Andy Clark and David Chalmers (1998) argue that certain mental states and processes can be partially constituted by objects located beyond one’s brain and body: this is their extended mind thesis (EM). But they maintain that consciousness relies on processing that is too high in speed and bandwidth to be realized outside the body (see Chalmers, 2008, and Clark, 2009). I evaluate Clark’s and Chalmers’ reason for denying that consciousness extends while still supporting unconscious state extension. I argue that their (...) reason is not well grounded and does not hold up against foreseeable advances in technology. I conclude that their current position needs re-evaluation. If their original parity argument works as a defence of EM, they have yet to identify a good reason why it does not also work as a defence of extended consciousness. I end by advancing a parity argument for extended consciousness and consider some possible replies. (shrink)

En este trabajo ofrezco una elucidación de la normatividad de lo mental en términos de la perspectiva de segunda persona, con la esperanza de abrir un horizonte conceptual que nos permita ir más allá de Donald Davidson. A tal efecto, el artículo tiene la siguiente estructura. En la primera parte presento su original respuesta al problema mente/cuerpo y reconstruyo su argumentación a favor de la tesis de la irreducibilidad de los conceptos mentales. En la segunda parte me ocupo del rasgo (...) que, en su sistema, porta la peculiaridad de lo mental, a saber: la normatividad. En la tercera sección exploro y evalúo el tratamiento davidsoniano de las perspectivas de primera, segunda y tercera persona con vistas a precisar, finalmente, mi propuesta. (shrink)

This paper is about even in downward entailing contexts. Karttunen and Peters (1979) have shown that there are two different sets of implicatures of even in such contexts. They argue that the two sets of implicatures are derived by allowing even to take scope either higher or lower than a negative polarity licenser. Rooth (1985) argues that even is lexically ambiguous, that is, there is a negative polarity even. I argue against Rooth's ambiguity theory and show that within Rooth's theory (...) of focus, a scope theory of even has better empirical coverage. I also answer objections to the scope theory raised by Rooth (1985) and Karttunen and Karttunen (1977). (shrink)

Gender, age, and culturally specific beliefs are often considered relevant to observed variation in social interactions. At present, however, the scientific literature is mixed with respect to the significance of these factors in guiding moral judgments. In this study, we explore the role of each of these factors in moral judgment by presenting the results of a web-based study of Eastern (i.e., Russia) and Western (i.e., USA, UK, Canada) subjects, male and female, and young and old. Participants ( n = (...) 659) responded to hypothetical moral scenarios describing situations where sacrificing one life resulted in saving five others. Though men and women from both types of cultures judged (1) harms caused by action as less permissible than harms caused by omission, (2) means-based harms as less permissible than side-effects, and (3) harms caused by contact as less permissible than by non-contact, men in both cultures delivered more utilitarian judgments (save the five, sacrifice one) than women. Moreover, men from Western cultures were more utilitarian than Russian men, with no differences observed for women. In both cultures, older participants delivered less utilitarian judgments than younger participants. These results suggest that certain core principles may mediate moral judgments across different societies, implying some degree of universality, while also allowing a limited range of variation due to sociocultural factors. (shrink)

Vehicle externalism maintains that the vehicles of our mental representations can be located outside of the head, that is, they need not be instantiated by neurons located inside the brain of the cogniser. But some disagree, insisting that ‘non-derived’, or ‘original’, content is the mark of the cognitive and that only biologically instantiated representational vehicles can have non-derived content, while the contents of all extra-neural representational vehicles are derived and thus lie outside the scope of the cognitive. In this paper (...) we develop one aspect of Menary’s vehicle externalist theory of cognitive integration—the process of enculturation—to respond to this longstanding objection. We offer examples of how expert mathematicians introduce new symbols to represent new mathematical possibilities that are not yet understood, and we argue that these new symbols have genuine non-derived content, that is, content that is not dependent on an act of interpretation by a cognitive agent and that does not derive from conventional associations, as many linguistic representations do. (shrink)

A Geografia da Religião configura-se no cenário acadêmico da Geografia Cultural como um subcampo dotado de potencialidades profícuas à apreensão do fenômeno religioso. Espacializar o rito, a prática cotidiana que se espraia em redes de informações fluídicas, repletas de subjetividades capazes de construir territórios e demarcar identidades é o objetivo principal deste campo do saber. É no tempo e no espaço que o sagrado se manifesta e semiografa indelevelmente como um mapa permanente as fronteiras entre o eu e o outro. (...) Esse fluxo humano contínuo que se reconfigura através de novas releituras e assimilações feitas pelos grupos estudados, releva ao espaço mudanças e permanências como um elemento chave, um conceito passível de ser analisado frente à relevância que ele apresenta como receptáculo dessas marcas físicas oriundas dos grupos religiosos que demarcam seus centros de cosmologia nos espaços escolhidos. Para um estudo mais aprofundado, busca-se na Filosofia husserliana o substrato teórico capaz de justificar o novo olhar geográfico ao subconsciente na conjunção do homem com o Criador. Portanto, leva-se a cabo uma detalhada revisão conceitual do termo fenomenologia e sua aplicabilidade á ciência geográfica. (shrink)

This work promotes the thesis that humans are naturally transhuman. In order to achieve this, we present in the first two sections some examples of technological devices assembled to human beings, and we critically review the assumptions and dichotomies on which the idea of human enhancement is based according to the ordinary transhumanist vision. Thirdly, we present the thesis of the Extended Mind to support our intuition. Fourthly, we dismantle the most relevant philosophical dichotomies that structure the transhumanist position. Finally, (...) we recapitulate the reasons why we should wake up from the transhumanist dream. (shrink)

JUSTIÇA RESTAURATIVA: UMA ANÁLISE SOCIOLÓGICA DOS FINS QUE OS MEIOS PUNITIVOS NÃO ALCANÇAM.

The goal of this article is to show that formal analysis and reconstructions may be useful to discuss and shed light on substantive meta-theoretical issues. We proceed here by exemplification, analysing and reconstructing as a case study a paradigmatic biochemical theory, the Monod-Wyman-Changeux theory of allosterism, and applying the reconstruction to the discussion of some issues raised by prominent representatives of the new mechanist philosophy. We conclude that our study shows that at least in this case mechanicism and more traditional (...) accounts are not rivals but complementary approaches. (shrink)

Your smartphone is much more than just a phone. It can tell a more intimate story about you than your best friend. No other piece of hardware in history, not even your brain, contains the quality or quantity of information held on your phone: it ‘knows’ whom you speak to, when you speak to them, what you said, where you have been, your purchases, photos, biometric data, even your notes to yourself – and all this dating back years. In this (...) piece I ask whether, given the role they play in our lives, our devices deserve the same legal protections as our brains and bodies? (shrink)

This paper proposes a theoretical approach to discuss the relations among reality, chemists’ interactions with it, and the resulting interpretation and representation of the acquired scientific knowledge. Taking into account that such relations are of semiotic nature, this paper aims at discussing in the light of Peirce’s theory of signs different descriptions of chemical activity and chemical education proposed by Alex Johnstone and elaborated by other science educators. In order to discuss the contributions and limitations of the proposed theoretical framework, (...) and considering its potential interest for chemical education, an example on the communication strategies for the content ‘vapour pressure’ found in twentieth-century general chemistry university textbooks is also presented. (shrink)

Little is known empirically about the role of supervisor listening and the emotional conditions that listening facilitates. Having the opportunity to speak is only one part of the communication process between employees and supervisors. Employees also react to whether they perceive the supervisor as actively listening. In two studies, this paper examines three important outcomes of employee perceptions of supervisor listening. Furthermore, positive and negative affect are investigated as distinct mediating mechanisms. Results from Study 1 revealed that employee perceptions of (...) supervisor listening reflected supervisors’ self-ratings of how they listen to their employees and these perceptions were associated with the three work outcomes. Study 2 replicated the findings in a larger sample and found evidence for two explanatory mechanisms. Positive affect mediated the effects of perceived supervisor listening on organizational citizenship behavior and turnover intention, whereas negative affect mediated listening effects on emotional exhaustion and turnover intention. Implications for organizational research and managerial practice concerning workforce sustainability are discussed. (shrink)

Este artículo examina las medidas adoptadas por el Gobierno de Colombia para atender las necesidades de la población diagnosticada con coinfección de los virus de inmunodeficiencia humana (VIH) y de hepatitis C (VHC), inclusive las personas privadas de la libertad, y de esa manera garantizar su derecho fundamental a la salud. Para verificar tales acciones, se realiza una revisión de las guías elaboradas por el Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social y la Cuenta de Alto Costo, en las que se (...) aborda el panorama de estas enfermedades, así como los mecanismos legales para acceder al tratamiento. Los hallazgos indican que, si bien el Sistema de Salud en Colombia no es excelente, lo cierto es que se evidenció la gestión de los últimos gobiernos para implementar una política de prevención de tales enfermedades, así como, para destinar mayores recursos públicos que permitan una adecuada satisfacción de las necesidades sanitarias de este grupo vulnerable. (shrink)

Los científicos suelen diferenciar entre teorías científicas explicativas y descriptivas. Para poder dar cuenta de esta diferencia es necesario contar con un análisis riguroso de las teorías científicas y la concepción estructuralista es una herramienta metateórica de análisis capaz de brindar los elementos metateóricos requeridos para abordar este tipo de estudios. El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar una teoría que trata de dar cuenta de la actividad cooperativa de las proteínas, la teoría de Hill (tanto la originalmente publicada como (...) la presentada en los libros de texto) con el fin de elucidar el concepto de explicación utilizado en este caso. Usually, scientists differentiate between explanatory and descriptive scientific theories. To be able to analyze this difference is necessary to provide a rigorous analysis of scientific theories - the structuralist point of view is a metatheoretic tool capable of offering the metatheoretic elements needed for this. The aim of the present work is to analyze Hill's theory (both as originally published and as presented in textbooks), a theory about the cooperative activity of the proteins, in order to elucidate the concept of explanation used in it. (shrink)

En el artículo se presentan los avances de un proyecto de investigación doctoral en ciencias sociales en la Universidad de Buenos Aires. A partir de una metodología cualitativa se exploraron espacios, clubes y centros culturales en la ciudad de Buenos Aires, desde el retorno de la democracia hasta los efectos de la crisis del 2001. De igual manera, se focalizó en la relevancia de la producción colectiva, es decir, en un proceso desencadenado por los cruces y anudamientos deseantes entre miembros (...) singulares. En tales coordenadas se encontró que el matiz lúdico habita los encuentros, ya que se trata de un espacio de sociabilidad en el que se improvisa con otros en las relaciones de intercambio que se establecen en un determinado grupo, cuya motivación pauta, incluso, los ritmos lógicos de su desarrollo. (shrink)

Starting from a comparison with post-colonial studies, the essay focuses on the importance of activating a South/South dialogue in order to analyze both the genealogies and legacies of colonialism and the violent tensions that cross the contemporary colonies. Inside this perspective, a fundamental place is dedicated to feminist reflection, from the critique of a western «salvationist» feminism to the idea of a «third feminism» or border feminism: new conceptual instruments and new theoretical practices through which we can re-write the relations (...) between race, gender and class in the Global South as well as in the Global North. (shrink)

Political Insults proposes a theory of international insult that focuses on interrelations between social identity and power. The book analyses conflicts between the U.S. and North Korea, sovereignty contestations around islands in the Japanese sea, Pussy Riot in Russia, veterans in Ukraine, and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Ethics regulation for human-subject research has been established for about 20 years in Brazil. However, compliance with this regulation is controversial for non-biomedical sciences, particularly for human and social sciences, the source of a recent debate at the National Commission for Research Ethics. We hypothesized that for these fields, formal requirements for compliance with HSR regulation in graduate programs, responsible for the greatest share of Brazilian science, would be small in number. We analyzed institutional documents from 171 graduate programs at (...) six prestigious Brazilian universities in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the states that fund most of the science conducted in Brazil. Among these programs, 149 were in HSS. The results suggest that non-compliance with standard regulation seems to be the rule in most of these programs. The data may reflect not only a resistance from scientists in these fields to comply with standard regulations for ethics in HSR but also a disciplinary tradition that seems prevalent when it comes to research ethics in HSR. However, recent encounters between Brazilian biomedical and non-biomedical scientists for debates over ethics in HSR point to a changing culture in the approach to research ethics in the country. (shrink)

This study explored the effect of attitude towards entrepreneurship, need for achievement, risk-taking propensity, proactive personality, self-efficacy, opportunity recognition competency, entrepreneurship education, uncertainty avoidance, and entrepreneurial knowledge on entrepreneurial intention among university students in Malaysia. This quantitative study had adopted the cross-sectional design approach and involved 391 university students in Malaysia via the online survey. The study outcomes revealed that the NFA, PRP, and SLE significantly affect students’ attitudes towards entrepreneurship. Moreover, entrepreneurship education and UNA significantly affect ORC. Finally, ATE (...) has a positive and significant effect on ENIN among university students in Malaysia. As entrepreneurship offers an alternative career path for people seeking economic prosperity and addressing social issues, including unemployment, the government should formulate effective policies and regulations that support entrepreneurship activities. Universities and other institutions should play a pivotal role in providing the proper exposure via entrepreneurship education while honing the essential traits for a career in entrepreneurship. (shrink)

Therapeutic strategies capable of inducing and enhancing prosthesis embodiment are a key point for better adaptation to and acceptance of prosthetic limbs. In this study, we developed a training protocol using an EMG-based human-machine interface that was applied in the preprosthetic rehabilitation phase of people with amputation. This is a case series with the objective of evaluating the induction and enhancement of the embodiment of a virtual prosthesis. Six men and a woman with unilateral transfemoral traumatic amputation without previous use (...) of prostheses participated in the study. Participants performed a training protocol with the EMG-based HMI, composed of six sessions held twice a week, each lasting 30 mins. This system consisted of myoelectric control of the movements of a virtual prosthesis immersed in a 3D virtual environment. Additionally, vibrotactile stimuli were provided on the participant’s back corresponding to the movements performed. Embodiment was investigated from the following set of measurements: skin conductance response, crossmodal congruency effect, ability to control the virtual prosthesis, and reports before and after the training. The increase in the skin conductance response in conditions where the virtual prosthesis was threatened, recalibration of the peripersonal space perception identified by the crossmodal congruency effect, ability to control the virtual prosthesis, and participant reports consistently showed the induction and enhancement of virtual prosthesis embodiment. Therefore, this protocol using EMG-based HMI was shown to be a viable option to achieve and enhance the embodiment of a virtual prosthetic limb. (shrink)

Technological advances are bringing new light to privacy issues and changing the reasons for why privacy is important. These advances have changed not only the kind of personal data that is available to be collected, but also how that personal data can be used by those who have access to it. We are particularly concerned with how information about personal attributes inferred from collected data (such as online behaviour), can be used to tailor messages and services to specific individuals or (...) groups. This kind of ‘personalised targeting’ has the potential to influence individuals’ perceptions, attitudes, and choices in unprecedented ways. In this paper, we argue that because it is becoming easier for companies to use collected data for influence, threats to privacy are increasingly also threats to personal autonomy—an individual’s ability to reflect on and decide freely about their values, actions, and behaviour, and to act on those choices.4 While increasing attention is directed to the ethics of how personal data is collected, we make the case that a new ethics of privacy needs to also think more rigorously about how personal data may be used, and its potential impact on personal autonomy. (shrink)

A série Moças Quitandeiras (2019 - ) nasce do meu desejo de homenagear aquelas que foram umas das primeiras confeiteiras em solo brasileiro, mulheres negras escravizadas e libertas que vendiam doces e outros alimentos em seus tabuleiros durante o período colonial.

El objetivo del presente trabajo es presentar los primeros pasos de una reconstrucción estructuralista de la teoría alostérica MWC. Esta teoría fue presentada en dos artículos publicados en Journal of Molecular Biology, en el primero de ellos “Allosteric proteins and cellular control systems”, de 1963, una versión simplificada, y en el segundo, “On the nature of allosteric transitions: a plausible model”, publicado en la misma revista en 1965, una versión más acabada. En estos trabajos, el ganador del premio Nobel en (...) Fisiología, Jacques Monod, introduce por primera vez un nuevo concepto que revolucionará la bioquímica y biología de la época: el alosterismo. (shrink)

Sin duda, el ser humano es una especie curiosa en su doble sentido de "digna de interés" y en cuanto incansablemente "husmeadora". Este carácter buscador le ha permitido ir pergeñando un edificio científico-filosófico complejísimo -dificultad que redunda en mayor fragilidad- basado en verdades ora encontradas, ora construidas que "exigen" a la sabiduría adentrarse en una terra ignota que se le resiste testarudamente. Este proceso en apariencia tan lineal -y del que no nos apercibimos pues en él nacemos- está atravesando por (...) una incongruencia ya que dicho constructo que persigue verdades circunda las cuatro obviedades básicas, a saber: que el ser hmano nace, muere, es-con-el/lo otro y siente dolor. La sencillez de estas afirmaciones hiere nuestra soberbia cognoscitiva y no resulta extraño que carezcan de interés para determinadas ciencias de vanguardia y sean esas "migajas" que se dejan para "entretener" a las disciplinas secundarias (entre ellas, la filosofía). (shrink)