This seminal, multidisciplinary book shows how mathematics can be used to study the first principles of DNA. Most importantly, it enriches the so-called "Chargaff's grammar of biology" by providing the conceptual theoretical framework necessary to generalize Chargaff's rules. Starting with a simple example of DNA mathematical modeling where human nucleotide frequencies are associated to the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio through an optimization problem, its breakthrough is showing that the reverse, complement and reverse-complement operators defined over oligonucleotides induce a (...) natural set partition of DNA words of fixed-size. These equivalence classes, when organized into a matrix form, reveal hidden patterns within the DNA sequence of every living organism. Intended for undergraduate and graduate students both in mathematics and in life sciences, it is also a valuable resource for researchers interested in studying invariant genomic properties. (shrink)

Abstract:Facial transplantation is emerging as a therapeutic option for self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The self-inflicted nature of this injury raises questions about the appropriate role of self-harm in determining patient eligibility. Potential candidates for facial transplantation undergo extensive psychosocial screening. The presence of a self-inflicted gunshot wound warrants special attention to ensure that a patient is prepared to undergo a demanding procedure that poses significant risk, as well as stringent lifelong management. Herein, we explore the ethics of considering mechanism of injury (...) in the patient selection process, referring to the precedent set forth in solid organ transplantation. We also consider the available evidence regarding outcomes of individuals transplanted for self-inflicted mechanisms of injury in both solid organ and facial transplantation. We conclude that while the presence of a self-inflicted gunshot wound is significant in the overall evaluation of the candidate, it does not on its own warrant exclusion from consideration for a facial transplantation. (shrink)

Eduardo Arroyo, Armelle Auris, François Boissonnet, Paul HENRY, Pierre-Jean LABARRIERE, MATIEU, Gilles AILLAUD, Gérad THALMANN, Nicole MATHIEU, Jacques VIMARD, Michel QUAREZ, Leonardo CREMONINI, L'atelier d'Eduardo Arryo: Le carré blanc du ring, Rue Descartes, No. 7, Logiques de l'éthique (Juin 1993), pp. 149-168.

Falaremos de uma cidadania criativa que se configura lentamente na sociedade contemporânea. Consumo, beleza, vaidade, moda e corpo são elementos que irão fazer o campo da cultura refletir sobre conceitos que estavam, por muito tempo, sedimentados no campo da Comunicação. As jovens mulheres que se autointitulam “ratas” e seu estilo de vida nos guiaram para problematizar questões relativas às sociabilidades comunitárias e à cidadania cultural. Este trabalho faz uma imersão de campo na comunidade na favela da Candelária, na Mangueira, (...) Rio de Janeiro. (shrink)

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar os elementos centrais da crítica realizada por Axel Honneth ao pensamento de Michel Foucault, em Crítica do Poder, articulando-a com sua análise da obra do chamado “círculo interno” da Escola de Frankfurt, principalmente Adorno e Horkheimer. Dessa maneira, entende-se que Honneth opera uma aproximação do pensamento foucaultiano à tradição crítica frankfurtiana, com ênfase em deficiências comuns que apontam para uma filiação entre os autores e, ao mesmo tempo, para sua insuficiência na análise da (...) sociedade contemporânea. Tal leitura, contudo, em que pese sua inovação em pôr lado a lado Foucault e Habermas enquanto desenvolvimentos rivais da Teoria Crítica, é limitada tanto cronologicamente, por não levar em consideração a reorientação realizada por Foucault, a partir de 1978, quanto por identificar problematicamente as noções de poder e dominação. Essa limitação não inviabiliza, entretanto, manter o gesto de convergência entre o pensamento foucaultiano e a Escola de Frankfurt, pensando-o através de uma via positiva, que não se restrinja às limitações das suas ferramentas críticas, mas que, ao contrário, ao focalizar a radicalidade de tal crítica, torne possível destacar a sua atualidade. (shrink)

In the first part of this essay, I develop the argument that Michel Foucault's work should be read with geographical and topological ideas in mind. I argue that Foucault's archeology and genealogy are fundamentally determined by spatial, topological, geographical, and geometrical metaphors and concepts. This spatial dimension of genealogy is explicitly related to racism and the regimes that domesticate agents through the practices, institutions and ideologies of racialization. The second part offers a genealogical reading of US history and spatiality (...) in terms of its racial institutions. I suggest that if we want to read the US geographies of topographies and cartographies of racism in a Foucauldian manner, then we must focus on plantations, ghettos, and prisons as the spaces‐institutions‐geographies that consolidated the racial matrix of US polity. My goal is to acculturate Foucauldian racial genealogy to the US racial matrix, and, conversely, to read US geo‐history in terms of racializing spatialities. (shrink)

O termo Ecosofia evoca a necessidade de se pensar uma nova relação entre o homem e o meio ambiente a partir de um paradigma pós-cartesiano, uma vez que sob a égide do cartesianismo subscreveu-se uma forma de dominação sobre a natureza onde a última se apresenta como “serva” do homem. Tal expressão remonta ao pensamento do ambientalista norueguês Arne Naess, fundador do movimento conhecido como Deep Ecology, o qual, entre outras características, estabelece que o problema da ecologia está além de (...) um único campo de estudos, envolvendo o esforço coletivo de diferentes áreas, uma vez que se trata de um tema de responsabilidade de todos. Diversos pensadores podem ser incluídos no desenvolvimento daquele conceito, indo de Rousseau a Félix Guattari, a sociólogos como Michel Maffesoli e físicos como Fritjof Capra. Compreendemos, com base nos trabalhos de alguns dos seus principais teóricos, que a Ecosofia abrange uma dimensão metafísica que está além das formas consensuais de combate ao desequilíbrio ambiental, os quais se instrumentalizam através de acordos e metas estabelecidas através de instituições políticas, mas que se promove como uma cosmovisão que tem como princípio transformar a consciência humana para que se acomode aos termos de um novo convívio entre si e com a natureza. Daqui emergem duas tarefas a serem plenamente consolidadas: o reconhecimento da interdependência dos seres vivos entre si, em relação ao meio ambiente e à natureza tomada como origem comum de todos. Este último ponto exprime um conflito com a tradição espiritual do Ocidente de matriz judaico-cristã. (shrink)

This paper examines ethics in organizations in relation to the subjectivity of managers. Drawing on the work of Michel Foucault we seek to theorize ethics in terms of the meaning of being a manager who is an active ethical subject. Such a manager is so in relation to the organizational structures and norms that govern the conduct of ethics. Our approach locates ethics in the relation between individual morality and organizationally prescribed principles assumed to guide personal action. In this (...) way we see ethics as a practice that is powerfully intertwined in an individual’s freedom to make choices about what to do and who to be, and the organizational context in which those choices are situated, framed and governed. (shrink)

O que somos? Como nos tornamos o que somos? Quais relações de saber-poder atravessam nossas subjetividades? Quais dispositivos e tecnologías foram/são mobilizados em torno das urgências histórico-contemporâneas? Quais outros somos são possíveis diante das estratégias de governamentalidade disciplinares e biopolíticas que marcam a contemporaneidade? O pensamento de Michel Foucault e seu modo crítico de indagação histórica e filosófica possibilitam que interpelemos os processos que nos fizeram e nos fazem ser quem somos, seus mecanismos de assujeitamento e posibilidades de resistências, (...) nos levando a problematizar os processos de subjetivação como efeitos e indicios de relações de poder-saber historicamente constituídas [...]. (shrink)

O presente trabalho procura discutir a função-autor a partir de Michel Foucault em suas possíveis contribuições ao campo da Ciência da Informação. Tratando-se de trabalho de caráter qualitativo, a partir de material bibliográfico, realizou-se a leitura da literatura pertinente à temática em textos de Michel Foucault e Paul Otlet, a fim de identificar o tratamento dispensado à figura do autor em ambos, procedendo à realização de um exercício comparativo. Identificou-se em Paul Otlet a presença da atribuição à figura (...) do autor o papel explorado por Michel Foucault em seus textos, correspondendo a um sentido ordenador e a uma espécie de chave de leitura para um conjunto a que se compreende por “obra”. Concluiu-se a necessidade de aprofundar o tratamento dos textos foucaultianos no campo da Ciência da Informação, procurando compreender as condições de possibilidade dos nossos objetos. (shrink)

Entrevue avec Michel MaffesoliEntrevista com Michel Maffesoli.

La obra filosófica de Michel Henry forjó una filosofía del cristianismo que se articula como una Fenomenología de la Vida, engarzada con una filosofía de la carne y consumada como una Fenomenología de la Encarnación. El núcleo de dicha fenomenología comienza distinguiendo entre la fenomenología del mundo y la Fenomenología de la Vida. La fenomenología del mundo planteó y plantea siempre un pensamiento confinado en la exterioridad, en el estar fuera; en lo ek-stático, que siempre olvida y niega la (...) vida. La Fenomenología de la Vida, en cambio, es la inmanencia y la auto-afección (el experimentarse a sí del viviente), que se expone desde las intuiciones esenciales del cristianismo: una vida que es auto-revelación; que es auto-donación, y que está caracterizada por el gozo infinito de sí en el abrazo patético de Sí, en la auto-afección. Ello, la Vida absoluta (Dios Padre, Dios de la Vida) auto-engendra eternamente a Dios Hijo, Cristo, el Primogénito, el Archi-Hijo. En Él nacemos a y por la Vida los vivientes, que somos los Hijos de Dios, Hijos de la Vida en el Archi-Hijo. Él nos singulariza engendrándonos en su Archi-Ipseidad. La carne del viviente es engendrada en el Verbo hecho Carne; Palabra de Vida, Palabra de la Verdad, Verbo de Vida, Verbo de Amor. (shrink)

This paper seeks to highlight the methodological contributions developed by Michel Foucault in regard to a critical history. We propose a tour through various passages of the thinker´s work, with the aim of bashing the main elements that allegedly make up his method. From this exercise we maintain that, in order to record the existence of a Foucauldian method, it is necessary to reproblematize this notion beyond the displacements around the well-known three moments of his work -archeological/genealogical/ethical-, reorienting the (...) look towards the critical tension possible to peer around the unique place that occupies the question of history in his work. The novelty of our proposal is to point out that, beyond the well-known substantial contributions foreshadowed around Foucault's conceptual rig, his work must be understood as an eminently practical historical-philosophical methodology, aimed at disarticulating the canonical principles that legitimize knowledge produced by the historiographic method, thus opening a region of indiscernibility and rarity in historical practice that, we maintain, can be thought of in the vicinity of a parahistory. In sum, we propose the thesis that the displacement in Foucault's work takes on a singular power from the introduction of a strategic artifice ― anonymous ―, aimed at forcing a fold of history on itself, showing how historiographical plots actively tax to sustain and legitimize the regimes of knowledge, power and truth present in them. (shrink)

A partir do estudo sobre o processo histórico de ressignificação da relação entre subjetividade e verdade, realizado por Michel Foucault no curso “A Hermenêutica do Sujeito”, o presente artigo analisa as possíveis implicações dessa ressignificação no processo de institucionalização da filosofia, problematizando, por conseguinte, a temática do ensino de Filosofia na Educação Básica.

This paper develops what we can call a first approach into a “possible communication epistemology” through certain conceptions from Serres. These conceptions are characterized by an open perspective that breaks the notions of limit, frontier, barrier and competence that have distinguished epistemolo..

"On ne naît pas féministe, alors comment le devient-on? Et comment les vagues féministes se sont-elles succédé? Première universitaire à enseigner l'histoire des femmes en France au début des années 70, Michelle Perrot revient ici avec Eduardo Castillo sur ce qui l'a construite, ses lectures, son engagement. Elle donne à voir un siècle de bouleversements et la profondeur des luttes qui agitent aujourd'hui nos sociétés. Pas à pas, l'ouvrage nous guide dans cette épopée en explorant toutes ses ramifications : (...) l'histoire du patriarcat et des progrès de l'égalité, celle des grands débats féministes sur le corps, le genre, l'universalisme face au différentialisme, la sororité, MeToo. La grande histoire se mêle au destin des femmes qui l'ont portée et l'on dialogue avec Olympe de Gouges, Hubertine Auclert, Monique Wittig ou encore Arlette Farge, ainsi qu'avec toute la nouvelle génération de penseuses et de militantes. Intime et théorique, livre d'histoire et autobiographie, Le Temps des féminismes met en perspective tous les clivages du féminisme contemporain, avec la générosité et la distance d'historienne de Michelle Perrot."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

O artigo pretende explorar, a partir de Michel Foucault, a ligação entre biopolítica, neoliberalismo e a chamada guerra às drogas, a fim de tentar esclarecer as motivações econômicas e políticas que fundamentam o tipo de combate às drogas que impera no mundo contemporâneo. O Brasil não está distante desse tipo de política que, apoiada em discursos legitimadores, tais como o discurso médico e mesmo o psicologizante, estabelecem não apenas a partilha entre os que devem viver e os que precisam (...) morrer, como também as condições para justificar toda forma de exclusão e desqualificação das populações periféricas, justificativa que, em última instância, também repercute na formulação das leis. (shrink)

The present work refers to the doctorship research that implemented the Free-Expression Painting Studio technique to assist university students who had suicidal ideations or attempts. This technique was developed in France by the psychologist Michel Ternoy, based on Minkowski’s structural-phenomenon analysis method. A group session will be presented and discussed from Michel Henry’s phenomenology of life. Psychology and phenomenology can create spaces for belonging and support, which allow the transformation of suffering from experiences in the community. The Painting (...) Studio makes it possible to experience the affection of the other as a potential of one’s own possibilities, mobilizing the affective dialectical relationship, through which one can go from unbearable suffering to original fruition. We seek to show that art can be part of the therapeutic process as an alternative to the passage to the act of suicide before it becomes unbearable. (shrink)

Based on the hypothesis that modified human beings will have successful life projects, the biopolitical presuppositions of genetic manipulation in modern society are reflected. Considering the theories presented by Michel Foucault, Jürgen Habermas, Michael J. Sandel, Hans Jonas and Achille Mbembe, a genetic Africanization of the economically disadvantaged population is identified. In this scenario, concepts of class and race are confused and social prejudice increases. Faced with the new technologies of genetic engineering, gene manipulation presents itself as a new (...) face of biopower, since science now has the power to give life from the selection of characteristics considered superior. It is argued that the criticism surrounding the process of genetic manipulation is necessary as it opens the possibility of debating mutual recognition as a condition of life, above the identification of race or class, geographic location or other characteristics of the individuals that make up society. (shrink)

Com as frequentes tragédias ocorridas no âmbito das instituições prisionais no Brasil, surge a necessidade de debater a crise penitenciária e identificar as suas possíveis causas. O artigo propõe uma análise da falência da pena de prisão sob a abordagem das teorias do filósofo Michel Foucault, contidas principalmente em sua obra Vigiar e Punir: história da violência nas prisões. Utilizando-se de método similar ao do próprio autor, serão realizadas comparações de medidas punitivas anteriores à reforma penal com a conjuntura (...) do atual ordenamento jurídico brasileiro. Com base no conteúdo histórico-filosófico da referida obra, será exposto o conceito de gestão dos ilegalismos, o qual se mostrará pertinente para explicar um dos fatores que contribui para a tão debatida crise no sistema penal. Em síntese, esperamos aproximar as teorias foucaultianas da ineficiência do sistema penal brasileiro. (shrink)

O presente texto, cujo título é “O campo como nómos biopolítico da modernidade e a figura do muçulmano” tem por objetivo geral examinar a noção de campo como nómos biopolítico presente na modernidade, segundo as afirmações da obra de Giorgio Agamben, destacando a figura do muçulmano como seu habitante e como um paradigma da vida nua em oposição à forma-de-vida. Para que se possa realizar o objetivo proposto, iniciamos com a abordagem dos conceitos de vida nua e de biopolítica em (...) Agamben, indicando alguns de seus interlocutores, tais como Michel Foucault e Hannah Arendt. Em seguida, analisamos o conceito de campo, que caracteriza o Estado de exceção permanente na modernidade, e a figura do mulçumano, no interior dele. Por último, apresentamos breves considerações acerca da enigmática noção de forma-de-vida, com hífen, enquanto oposta a vida nua, na medida em que uma torna inoperante a politização da vida, a biopolítica. (shrink)

El presente artículo tiene como objetivo explicar desde los planteamientos de Foucault, cómo funcionan, en términos descriptivos, los fenómenos de consumo que promueven la delgadez y la juventud como características positivas, que nos conducirían a un estado de salud, belleza y felicidad. En este sentido, este artículo proyecta ser tanto una aplicación de la filosofía del autor francés, como “unalectura”, de las diversas que se pueden llevar a cabo desde este autor. Si bien Foucault no estudió directamente este tipo de (...) temáticas, bajo una contextualización de sus planteamientos, lo tomamos como el marco y eje principal que nos guiará a problematizar, vincular y comprender las lógicas que operan en los discursos de belleza física y de consumo. (shrink)

Michel de Montaigne begins his magisterial ESSAIS by telling his readers that he, himself, is the matter of his book. He says that he has written himself so that after death he could remain in the world with those who knew and loved him. Montaignes intimate project, meant to be read by friends, has emerged as one of the most surprising and compelling accounts of the human condition ever written. Although Montaigne famously retired from public life to write his (...) essais, neither his concerns nor the activities recounted in ESSAIS is purely private. This volume of essays, based on papers presented at The A.V. Elliott Conference for Great Books and Ideas sponsored by Mercer Universitys McDonald Center for Americas Founding Principles, focuses on the outward oriented political philosophy of Montaigne. Contributors include Ann Hartle, Daniel Cullen, Christine Henderson, Eduardo Velasquez, Kevin Honeycutt, and Christopher Edelman. (shrink)

Michel Foucault desafia qualquer tentativa de ser reduzido a definições simplistas. Fazer uma saudosa memória por ocasião dos 40 anos de sua morte não pode se resumir a uma apresentação estática de sua vida e obra. É imperioso ressaltar o vigor, o dinamismo interno de seu pensamento filosófico. A filosofia de Foucault é um sincero convite dirigido a todos nós para fazermos uma verdadeira experiência de pensar, a voltar-nos para nós mesmos para refletir criticamente sobre as formas de poder (...) pelas quais fomos e somos constituídos, buscando a possibilidade de imaginar novas formas de ser e de nos relacionar com o mundo. Partindo das impressões sobre o legado de Foucault, apresentamos algumas interpretações de sua filosofia no intuito de ressaltar a beleza e a importância daquela experiência de pensar que gera novas interpretações e assegura a vital relevância da filosofia. Palavras-chave: Michel Foucault. Método Genealógico. Analítica do Poder. Experiência Filosófica. (shrink)

Recently, it has been proposed to understand a logic as containing not only a validity canon for inferences but also a validity canon for metainferences of any finite level. Then, it has been shown that it is possible to construct infinite hierarchies of ‘increasingly classical’ logics—that is, logics that are classical at the level of inferences and of increasingly higher metainferences—all of which admit a transparent truth predicate. In this paper, we extend this line of investigation by taking a somehow (...) different route. We explore logics that are different from classical logic at the level of inferences, but recover some important aspects of classical logic at every metainferential level. We dub such systems meta-classical non-classical logics. We argue that the systems presented deserve to be regarded as logics in their own right and, moreover, are potentially useful for the non-classical logician. (shrink)

Many authors have considered that the notions of paraconsistency and dialetheism are intrinsically connected, in many cases, to the extent of confusing both phenomena. However, paraconsistency is a formal feature of some logics that consists in invalidating the rule of explosion, whereas dialetheism is a semantical/ontological position consisting in accepting true contradictions. In this paper, we argue against this connection and show that it is perfectly possible to adopt a paraconsistent logic and reject dialetheism, and, moreover, that there are examples (...) of non-paraconsistent logics that can be interpreted in a dialetheic way. (shrink)

"This book presents a theoretical discussion of problems and issues encountered in the Native American community from a perspective that accepts Native knowledge as legitimate. Native American cosmology and metaphor are used extensively in order to deal with specific problems such as alcoholism, suicide, family, and community problems. The authors discuss what it means to present material from the perspective of a people who have legitimate ways of knowing and conceptualizing reality and show that it is imperative to understand intergenerational (...) trauma and internalized oppression in order to understand the issues facing Native Americans today."--pub. website. (shrink)

A theory of magnitudes involves criteria for their equivalence, comparison and addition. In this article we examine these aspects from an abstract viewpoint, by focusing on the so-called De Zolt’s postulate in the theory of equivalence of plane polygons (“If a polygon is divided into polygonal parts in any given way, then the union of all but one of these parts is not equivalent to the given polygon”). We formulate an abstract version of this postulate and derive it from some (...) selected principles for magnitudes. We also formulate and derive an abstract version of Euclid’s Common Notion 5 (“The whole is greater than the part”), and analyze its logical relation to the former proposition. These results prove to be relevant for the clarification of some key conceptual aspects of Hilbert’s proof of De Zolt’s postulate, in his classicalFoundations of Geometry(1899). Furthermore, our abstract treatment of this central proposition provides interesting insights for the development of a well-behaved theory ofcompatiblemagnitudes. (shrink)

From a scientific standpoint, the world is more prepared than ever to respond to infectious disease outbreaks; paradoxically, globalization and air travel, antimicrobial resistance, the threat of bioterrorism, and newly emerging pathogens driven by ecological, socioeconomic, and environmental factors, have increased the risk of global epidemics.1,2,3 Following the 2002–2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), global efforts to build global emergency response capabilities to contain infectious disease outbreaks were put in place.4,5,6 But the recent H1N1, Ebola, and Zika global epidemics have (...) shown unnecessary delays and insufficient coordination in response efforts.7,8,9,10 In a thoughtful and compelling essay,11 Thana C. de Campos argues that greater clarity in the definition of pandemics would probably result in more timely effective emergency responses, and pandemic preparedness. In her view, a central problem is that the definition of pandemics is based solely on disease transmission across several countries, and not on spread and severity together, which conflates two very different situations: emergency and nonemergency disease outbreaks. A greater emphasis on severity, such that pandemics are defined as severe and rapidly spreading infectious disease outbreaks, would make them “true global health emergencies,” allowing for priority resource allocation and effective collective actions in emergency response efforts. Sympathetic to the position taken by de Campos, here I highlight some of the challenges in the definition of severity during an infectious disease outbreak. (shrink)

This paper is a reply to Benjamin Smart’s : 319–332, 2013) recent objections to David Armstrong’s solution to the problem of induction : 503–511, 1991). To solve the problem of induction, Armstrong contends that laws of nature are the best explanation of our observed regularities, where laws of nature are dyadic relations of necessitation holding between first-order universals. Smart raises three objections against Armstrong’s pattern of inference. First, regularities can explain our observed regularities; that is, universally quantified conditionals are required (...) for explanations. Second, if Humean’s pattern of inference is irrational, then Armstrong’s pattern of inference is also irrational. Third, universal regularities are the best explanation of our observed regularities. I defend Armstrong’s solution of induction, arguing against these three claims. (shrink)

It is often assumed that the reaction time of a saccade toward visual and/or auditory stimuli reflects the sensitivities of our oculomotor-orienting system to stimulus saliency. Endogenous factors, as well as stimulus-related factors, would also affect the saccadic reaction time. However, it was not clear how these factors interact and to what extent visual and auditory-targeting saccades are accounted for by common mechanisms. The present study examined the effect of, and the interaction between, stimulus saliency and audiovisual spatial congruency on (...) the SRT for visual- and for auditory-target conditions. We also analyzed pre-target pupil size to examine the relationship between saccade preparation and pupil size. Pupil size is considered to reflect arousal states coupling with locus-coeruleus activity during a cognitive task. The main findings were that the pattern of the examined effects on the SRT varied between visual- and auditory-auditory target conditions, the effect of stimulus saliency was significant for the visual-target condition, but not significant for the auditory-target condition, Pupil velocity, not absolute pupil size, was sensitive to task set, and there was a significant correlation between the pre-saccade absolute pupil size and the SRTs for the visual-target condition but not for the auditory-target condition. The discrepancy between target modalities for the effect of pupil velocity and between the absolute pupil size and pupil velocity for the correlation with SRT may imply that the pupil effect for the visual-target condition was caused by a modality-specific link between pupil size modulation and the SC rather than by the LC-NE system. These results support the idea that different threshold mechanisms in the SC may be involved in the initiation of saccades toward visual and auditory targets. (shrink)

Alternative interpretations are proposed for the finding that market integration is positively related to fair behavior in experimental games. Market activities may produce market relevant concepts and stories that interpret experimental games as incidences of social exchange, and thus may enhance the relevance of (1) market-related preferences or (2) a decision heuristic designed for social exchange.

The presence of small polydisperse extrachromosomal circular (spc) DNAs composed entirely of chromosomal sequences seems to reflect the plasticity of eukaryotic genomes. The size distribution and number of spc DNAs is found to vary with development, growth state and mitotic capacity. In particular, spc DNAs are observed to be several fold smaller in established immortal cell lines than in diploid cells with a limited life span. Analysis of cloned spc DNA fragments revealed that: (1) most of the spc DNAs thus (...) far investigated contain repetitive sequences; (2) some of the repetitive sequences are enriched in spc DNA clones relative to their representation in the chromosome; (3) various repetitive sequences of different reiteration frequency were found in spc DNA from immortal cell lines while a particular sequence of retroposon was predominant in primary lymphoid tissue cells and stem cells; (4) most of these spc DNAs appear to represent the extra copies generated by replicon‐misfiring in immortal cell lines or by retrotranscription in stem cells, and intermediates or by‐products produced by abortive rearrangement in diploid cells with a finite replicative capacity. (shrink)

Why do humpback whales sing? This paper considers the hypothesis that humpback whales may use song for long range sonar. Given the vocal and social behavior of humpback whales, in several cases it is not apparent how they monitor the movements of distant whales or prey concentrations. Unless distant animals produce sounds, humpback whales are unlikely to be aware of their presence or actions. Some field observations are strongly suggestive of the use of song as sonar. Humpback whales sometimes stop (...) singing and then rapidly approach distant whales in cases where sound production by those whales is not apparent, and singers sometimes alternately sing and swim while attempting to intercept another whale that is swimming evasively. In the evolutionary development of modern cetaceans, perceptual mechanisms have shifted from reliance on visual scanning to the active generation and monitoring of echoes. It is hypothesized that as the size and distance of relevant events increased, humpback whales developed adaptive specializations for long-distance echolocation. Differences between use of songs by humpback whales and use of sonar by other echolocating species are discussed, as are similarities between bat echolocation and singing by humpback whales. Singing humpback whales are known to emit sounds intense enough to generate echoes at long ranges, and to flexibly control the timing and qualities of produced sounds. The major problem for the hypothesis is the lack of recordings of echoes from other whales arriving at singers immediately before they initiate actions related to those whales. An earlier model of echoic processing by singing humpback whales is here revised to incorporate recent discoveries. According to the revised model, both direct echoes from targets and modulations in song-generated reverberation can provide singers with information that can help them make decisions about future actions related to mating, traveling, and foraging. The model identifies acoustic and structural features produced by singing humpback whales that may facilitate a singer’s ability to interpret changes in echoic scenes and suggests that interactive signal coordination by singing whales may help them to avoid mutual interference. Specific, testable predictions of the model are presented. (shrink)

This paper provides a detailed study of David Hilbert’s axiomatization of the theory of plane area, in the classical monograph Foundation of Geometry. On the one hand, we offer a precise contextualization of this theory by considering it against its nineteenth-century geometrical background. Specifically, we examine some crucial steps in the emergence of the modern theory of geometrical equivalence. On the other hand, we analyze from a more conceptual perspective the significance of Hilbert’s theory of area for the foundational program (...) pursued in Foundations. We argue that this theory played a fundamental role in the general attempt to provide a new independent basis for Euclidean geometry. Furthermore, we contend that our examination proves relevant for understanding the requirement of “purity of the method” in the tradition of modern synthetic geometry. (shrink)

The logics of formal inconsistency are logics tolerant to some amount of contradiction, but in which some versions of explosion still hold. The main result of this paper is a reconstruction of two such logics in the dialogical framework. By doing so, we achieve two things. On the one hand, we provide a formal approach to argumentative situations where some contradictions may occur while keeping the idea that there may still be situations in which some propositions are ‘safe’ in the (...) sense of immunity to the contradictions. On the other hand, we open a new line of study on these logics, in the context of the game-theoretical approach to semantics born in the 1960s, with various interesting perspectives, some of which are discussed at the end of this article. (shrink)

Me propongo aquí una reflexión sobre la crisis del humanismo que afecta profundamente a la sociedad y la cultura contemporáneas en todas sus dimensiones. De un modo falsamente optimista, se ha opuesto a esta crisis la figura de un post humanismo triunfante, resultado de los desarrollos de la tecnología contemporánea y sus posibilidades de intervención en el cuerpo y el alma del hombre. Haré aquí una evaluación crítica de ese optimismo, sin por ello reivindicar el viejo humanismo y su razón (...) colonizadora. Trataré de plantear a través de Heidegger y Agamben la condición post humanista y post histórica –en el sentido moderno– en la que nos encontramos. Pero luego intentaré pensar junto a Nietzsche y Bataille una figura del hombre que no es nueva, sino una figura más antigua y creo más profunda, que quedó sepultada bajo la irrupción tectónica del humanismo y su empresa civilizatoria. (shrink)

Jürgen Habermas’s recent book Die Zukunft der menschlichen Natur (2001) is discussed. Particular attention is paid to the central argument concerning the adverse effects the general acceptance of cloning and pre-implantation genetic diagnostics (PGD) would have on the moral and political self-understanding of present and future generations. The argument turns to a critique of Habermas’s central arguments against PGD, and develops at least two arguments that are in harmony with his general defense of procedural democracy and deontological morality. Appeal is (...) made to Peter Singer and John Rawls to develop arguments that do not reject either PGD or genetic engineering and that are nonetheless in full compliance with the spirit of political modernity, as it is defended and defined by Habermas. The conclusion calls for less moralizing and more political-economic critique of the biotechnologies unleashed by the information revolution. (shrink)

In this paper, I attempt to throw some light on modal realism. Since it is David Lewis who has put forward the best arguments for thar position, I focus on his work. In the first, I point out that his approach does not provide an adequate account for the intuitive lack of symmetry between the actual and the possible. To begin with, I try to show that the strategy of appealing to both the spatio-temporal network and causality is not at (...) all satisfactory. Secondly, I criticize the argument for modal realism that is based on theoretical benefits. Then, I defend the view that Lewis' indexical analysis of the concept of actuality does not satisfy his own criterion of acceptability: an analysis of actuality should account for the intuitions about our actual word. I claim thet Lewis' objections to other positions can be raised against his own position. Finally, I conclude that, even though Lewis is right in claiming that actualist conceptions do not explain why the possible is not part of the actual, the realist conception fail to account for the special ontological status that we intuitively grant to our own world. (shrink)