ESTUDOS SOBRE O PENSAMENTO FILOSÓFICO DE ANTÓNIO JOSÉ DE BRITO Quem haja seguido com compreensiva e valorativa atenção o percurso da reflexão filosófica portuguesa no último quarto do século XX, não poderá ter deixado de reconhecer o destacado lugar que nele ocupa a obra de António José de Brito, Professor Catedrático jubilado da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, pelo exigente rigor, coerência sistemática e originalidade do seu pensamento de cariz dialéctico, desenvolvido a partir da noção principial de Insuperável, (...) bem como a inteligência e penetração hermenêuticas que sempre revelam os seus estudos e ensaios sobre diversos filósofos portugueses O presente Volume reúne não só os textos das comunicações no Colóquio de Homenagem ao ilustre filósofo e mestre portuense, como contém outros textos sobre o seu pensamento, de individualidades que, embora impossibilitadas de nele participar, quiseram associar-se a esta homenagem, como igualmente, na ula Gratulatória, uma série de outros nomes que a esta homenagem se quiseram igualmente associar. (shrink)

O artigo versa sobre “A Ideia de Sociedade - diálogo entre Lima Vaz e Hegel” e objetiva apresentar o pensamento social de Henrique Cláudio de Lima Vaz, sob a ótica da Filosofia do Direito de Hegel. Em uma abordagem lógico-dialética, ele desenvolve três argumentos constitutivos da Ideia de Sociedade: 1) A relação universal política; 2) A relação particular democrática; 3) A relação singular da comunidade ética e finaliza-se com a síntese expressiva dos atos que justificam a relação entre ética e (...) política. (shrink)

El presente trabajo aborda la interpretación de la fenomenología generativa de Anthony Steinbock, y las consecuencias metodológicas de una reconfiguración de la relación entre fenomenología genética y Generatividad. Para ello se analiza el modelo de “constitución territorial” presente en su obra Home and Beyond, abordando la tensión entre la comprensión clásica de la fenomenología husserliana y su reinterpretación. Se discute cómo la fenomenología no fundacional propuesta por Steinbock podría transformar la teoría fenomenológica, examinando críticas y preocupaciones metodológicas en la literatura (...) especializada. A partir del modelo de relación liminal, que Steinbock aplica a la relación entre mundo familiar y mundo ajeno, se sugiere considerar la relación entre la fenomenología genética clásica y la generativa como liminal, entendiendo esta relación como una en que ambos enfoques se necesitan y se desafían mutuamente. (shrink)

Se analiza el tratamiento que da Husserl en sus escritos tardíos al fenómeno-límite de la muerte, así como a la problemática que surge en la relación entre el hombre mundano y el sujeto trascendental. El acceso a la dimensión última de la subjetividad constituyente, que la reflexión sobre la muerte exige y motiva, revela una anonimia fundamental del yo, que pone en cuestión la posibilidad de la fenomenología de auto-fundamentarse siguiendo sus propios principios metodológicos: la ausencia de presupuestos y la (...) búsqueda de conocimiento a través de la intuición. (shrink)

In this paper I examine the paradox of human subjectivity in light of the tension between two forms of approaching subjectivity (as transcendental subject or as empirical being) along with two other paradoxes that, I will argue, are also the expression of the larger tension between first-personal and third-personal accounts of experience. One is the “crazy paradox” Merleau-Ponty points to in his analyses of Husserl’s reflection on the notion of Earth as ground in the text “The originary ark, the Earth, (...) does not move”. The other is the paradox of death, that consists of the contradictory understanding of my own death as being certain yet unconstitutable. I present a brief description of Husserl’s developments on death and argue that its peculiarities present a challenge for the phenomenological method as a whole, and for the distinction between transcendental subjectivity and the empirical human being; then I offer a preliminary analysis of the Merleau-Pontian diagnosis of Husserl’s philosophy as well as Merleau-Ponty’s own way out of the paradox, and point out some of its insufficiencies. (shrink)

En este trabajo abordamos algunos de los aspectos más relevantes del pensamiento del poeta y filósofo Teixeira de Pascoaes acerca de la Saudade, destacando su dimensión más “metafísica”.

UM PERCURSO PELO PENSAMENTO FILOSÓFICO PORTUGUÊS DESDE AS ORIGENS DA NACIONALIDADE ATÉ AO SÉC XVIII Prefácio de António Braz Teixeira Distribuído por 22 capítulos, como que síntese ou esquema, cada um deles, de uma aula ou lição, o presente livro assenta a interpretação que propõe do devir histórico da nossa reflexão filosófica, por um lado, na íntima relação da Filosofia com a língua e com a cultura e, por outro, nas relações do pensamento filosófico com os elementos mais significativos e (...) individualizadores da nossa psique colectiva, em que, para a autora, avulta o sentimento saudoso, com a sua complexa ambivalência e os seus fundos nexos com o problema ou mistério do mal e com o messianismo, o que explicaria a essencial relação, no nosso pensamento, entre razão e fé, filosofia e religião, filosofia e teologia, e a reduzida expressão da mística, ou os laços franciscanos com a natureza, o lugar do culto mariano e do Espírito Santo, aspectos para que Francisco da Cunha Leão pertinentemente chamou a atenção em O Enigma Português e Ensaio de Psicologia Portuguesa António Braz Teixeira in Prefácio. (shrink)

CICLO DE CONFERÊNCIAS Encontramos aqui uma panorâmica simultaneamente vasta e profunda sobre a relação entre Filosofia e Literatura, es elecendo diversas pontes de diálogo entre estas duas margens que, em geral, não comunicam ou comunicam pouco, decerto muito menos do que seria desejável Pontes de diálogo que passam pela recordação da Filosofia Antiga ou, mais especificamente, da tradição neoplatónica, e que se projectam em autores contemporâneos como, entre outros, Paul Ricoeur, Jean-Paul Sartre, Clarice Lispector, Hilda Hist, Leonardo Coimbra, Teixeira de (...) Pascoaes, Fernando Pessoa, Vergílio Ferreira, Jorge de Sena e Gonçalo M Tavares. (shrink)

Neste texto, desenvolvemos um diálogo com Albert Camus e Vergílio Ferreira, a partir de algumas temáticas do pensamento existencial ou do designado “existencialismo”. Filósofos de acção foram estes dois autores, até ao limite permitido pelas suas forças. O exercício filosófico de Vergílio Ferreira acentua o que designamos como um existencialista mais “mental” – o de Albert Camus será mais “visceral” –, mas ambos, nos seus itinerários, imbuídos de uma consciência cujo horizonte finito e temporal tem como limite a autenticidade.

La centralidad que tiene la dimensión erótica en nuestras sociedades occidentales se refleja, entre otros múltiples fenómenos, en amplios y diversos nichos de mercado tendientes a generar ganancias por medio de la oferta de cuerpos, bienes y servicios que promueven la maximización de las experiencias sensorio-sexuales y la optimización del cuerpo en términos estéticos y eróticos. La producción de subjetividades se juega en el marco de un mercado que ofrece experiencias que combinan diversión, esfuerzo y autopromoción bajo las lógicas de (...) los insoslayables marcadores sociales de la diferencia.Al calor de estos fenómenos contemporáneos, tejidos por las tramas del erotismo, el género y el mercado, el presente artículo se propone realizar un análisis performático y performativo de una experiencia de participación observante en un taller de seducción femenina realizado en la ciudad de Córdoba. Se abordarán las técnicas corporales que fueron enseñadas, aprendidas y ensayadas en el taller y, en un segundo momento, el tipo específico de ideal regulatorio de la feminidad que estaba siendo propuesto tanto por medio de las particulares citaciones erótico-corporales que fuimos instadas a reiterar como por el discurso experto del profesor del taller. Con ello, se busca construir una descripción densa de esta instancia apostando a que amplíe los modos de abordar y conocer cómo estos paradójicos espacios reúnen experiencias y discursos de normalización y reactivación de viejos mandatos femeninos, a la par que transforman convenciones ligadas al género y la sexualidad. (shrink)

Este trabajo analiza documentos del D2 de la policía de Santiago del Estero y de la oficina de inteligencia de una Base Aeronaval en Chubut con el objetivo de identificar sus clasificaciones para la identificación de actores y preguntarse, a partir de allí, respecto del rol de los organismos de información e inteligencia durante los períodos democráticos. Este aspecto, que sigue siendo una de las deudas de la democracia argentina, fue materia de legislación en 2001 con la sanción de la (...) Ley de Inteligencia Nacional 25.520. Sin embargo, el hallazgo de archivos militares y policiales que ocupan a este artículo dan cuenta de la continuidad de la práctica de investigación de antecedentes, reunión de información y producción de inteligencia por razones políticas sobre ciudadanos e instituciones. Esto abre interrogantes en torno a la idea de que el sentido de los documentos responde exclusivamente a las funciones formales del organismo productor. Antes bien, deben ser considerados como artefactos sociales que encarnan y reproducen repertorios culturales políticos de largo aliento, que forman parte de la llamada “baja política” pero que inciden en los procesos, conflictos y decisiones que se despliegan en la dimensión institucional de la política. (shrink)

A reacção anti-positivista, não assumindo a uniformidade ou quase uniformidade da concepção de que se dizia antagonista, não deixou de assumir posição destacada, estando na origem do renascimento especulativo no nosso país nas duas últimas centúrias Merece, assim, ser estudada seriamente O positivismo foi uma corrente filosófica nos finais do século XIX, de tal modo dominante que se tornou uma espécie de moda Penetrou, profundamente, nos es elecimentos de ensino, no jornalismo, na política, recebendo, em certos planos, uma aberta consagração (...) legal Não parece de estranhar que despertasse a resposta crítica de adversários relevantes, que não estavam dispostos a aceitar-lhes passivamente as directrizes. (shrink)

The analysis of TV violence cannot be limited to the quantification of its incidence, but should also take into account the type of violence broadcast and its context (what is depicted and how). Thus, normative models of violence (legitimized violence with positive consequences for the aggressor, or vice versa) could be understood as positive, while contra-normative models of violence (rewarding illegitimate violence and punishing legitimate violence) should be of far greater concern. This paper analyzes the normative contexts of TV violence (...) through a content analysis of randomly selected fragments of TV programming (147 recorded hours). The results show that news programs and TV series/soaps delegitimized violence to a higher extent, while films tend to show legitimized or ambivalent violence. Positive consequences of violence predominate in fictional programs, except for TV series/soaps. Normative presentation of violence is more frequent, especially in nonfiction genres, as fiction has more freedom to depict the socially undesirable. (shrink)

No vigor intelectual dos seus 75 anos desapareceu do nosso convívio em Junho de 2003 Eduardo Abranches de Soveral A sua dimensão humana como especulativa permite situá-lo naquele patamar de homens a que podemos chamar Mestres Distinto pelo saber, pela compreensão e carácter, e com a profunda marca que deixou na Faculdade de Letras do Porto, sobretudo no curso de Filosofia, o Grupo de Investigação Raízes e Horizontes da Filosofia e da Cultura em Portugal, do Gabinete de Filosofia Moderna e (...) Contemporânea do Instituto de Filosofia da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto (deste Instituto tendo sido seu primeiro Presidente), não podia deixar de lhe prestar a justa homenagem, ao mesmo tempo contribuindo para a divulgação da sua vasta obra Eduardo Abranches de Soveral, Pensador, Filósofo e Humanista foi a designação que escolhemos para este colóquio que durante dois dias reuniu no Anfiteatro Nobre da FLUP cerca de trinta conferencistas para proceder a um estudo sistemático da obra do professor e do filósofo português, integrando-o no contexto do pensamento filosófico português e do pensamento europeu seu contemporâneo, integrando ainda textos de outros especialistas no pensamento de Eduardo Abranches de Soveral, que, não tendo participado no Colóquio, nem por isso deixaram de dar o seu contributo para este volume Grupo de Investigação Raízes e Horizontes da Filosofia e da Cultura em Portugal Instituto de Filosofia da Universidade do Porto. (shrink)

ENTREVISTA COM PROFISSIONAIS DA FILOSOFIA QUE ATUAM EM PROJETOS – BLOCO IICom: Andrea Dantas, Emerson Praciano, Freddy Costa, Maria Celeste de SousaPor: Antônio Alex Pereira de Sousa, Paulo Willame Araújo de Lima.

The case study is presented in the title: Hrabanus Maurus’s In honorem sanctae crucis and Berthold of Nuremberg’s two-part work Liber de misteriis et laudibus sancta crucis and the supplement Liber de misteriis et laudibus interemerate Virginis genitrices Dei et Domini nostril Ihesu ) are confronted and dissected; and the use of the word “transformation” is key to the analytical and interpretive possibilities concerning the medieval formulas the author presents. Close to five hundred years separate the carmina figurata of the (...) Carolingian abbot and the text-images of the Dominican lector and both follow on antique traditions. With more than two hundred pictures of diagrams and illuminations from a multitude of codices, architectural details and religious objects, Hamburger furnishes our understanding of transformation in medieval visual cultures and of the centrality of diagrams in artistic productions. (shrink)

The SSIS SEL Brief Scales are multi-informant measures that were developed to efficiently assess the SEL competencies of school-age youth in the United States. Recently, the SSIS SELb was translated into multiple languages for use in a multi-site study across six European countries. The purpose of the current study was to examine concurrent and predictive evidence for the SEL Composite scores from the translated versions of the SSIS SELb Scales. Results indicated that SSIS SELb Composite scores demonstrated expected positive concurrent (...) and predictive relationships with scores from the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and negative relationships with scores from the problem behavior scales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Although there were a few exceptions, these patterns generally were consistent across informants and samples providing initial validity evidence for the Composite score from the translated versions of the SSIS SELb Scales. Limitations and future research directions are discussed. (shrink)

Child-to-parent violence is a growing public health problem with consequences for perpetrators and families. Most research has focused on individual and family risk factors. However, little is known about its links with individual outcomes. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between CPV and psychological distress, suicidal ideation, and self-concept in school-aged adolescents, taking into account the gender perspective. A study was conducted with a sample of 8,115 adolescents, aged between 11 and 16 years from the State (...) of Nuevo León, Mexico. A MANOVA 3 × 2 was performed to analyze the data. The results revealed that adolescents involved in CPV showed higher levels of psychological distress and suicidal ideation and lower levels of family and social self-concept. It was also observed that girls with higher levels of CPV scored the lowest levels of psychological distress and suicidal ideation, as well as the lowest levels of family self-concept. The findings highlight that adolescents and especially girls involved in CPV also report internal maladjustment outcomes. Finally, the results and their implications for research and intervention with adolescents involved in CPV are discussed. (shrink)

Scopo del saggio è confrontare alcune tra le principali visiones della letteratura occidentale – tra cui la Visio Pauli e la Commedia – e le diverse redazioni della tradizione islamica dell’ascensione celeste e viaggio oltremondano del profeta Muhammad, nel tentativo di stabilire se le affinità, tematiche e strutturali, osservabili tra i due gruppi di testi siano frutto di semplice poligenesi o vadano piuttosto spiegate con rapporti di effettiva intertestualità.Tra le visiones, la tradizione mirajica e la Commedia si instaura dunque (...) un dialogo a tre voci, o di sinfonia, i cui temi principali si arricchiscono e si richiamano a vicenda. Dante, primo comparatista, è in grado di reinventare, armonizzandoli, elementi strutturali e tematici provenienti sia dalle visiones latine che dalla tradizione islamica del Isra’ wa’ l Mi‘râj.The purpose of this essay is to make a confrontation between the main important visiones of the Occidental Literature – also the Visio Pauli and the Dante’s Commedia – anche the various redactions of the Islamic Isra’ wa-l mi’râj. The confrontation is in order to establish if the remarked affinities are just due to polygenesis or rather caused by concrete intertestuality.Between the visiones, the mirajic tradition and the Commedia we are in front of a three voices dialogue: it’s like a symphony, in which the themes enriches themselves and, at least, the arrive to Dante for being harmonized. Dante is the first comparatist. (shrink)

Aunque política y ciencia constituyen hoy en día ramas casi antagónicas del conocimiento humano -acaso combinables en ámbitos ficcionales como el cine y la literatura-, la relación entre filosofía política y astronomía es una constante histórica que alcanza especial fuerza en el pensamiento emancipatorio del siglo xix. El presente artículo sitúa en ese marco La eternidad por los astros y, asimismo, somete a contraste la peculiaridad retórica e ideológica de esta obra, en donde Louis-Auguste Blanqui propone una contigüidad entre orbe (...) celeste y sociedades humanas, basada en su análogo funcionamiento y su común atavismo. (shrink)

La pittura islamica e in particolare l’illustrazione dei manoscritti, opere a circolazione limitata e prevalentemente privata, ha avuto una notevole diffusione godendo del patrocinio delle corti. Alcune pitture, soprattutto quelle che illustrano l’Ascensione celeste del profeta Muhammad, ma anche le Storie dei Profeti, pitture datate al XIV e XV secolo, rappresentano l’uno e gli altri col volto scoperto. Solo relativamente tardi, in particolare nel mondo iranico, ma anche presso gli ottomani o i Moghul dell’India, il volto del Profeta diventa (...) una convenzione iconografica. Un versetto coranico afferma che Dio parla all’uomo o per Rivelazione o dietro a un velame. Per questo nell’iconografia della pittura islamica si constata che il Profeta o altri personaggi possono figurare con il volto coperto da un velo. Questo segno di rispetto, col tempo, si trasformerà in parola e il sembiante del Profeta sarà reso calligraficamente. Islamic painting and particularly miniature painting illustrating manuscripts, books restricted to few people and for personal use, had a considerable circulation thanks to the patronage of courts. Some paintings, chiefly those illustrating the heavenly Ascent of the prophet Muhammad, but also Histories of Prophets, paintings dated to the XIV and XV century, show him and the others barefaced. Only fairly later, particularly in the iranian world, but also among Ottomans or the Moghuls of India, the face of the Prophet becomes an iconographic convention. According to a Koranic verse God speaks to man either through Revelation of behind a veil. For this reason in the iconography of islamic painting the Prophet or other people may appear with the face covered by a veil. This sign of respect, in the course of time, changed and the countenance of the Prophet was rendered in words, that is calligraphically. (shrink)

A la hora de plantearse la realización de actividades relacionadas con la enseñanza de los aspectos astronómicos, se presentan problemas prácticos evidentes que no ayudan a desarrollar una adecuada actividad científica escolar. Las TIC son un instrumento de gran utilidad para sortear estas dificultades, dado que permiten reproducir los fenómenos celestes y experimentar con ellos. El objetivo de este artículo es, en concreto, reflexionar sobre la utilidad de las simulaciones informáticas para la enseñanza de los aspectos histórico-astronómicos. Como muestra de (...) sus posibilidades se presentan simulaciones que pueden realizarse para visualizar diversos fenómenos astronómicos descubiertos por Galileo Galilei. (shrink)

ESTUDOS SOBRE O PENSAMENTO LUSO-BRASILEIRO Os estudos que compõem o presente volume, centrados em temas já presentes em colectâneas anteriores, como a metafísica da saudade, a ideia de Deus e a filosofia da religião ou a problemática ontológica e ética, embora, em primeira linha, busquem surpreender e patentear a individualidade e íntima unidade do pensamento de cada um dos filósofos aqui considerados, não deixam de ter, igualmente, em consideração as relações especulativas, expressas ou implícitas, que mantenham com outros pensadores de (...) língua portuguesa, por pensar o autor serem as filosofias portuguesa e brasileira expressões complementares de um mesmo logos, que vem designando por razão atlântica Coordenação de Maria Celeste Natário Grupo de Investigação Raízes e Horizontes da Filosofia e da Cultura em Portugal Instituto de Filosofia da Universidade do Porto. (shrink)

The scientist Richard Lovell Edgeworth, educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and Oxford, was a Member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, where he exchanged ideas with other scientists, including James Watt, and was known for his significant mechanical inventions. However, Edgeworth's real interest was education: in this 1788 two-volume work, written with his daughter, the poet Maria Edgeworth, he draws on his own experience of raising twenty children, from which the work derives its authority and innovative character. The work was (...) very influential, and led to his Essays on Professional Education. The two volumes discuss the theories of philosophers and educationalists, while in general arguing for the importance and formative character of early childhood experiences. Volume 1 deals with different areas of childhood education, including play, learning, and obedience and good behaviour. (shrink)

Good actors appear to become their characters, making them come alive, as if they were real. Is this because they have succeeded in merging themselves with their character? Are there any positive or negative psychological effects of this experience? We examined the role of three characteristics that may make this kind of merging possible: dissociation, flow, and empathy. We also examined the relation of these characteristics to acting quality. Acting students and non-acting students completed a dissociation measure, and then performed (...) a monologue that was recorded and rated on the dimensions of acting. Participants were then reassessed on dissociation to determine whether it increased as a function of performance. They were also then assessed on flow and empathy. Actors did not differ from non-actors on dissociation, but did score significantly higher than non-actors on some flow and empathy subscales, indicating a positive psychological experience and outcome. While non-actors’ dissociation marginally increased post-performance, actors’ dissociation rose significantly, which could indicate a negative psychological experience. Surprisingly, acting ratings were unrelated to the levels of dissociation, flow, or empathy. We concluded that, while these are tools used by actors to immerse themselves fully in their characters, they may not be necessary to create the illusion of an imaginary character come to life on stage. (shrink)

Razón, poesía, historia.--La cuestión del estoicismo español.--El querer.

The vehicle suspension system is represented by a complex group of components which connect the wheels to the frame or body. Its primary function is to reduce or absorb various vehicle vibrations generated by road disturbances, providing comfort and safety for passengers. Most modern vehicles have independent, active, or semiactive front and rear suspensions which allow the use of electronic actuation. For this reason, automotive engineers conduct research on the active suspension model to determine the most suitable control algorithm. Three (...) active suspension models are intensely used within simulations: the quarter-car, the half-car, and the full-car models. This paper proposes an adaptive harmonic control for a half-car active suspension system. The mathematical model of the suspension system is implemented in the MATLAB/Simulink environment. The control approach is tested via simulation, and several comparisons with the classical proportional-integral controller are provided. The simulation results show that the controller behaves quite similarly on the half-car model as it did on a quarter-car model. Additionally, an improvement to the harmonic control algorithm has been accomplished. (shrink)

IN THE LAST PART of the Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith puts his theory in a class with those of his contemporaries Francis Hutcheson and David Hume, namely, the systems that make sentiments the principle of approbation. Despite recognizing important differences with both of them, he thinks that since he has placed the origin of moral sentiments in sympathy, and in particular the fact that we are able to enter into the motives of the agent and get pleasure from (...) finding them appropriate to their cause, sentiments are the foundation of his theory of morals. Many of Smith’s commentators, in fact almost all of the most important studies over the last few years, reaffirm the author’s self-description. However, my aim in this paper is to challenge this view by showing that Smith’s system can also be plausibly seen as a theory of practical reasoning, and in some important aspects very similar to Aristotelian ethics. Surprisingly few scholars have seen this parallel. Laurence Berns, Samuel Fleischacker, Charles Griswold, and Gloria Vivenza are the latest exceptions, identifying several points of coincidence between Adam Smith and Aristotle’s ethics. None of them, however, has tied all these similarities under a unified interpretation, such as the one I propose here: The basic analogy between these theories, and the source of those particular coincidences, is the operation of practical reason. Moreover, and besides the common elements with Aristotle’s ethics, Smith’s reconstruction of practical reason simultaneously announces some of the main features of modern accounts of ethics, such as impartiality and universality as preconditions of moral judgment. The integration of these ancient and modern elements in a single coherent theory allows Smith’s TMS to overcome the insufficiencies and paradoxes of both these traditions, and it constitutes one of the most interesting and challenging proposals of modern ethics. (shrink)

Many philosophical counselors seem to be counselors who use or point to phil­osophical texts or use abstract indeed logical or rational methods when working with a client. I want to introduce the idea of a counseling philosopher, who uses the client’s own concrete experiences as the basis for philosophizing with the client about the nature of the client’s dilemma - using ‘the between’ (Buber) as that special creative space where one em­ploys the art of philosophizing to the unique situation. Otherwise, (...) the particularity of that client gets subsumed under theory or methods, much like what has happened in psychology and which gave rise to Achenbach’s criticisms of psychology/psychiatry. The dialogical of which Buber and Friedman speak is the give and take between client and counseling philosopher of understanding and expanding perceptions confirmed through the actual relationship. Philosophy as an art (and not a method) helps us restore the trust Buber talks about which allows us to engage the world directly and not through categories of thought grounded in psychological or philosophical texts and theories. (shrink)

Recent literature have underlined the connections between children’s reading skills and capacity to create and use mental representations or mental images; furthermore data highlighted the involvement of visuospatial abilities both during math learning and during subsequent developmental phases in performing math tasks. The present research adopted a longitudinal design to assess whether the processes of mental imagery in preschoolers (ages 4–5 years) are predictive of mathematics skills, writing and reading, in the early years of primary school (ages 6–7 years). The (...) research lasted for two school years; in the first phase, the general group of participants consisted of 100 children, and although all participants agreed to be part of the research, in the second phase, there was a mortality rate of 30%. In order to measure school learning and mental imagery processes four batteries of tests were used. The mental imagery battery evaluated mental generation, inspection and transformation processes. Data underlined that the different aspects in which mental imagery processes are articulated are differently implied in some skills that constitute school learning. These findings emphasise the potential usefulness of a screening for mental imagery ability for schoolchildren to adopt effective measures to increase their mental imagery abilities. (shrink)

The progressive multistage stabilization of memory (consolidation) relies on post-acquisition neural reorganization. We hypothesize that two processes subserve procedural memory consolidation and are reflected in delayed post-acquisition performance gains: (1) synaptic consolidation, which is classical Hebbian, and (2) in some tasks, concurrently or consequently, “system consolidation,” which might in some skills be sleep-dependent. Behavioral interference may affect either type of consolidation.

The comprehension problem in Broca's patients does not stem from an inability to represent argument traces. There can be good comprehension in the presence of (object) traces and impaired comprehension can result in constructions where there are no (object) argument traces. This leads to an alternative understanding of Broca's comprehension, one that places the locus of the impairment in an inability to construct syntactic representation on time.