered to date—is still needed, as well as more explicit engagement with research and institutional cultures of responsibility. Such work may help to realise the high political expectations that are attached to nascent RRI. (shrink)

Attempts to illuminate the nature of “blame” have shaped recent philosophical discussion of free will and moral responsibility. In this paper I show how, in at least one context, this search for a theory of blame has led us astray. Specifically, I focus on the contemporary debate about the “standing” to blame and argue, first, that theorizing about blame-in-general in this context has assumed an impoverished moral psychology that fails to reflect the range of blaming emotions and that conflates these (...) emotions’ distinctive logics; and, second, that such theorizing has encouraged the propagation of misleading theories of blame’s “norms.” Rather than searching for the nature of blame, I employ and defend an alternative methodological approach that focuses on the psychology and ethics of specific reactive emotions. I then show how an agent’s own bad behavior can alter the appropriateness of these various attitudes in distinctive ways. Marking these distinctions leads to some surprising conclusions. For example, it allows us to move beyond the assumption that the wrongness of standingless blame is fundamentally a matter of hypocrisy. (shrink)

Research has revealed how inherent self-organizing tendencies in athletes and sports teams can be exploited to facilitate emergence of dynamical patterns in synergy formation in sports teams. Here, we discuss how game models, and associated tactical principles of play, may be implemented to constrain co-existing global-to-local and local-to-global self-organization tendencies in team sports players during training and performance. Understanding how to harness the continuous interplay between these co-existing, bi-directional, and coordination tendencies is key to shaping system behaviors in sports training. (...) Training programs are traditionally dominated by designs, which shape the self-organizing tendencies of players and teams at a global-to-local scale by coaches imposing a tactical/strategical plan with associated tactical principles of play. Nevertheless, recent research suggests that performers also need to be provided with opportunities to explore self-organizing tendencies that emerge at the local-to-global scale in training. This directional tendency in synergy formation can be facilitated by players being given opportunities to actively explore different adaptive and innovative performance solutions, coherent with principles of play circumscribed in an overarching game model. Developing methods (coaching sessions rooted on principles of dynamical systems theory that foment the development of such local-to-global relations) to exploit the continuous interplay between these co-existing tendencies within sports teams may promote more effective and efficient athlete skill training programs, in addition to enhancing performance. (shrink)

I defend the view that Cicero writes the Academica from the perspective of an aspirationalist radical skeptic. In section 2 I examine the textual evidence regarding the nature of Cicero’s skeptical stance in the Academica. In section 3 I consider the textual evidence from the Academica for attributing aspirationalism to Cicero. Finally, in section 4 I argue that while aspirationalist radical skepticism is open to a number of philosophical objections, none of those objections is decisive.

This article aims to make public part of the research on the concept of ‘light’ in the theological and, above all, liturgical tradition of the Greek Orthodox Church, based on its representation of the concept of ‘hypostasis’. Taking as a point of departure the interpretation of the expression ‘light of light’ [φῶς ἐκ φωτός (phôs ek phōtos)] of the text of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Symbol, the article presents a proposal for the interpretation of the concept of ‘representation’ for this specific case, (...) based on the idea of apomímesis, and applies this concept to a reading of the place of ‘light’ in the Holy Scripture, in the Patrology and in the Greek Eastern Liturgies. (shrink)

I analyse the case of three Japanese-Portuguese interpreters who have given support to technology transfer from a steel company in Japan to one in Brazil for more than thirty years. Their job requires them to be ‘interactional experts’ in steel-making. The Japanese–Portuguese interpreters are immersed in more than the language of steel-making as their job involves a great deal of ‘physical contiguity’ with steel-making practice. Physical contiguity undoubtedly makes the acquisition of interactional expertise easier. This draws attention to the lack (...) of empirical work on the exact way that the physical and the linguistic interact in the acquisition of interactional expertise, or any other kind of expertise.Keywords: Interactional expertise; Technology transfer; Interpreting; Physical contiguity; Linguistic socialization. (shrink)

I argue that we are subject to ‘aesthetic luck’ in four senses: constitutive, upbringing, sociogeographic, and circumstantial. I review evidence from our practices, philosophy, and science. I then consider what challenges aesthetic luck raises to the communicability of aesthetic judgments, the formation of one’s aesthetic character, and the goal of a life well lived, as well as possible answers to those challenges.

An argument against the rationality of desiring to go to heaven might be put in the form of a trilemma: (1) any state of being that both lasts eternally and preserves me as the person I am would be hellish and therefore would not be a state of being that I could have any reason to desire; (2) any state of being that lasts eternally and yet fails to preserve my personhood by turning me into a non-person would not be (...) a state of being that I (qua person that I am) could have any reason to desire; and (3) any state of being that lasts eternally and yet fails to preserve my personhood by turning me into some other person would not be a state of being that I (qua person that I am) could have any reason to desire. This paper offers defenses of each of the three horns of this trilemma and concludes that there is no rationally compelling reason for any human being to desire to go to heaven. (shrink)

Qualitative researchers, particularly those researching business and society topics, should embrace artificial intelligence (AI) to conduct efficient, explicatory, and equitable research but also exercise caution to avoid its pitfalls.

From industrial psychology and occupational therapy to the laboratory bench and scenes of “heroic” fieldwork, there are important connections between the science of labor and the labor of science. Participants in the 2022 Gordon Cain Conference explored how greater attention to these connections might deepen historical understanding of what constitutes “science” and what counts as “labor.” Our conversations circled around themes of vulnerability (of systems, individual bodies, historical testimony), affect (pertaining to historical actors and ourselves), and interdependence (e.g. across human (...) groups, species, political boundaries, and time). For the members of this group, which grew out of a panel discussion, these themes and motivations coalesced around a topical focus on invisibility, which helped us to articulate – in the form of a co-created syllabus – research questions about science and labor from multiple angles pertaining to practice, archival preservation, and scholarly representation. This syllabus is organized into six thematic modules that aim to challenge and historicize the concept of invisible labor by facilitating comparisons across geographic, temporal, conceptual, and disciplinary boundaries. The goals of this collaborative syllabus, in sum, are manifold: we seek to facilitate more inclusive histories of science through critical engagement with “invisibility” and thereby promote a more expansive understanding of what constitutes scientific labor; to highlight the constitutive role of gendered labor practices in the scientific enterprise; to draw attention to interdependencies that make all forms of production (knowledge or material) possible; to elucidate systems of remuneration for scientific labor over the longue durée and through pointed comparisons; and, finally, to promote self-reflexivity about the methods we use to narrate the history of science and make sense of our own labors. (shrink)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had profound effects on all aspects of society. Families were among those directly impacted by the first measures imposed by health authorities worldwide to contain the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, where social distancing and mandatory quarantine were the main approaches implemented. Notably, little is yet known about how social distancing during COVID-19 has altered families' daily routines, particularly regarding music-related behaviors. The aim of this study was 2-fold: (i) to explore changes in (...) families' daily routine and caregivers' levels of well-being and stress during the COVID-19 outbreak in Brazil and (ii) to investigate whether musical behaviors of caregivers and the children under their care (aged from 3 to 6 years old) changed during social distancing. One hundred and eighty-eight caregivers residing in Brazil participated in an online cross-sectional study conducted between July and August 2020. Our findings suggest significant changes in families' dynamics during the COVID-19 outbreak, with parents (especially mothers) spending more time on childcare and a substantial decrease in caregiver's well-being. Regarding music-related behaviors, our results revealed considerable changes in caregivers' and children's musical activities at home during social distancing, including an increase in child-only musical behaviors and shared caregiver-child activities. Moreover, sociodemographic factors such as caregiver background and well-being as well as the child's disability status significantly influenced musical engagement at home during social distancing. This study captured some features of the home musical environment of middle-class families in Brazil in the first stages of social distancing restrictions during the pandemic and caregivers' role in providing an environment where musical experiences are nurtured. Further research is needed to better understand aspects such as the long-term impact of the changes of musical behaviors at home on musical parenting and families' well-being. (shrink)

This paper elaborates on the link between different types and degrees of experience that can be gone through within a form of life or collectivity—the so-called levels of immersion—and the development of distinct types of tacit knowledge and expertise. The framework is then probed empirically and theoretically. In the first case, its ‘predictions’ are compared with the accounts of novices who have gone through different ‘learning opportunities’ during a pre-operational training programme for running a huge nickel industrial plant in Brazil. (...) These are also analysed vis-à-vis the experience of an expert who has designed and experienced the outcomes of two pre-operational training sessions in the nickel industry before developing and managing the one discussed here. Theoretically, the framework is used to pinpoint exactly what interactional experts who have developed their expertise through linguistic socialisation alone are able to do as well as to analyse the case of technical connoisseurs. The results indicate that the proposed framework is useful. It supports the design and improvement of training programmes for the development of tacit knowledge while at the same time bringing about a refined analysis of claims concerning the abilities of types of experts and expertise. (shrink)

How can we identify and estimate workers’ tacit knowledge? How can we design a personnel mix aimed at improving and speeding up its transfer and development? How is it possible to implement tacit knowledge sustainable projects in remote areas? In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to distinguish between types of tacit knowledge, to establish what they allow for and to consider their sources. It is also essential to find a way of managing the tacit knowledge ‘stock’ and (...) distribution within the workforce. In short, a conceptual framework is needed to manage tacit knowledge. Based on previous works and 2 years of action research, this paper introduces such a framework and describes its partial application to support the pre-operational training and hiring in a large industrial plant in Brazil. Two contributions emerge from the research. First, the concept of ‘levels of similarity’ is introduced as a means to qualify the experience of workers and estimate the associated tacit knowledge. Second, the capability of carrying out three types of judgement properly and speedily is put forward as being a core ability of those who possess what has been called ‘collective tacit knowledge’ (Collins in Organ Stud 28(2):257–262, 2007). In practical terms, the results indicate the opportunity for companies to capitalize on the experience and tacit knowledge of their workers in a systematic way and with due recognition. Ultimately, positive impacts are expected in their absorptive capacity as well as in their management and human resources systems, accident prevention, productivity and the development of sustainable projects in remote areas. (shrink)

Our comments about the current fetal dexamethasone (dex) controversy are historical, highlighting the long, painful history of physicians’ approaches to people with intersex conditions. The ways in...

Perceptual experience and visual imagination both offer a first-person perspective on visible objects. But these perspectives are strikingly different. For it is distinctive of ordinary perceptual intentionality that objects seem to be present to the perceiver. I term this phenomenal property of experience ‘presence’. This paper introduces a positive definition of presence. Dokic and Martin (2017) argue that presence is not a genuine property of perceptual experience, appealing to empirical research on derealisation disorders, Parkinson’s disease, virtual reality and hallucination. I (...) demonstrate that their arguments fall short of establishing that presence is not perceptual. (shrink)

Deontology has fallen out of favor among bioethicists. According to Pierson and colleagues’ (2024) “Bioethicists Today”, deontology is now the least accepted major approach to normative theory, tra...

In semiotics, final causation can be related to the process of determination (PAPE, 1993). From Peirce’s point of view, determination is not a causal determinism, but a delimitation of a range of possibilities. One starts from objects towards interpretants, in a process mediated by the sign, in which the dynamic object works as a force that constrains interpretants to correspond to their objects. The correspondence between object and interpretant is important because it is through a generated interpretant that the object (...) of a sign can be known. Even though this process of determination coincides with the idea of final causation, there is a certain indeterminacy in it. For Peirce (EP 2:353, 1905), vagueness and generality are two types of indeterminacy. In the terms of the phenomenological categories, vagueness is an indeterminacy of the order of firstness, generality an indeterminacy of the order of thirdness, and both, to some extent, are opposed to that which is defined, which belongs to secondness. Each aspect of the sign may vary according to the three phenomenological categories. Consequently, degrees of imprecision are added to the semiotic process, which is a determination process. Peirce asserts that the perfect precision of thought is theoretically unattainable (SS 11, 1903). Every sign is vague or general at least to some degree. In this paper, we seek to perceive degrees of indetermination and causality from an analysis of the kinds of objects and interpretants proposed by Peirce in the system of 28 sign classes. (shrink)

O autor visa mostrar como e porque é que a retórica, em vez da filosofia propriamente dita, pode e deve constituir, sobre as matérias de que se ocupa, um paradigma interdisciplinar das investigações a desenvolver pela filosofia e pelas ciências de maneira geral. Analisa atentamente, nesta perspetiva, o “estado da arte” sobre o assunto, revendo a respetiva bibliografia, e faz um conjunto de propostas fundamentais para se alcançar um tal objetivo.