Este texto parte de inquietações em torno da prática filosófica com crianças e da escuta que ocorre em algumas comunidades de investigação filosófica (Sharp, 1987; Mendonça & Carvalho, 2018) em contexto escolar. Pensamos nas certezas com que nos movemos nestes espaços e como momentos imprevisíveis podem interromper esses caminhos (aparentemente) seguros, possibilitando novas formas de educar. Esses “momentos críticos” (Haynes & Murris, 2012) surgem a partir da escuta das vozes de crianças e transformam a forma como o educador-investigador-facilitador se (...) conduz na escola e nas reflexões que faz a partir dessas práticas. Desta forma, a pergunta da Inês abre a presente escrita. Partiremos também de diálogos com alguns autores, como seja Jean-Luc Nancy, que nos traz importantes ideias acerca da escuta, e Michael Apple, que nos remete que as escolas podem atuar como mantenedoras de uma situação hegemônica por meio da transmissão de valores e tendências culturais econômicas ao contexto escolar. Seguimos pela importância e reflexão crítica sobre a escuta das vozes das crianças, até nos perguntarmos se a escola escuta e quais vozes são consideradas nessa escuta Além disso, em diálogo com hooks, Freire, Haynes, Murris e Carvalho, propomos pensar a escola também como um espaço político e, sendo assim, como os exercícios e vivências da escuta ali experienciados podem constituir práticas democráticas. Compartilhamos como exemplo duas vivências que buscam escutar as vozes das crianças na sala de aula (uma em um jardim de infância e outra em um projeto escolar). A partir dessas vivências, perpassamos juntamente com Walter Kohan pelos enlaces marginais entre escuta, escola e filosofia. Terminamos referindo que o percurso desta escrita nos conduziu a considerar que a escuta, quando pensada criticamente, pode contribuir para comunidades de investigação filosófica cada vez mais atentas e cuidadosas com a dimensão política das contribuições e falas das crianças. palavras-chave: filosofia para/com crianças, escuta, comunidade de investigação filosófica, escola, educação summary This text is based on concerns about the philosophical practice with children and the listening that occurs in some community of philosophical inquiry (Sharp, 1987; Mendonça & Carvalho, 2018) in a school context. We think about the certainties with which we move in these spaces and how unpredictable moments can interrupt these (apparently) safe paths, enabling new ways of educating. These “critical moments” (Haynes & Murris, 2012) arise from listening to the voices of children and transform the way in which the educator-researcher-facilitator conducts himself at school and in the reflections he makes based on these practices. In this way, Inês's question opens the present writing. We will also start with dialogues with some authors, such as Jean-Luc Nancy, who brings us important ideas about listening, and Michael Apple, who reminds us that schools can act as maintainers of a hegemonic situation through the transmission of values and trends cultural economics to the school context. We continue with the importance and critical reflection on listening to children's voices, until we ask ourselves if the school listens and which voices are considered in this listening. a political space and, therefore, how the exercises and experiences of listening experienced there can constitute democratic practices. We share, as an example, two experiences that seek to listen to the voices of children in the classroom (one in a kindergarten and the other in a school project). Based on these experiences, together with Walter Kohan, we explore the marginal links between listening, school and philosophy. We end by referring that the course of this writing led us to consider that listening, when thought critically, can contribute to philosophical research communities that are increasingly attentive and careful with the political dimension of children's contributions and speeches. keywords: philosophy for/with children, listening, community of philosophical inquiry, school, education resumen Este texto se basa en preocupaciones sobre la práctica filosófica con niños y la escucha que ocurre en algunas comunidades de investigación filosófica (Sharp, 1987; Mendonça & Carvalho, 2018) en un contexto escolar. Pensamos en las certezas con las que nos movemos en estos espacios y cómo momentos impredecibles pueden interrumpir estos caminos (aparentemente) seguros, posibilitando nuevas formas de educar. Estos “momentos críticos” (Haynes & Murris, 2012) surgen de la escucha de las voces de los niños y niñas y transforman la forma en que el educador-investigador-facilitador se conduce en la escuela y en las reflexiones que realiza a partir de estas prácticas. De esta forma, la pregunta de Inês abre el presente escrito. También comenzaremos con diálogos con algunos autores, como Jean-Luc Nancy, quien nos trae ideas importantes sobre la escucha, y Michael Apple, quien nos recuerda que las escuelas pueden actuar como mantenedoras de una situación hegemónica a través de la transmisión de valores y tendencias de la economía cultural al contexto escolar. Continuamos con la importancia y la reflexión crítica sobre la escucha de las voces de los niños, hasta preguntarnos si la escuela escucha y qué voces son consideradas en esa escucha de un espacio político y, por tanto, cómo los ejercicios y experiencias de escucha que allí se viven pueden constituirse democráticos. practicas Como ejemplo, compartimos dos experiencias que buscan escuchar las voces de los niños en el aula (una en un jardín de infantes y la otra en un proyecto escolar). A partir de estas experiencias exploramos, junto a Walter Kohan, los vínculos marginales entre escucha, escuela y filosofía. Finalizamos refiriendo que el transcurso de este escrito nos llevó a considerar que la escucha, cuando se piensa críticamente, puede contribuir a comunidades de investigación filosófica cada vez más atentas y cuidadosas con la dimensión política de los aportes y discursos infantiles. palabras clave: filosofía para/con niños, escucha, comunidad de indagación filosófica, escuela, educación [1] Email: [email protected]. Mestre em Filosofia para Crianças, pela universidade dos Açores (2022); Educador de Infância na rede pública em Portugal; investigador do NICA-UAc: Núcleo Interdisciplinar da Criança e do Adolescente. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3610-6416 [2] Email: [email protected]. Mestra em Filosofia para Crianças - Universidade dos Açores / Portugal. (2022) Atualmente é professora efetiva - Secretaria de Educação do DF/Brasil. Membro do NICA: Núcleo Interdisciplinar da Criança e do Adolescente, da Universidade dos Açores e investigadora do projeto escuto.te: vozes das infâncias entre a filosofia e a política, da responsabilidade do NICA: Núcleo Interdisciplinar da Criança e do Adolescente, da Universidade dos Açore, financiado pelo Governo dos Açores. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2795-5793 [3] Email: nalis.carvalho@gmai.com Mestranda em Filosofia para Crianças da Universidade dos Açores / Portugal. Membro do NICA: Núcleo Interdisciplinar da Criança e do Adolescente, da Universidade dos Açores e investigadora do projeto escuto.te: vozes das infâncias entre a filosofia e a política, da responsabilidade do NICA, financiado pelo Governo dos Açores.orcid.https://org/0000-0002-9098-7157. (shrink)

In a previous issue of Zygon (Carvalho 2007), I explored the role of scientists—especially those engaging the science-religion dialogue—within the arena of global equity health, world poverty, and human rights. I contended that experimental biologists, who might have reduced agency because of their professional workload or lack of individual resources, can still unite into collective forces with other scientists as well as human rights organizations, medical doctors, and political and civic leaders to foster progressive change in our world. In (...) this article, I present some recent findings from research on three emerging viruses—HIV, dengue, and rotavirus—to explore the factors that lead to the geographical expansion of these viruses and the increase in frequency of the infectious diseases they cause. I show how these viruses are generating problems for geopolitical stability, human rights, and equity health care for developing nations that are already experiencing a growing poverty crisis. I suggest some avenues of future research for the scientific community for the movement toward resolution of these problems and indicate where the science-religion field can be of additional aid. (shrink)

I argue that musical education in Plato’sRepublicis not aimed at developing a moral discriminatory faculty in the spirited part, but rather that its benefits are predominantly intellectual, and become fully apparent only at the philosophical stage of the guardians’ education. In order to prove this point, I discuss the intellectual state which the guardians’ philosophical education is meant to bring about, and then show why it is dependent on the earlier cognitive effects of musical education. Ultimately, I show that musical (...) education allows guardians to provide a unified analysis of both culture and nature. (shrink)

The paper studies the contribution of Joaquim de Carvalho, a teacher at the University of Coimbra in the first half of last century, to the phenomenological movement in Portugal. Its importance is not restricted to the introduction he had prepared for the Portuguese translation of The Philosophy of rigor as science. He used the lessons of Edmund Husserl to build a critique of Hegelian and positivist conceptions in his work History of Philosophy. It also draws on phenomenology to treat (...) problems such as homesickness. All these aspects of the project as publisher of phenomenology in Portugal, especially in education. (shrink)

Journal Name: Apeiron Issue: Ahead of print.

Em poucos anos, Olavo de Carvalho, figura obscura, sem projeção e sem qualquer reconhecimento acadêmico, passa a ocupar o centro do poder político brasileiro. Considerado o guru ideológico do governo Bolsonaro, é responsável pela indicação de pelo menos dois ministros e vem sendo o mentor intelectual de vários ocupantes de cargos na administração e na política. Olavo simboliza hoje os contraditórios valores conservadores brasileiros e, no passo disto, instiga algumas das mais destrutivas estratégias na guerra cultural que ele e (...) seus discípulos empreendem. Através do olhar incisivo de Heloisa de Carvalho, a filha mais velha deste guru e testemunha ocular destes relatos, a faceta sombria e controversa de Olavo, que ele tanto tentou ocultar, se expõe: seus vínculos com escandalosas seitas esotéricas, sua vida errática e desregrada, o grave abandono intelectual dos filhos, e toda uma trajetória pessoal e profissional centrada no culto à própria personalidade que, contra todas as expectativas e quase que desafiando a lógica, tornou-se uma incontornável referência intelectual da chamada "Nova Direita" do país. Um novo que aponta para o passado - para a longínqua Idade Média -, concorrendo para o retrocesso dos avanços sociais a tão alto custo conquistados pelo povo. Esperamos que as revelações biográficas de Heloísa sejam uma gota no oceano da necessária frenagem da difusão e defesa dessas ideias torpes e contraditórias. Não nos importa o homem, mas sua trajetória tem a ver com suas ideias e suas práticas, daí a importância da leitura desse livro. (shrink)

Ennead VI.7, the thirty-eighth treatise in order of composition, opens with a sustained attack on the idea that the form and function of various animal organs are the result of divine forethought and deliberation. In the first three chapters of the treatise, Plotinus argues that no formulation of the notion of deliberation can be made consistent with the facts about the nature of the intelligible2 and its priority over the physical world. As has been noted in the past,3 Plotinus's arguments (...) against the Platonic idea that teleological thinking is a genuine cause in the sphere of biology can also be taken, from the standpoint of his own philosophical principles, to be effective against an Aristotelian .. (shrink)

Corria o ano de 2007 quando o jornalista britânico Peter Trickett publicou na Austrália um livro no qual atribuía a descoberta da Austrália ao português Cristóvão de Mendonça, ainda durante a primeira metade do século XVI. Já nos anos setenta do século XX tinha havido uma acalorada discussão entre historiadores acerca da eventual descoberta da Austrália por portugueses, mas o assunto tinha ficado adormecido durante algumas décadas. Quando em 2008 se publicou, em Portugal, Para Além de Capricórnio. Como os navegadores (...) portugueses descobriram e cartografaram secretamente a costa da Austrália e da Nova Zelândia, 250 anos antes da chegada do Capitão Cook, a tradução do livro de Trickett para português, o Museu da Ciência da Universidade de Coimbra reuniu especialistas de diversas áreas para discutirem o tema. No presente livro encontram-se reunidas algumas das contribuições desse colóquio, Portugueses na Austrália. (shrink)

Neste texto, apresento e examino as principais ideias que animam a abordagem ecológica da percepção. Primeiro, na Seção 2, apresento a visão instantânea da percepção, contra a qual Gibson articula e propõe a abordagem ecológica. Em seguida, na Seção 3, apresento e discuto a noção de informação ecológica. Nas seções 4 e 5 articulo a teoria das affordances e discuto a aprendizagem perceptiva. Por fim, na Seção 6, exponho e discuto a possibilidade de estender a teoria das affordances para explicar (...) a cognição social. (shrink)

In this paper, I examine several key issues relating to the definition of knowledge as perception in the first part of Plato's Theaetetus. I begin by explaining the workings of the ‘secret doctrine’ of perception, which is introduced in order to support the idea that perception is incorrigible, and then turn to examine the two refutations of the definition of knowledge as perception which appear at the end of the first part of the Theaetetus. I shall present and explain distinct (...) lines of interpretation pertaining to these passages and explore the consequences they attempt to draw regarding Plato's views on the perceptual world, the nature of perception and how these bear on his conception of knowledge. (shrink)

Career shocks are the norm, not the exception. Yet, much of research and counseling on career-development holds unrealistic assumptions of a makeable career. Little is understood about the role of shocks on the career path and how the interplay of individual reactions to shocks shapes careers. The purpose of this study is to provide understanding of responses to different attributes of career shocks and career shocks as antecedents to career and job change. A qualitative approach was chosen and data were (...) obtained from 25 semi-structured interviews with a sample of mid-career individuals who had experienced shocks in their work lives. The analysis was 2-fold and aimed at unearthing of individual responses to shocks and the question of the role of shocks on changes in the career path. Firstly, the analysis of career shocks revealed a pattern of distinct agentic responses in relation to shocks of different attributes. Secondly, from the analysis of shock attributes and corresponding responses over time career changer profiles emerged which differ in regard to career change behavior and magnitude of changes in the career. A process model which depicts how post-shock careers are shaped distinctively in relation to different shock attributes and corresponding responses is presented. This study underlines the importance of understanding the unplannable in career development and shows a variety of options for individuals to develop their careers despite shocks. Limitation stems from the investigation of a sample limited to mid-career individuals. The findings provide a new conceptual lens to theorize and conduct research on career shocks and career changes and facilitate the development of coping strategies for career shocks. The originality lies in the investigation of the momentum of career shocks on career paths with detail to different attributes of career shocks and how they impact the career path. (shrink)

In this second installment on the Theaetetus, I discuss Theaetetus' second and third definitions of knowledge, namely, ‘true judgment’ and then ‘true judgment with the addition of an account’. I offer a brief description of Socrates' intricate examination of these suggestions, concentrating especially on the discussion of false judgment and that of the so-called ‘Dream Theory’. I then proceed to map different lines of interpretation for these passages that have been offered by scholars writing in the last 40 years.

Rob Withagen has rendered the distinction between affordances and invitations more radical in two aspects: (i) affordances do not explain behavior anymore, invitations do; (ii) invitations do not boil down to affectively charged affordances, they also encompass affectively charged misperceptions. I argue that Withagen went too far. If we understand affordances as a relation between the abilities of an individual organism and its environment, then we already have sufficient resources to incorporate affectivity in the ecological approach. Affective states constitute perceptual (...) abilities and modulate their exercise, in that every perception of affordance is affectively charged. Affective states are crucial for guiding our attention to the possibilities of action relevant to the activities in which we are engaged and for providing a sense of the quality of our relationship with the environment. (shrink)

The initial problem which motivated the writing of this thesis arose from reading of Emile by Rousseau. In this work, it was possible to detect the influence of different theoretical approaches, such as rationalism and empiricism, inspiring the development of the educational plan designed by Rousseau for his imaginary student (Emile). The very core question of the present thesis regards to whether there was a theory of knowledge pertaining to Rousseau’s philosophical thinking and, if so, how it was related to (...) his theories of education. In the set of his oeuvre, Rousseau’s affiliation to authors like Descartes, Leibniz, Locke and Malebranche, as well as Condillac, Diderot, D’Holbach and Helvétius was discovered. As the reading of the great philosophical work of Rousseau progressed, an original knowledge theory was discovered, of the kind which accepts the coexistence of opposite thoughts. Pedagogy, in the context of (the work) Emile, arose out of the miscellany of such theories and also for the intense philosophical maturing process on the core of Rousseau’s thinking. This study intended, therefore, to understand the origin and development of Rousseau’s theory of knowledge, and also to figure out how the philosopher formulated his theories on Education, especially in Emile. The object of this research, materialized through the extensive bibliography of the Swiss philosopher, was intensively read and analyzed. The methodology used was that of comparative, descriptive and critical documentary research of the mentioned authors. This research is divided into three sections: the first one intends to investigate the philosophical influence from different authors on the foundations of Rousseau’s epistemology; the second section addresses Rousseau’s theories of Education; the third and final part investigates the link between theory of knowledge and Education within Rousseau’s philosophical thought. -/- . (shrink)

Neste artigo, estudamos as características que o filósofo espanhol Ortega y Gasset atribuiu à vida. Mostramos que o essencial de sua meditação girou em torno do assunto. No entanto, o tema ganhou densidade metafísica somente no final dos anos 1920, quando suas considerações foram inseridas na tradição filosófica do ocidente. Foi quando ele apontou a insuficiência do realismo e do idealismo na abordagem do fundamento pretendido pela Filosofia e apresentou a filosofia da razão vital como um passo adiante das duas (...) grandes perspectivas filosóficas que marcaram a história da metafísica. In this article, we study the characteristics that the Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset attributed to life. We show that the essence of his meditations revolved around the subject. However, the issue gained metaphysical density only in the late 1920s, when his remarks were inserted into the philosophical tradition of the West. That is when he pointed out the failure of realism and idealism in the approach to foundations pretended by philosophy, and presented the philosophy of vital reason as a step forward from the two great philosophical perspectives that have marked the history of metaphysics. (shrink)

Feelings are conscious mental events that represent body states as they undergo homeostatic regulation. Feelings depend on the interoceptive nervous system (INS), a collection of peripheral and central pathways, nuclei and cortical regions which continuously sense chemical and anatomical changes in the organism. How such humoral and neural signals come to generate conscious mental states has been a major scientific question. The answer proposed here invokes (1) several distinctive and poorly known physiological features of the INS; and (2) a unique (...) interaction between the body (the ‘object’ of interoception) and the central nervous system (which generates the 'subject' of interoception). The atypical traits of the INS and the direct interactions between neural and non‐neural physiological compartments of the organism, neither of which is present in exteroceptive systems, plausibly explain the qualitative and subjective aspects of feelings, thus accounting for their conscious nature. (shrink)

The American Journal of Bioethics, Volume 11, Issue 6, Page 60-62, June 2011.

The philosophy of perception has been mostly focused on vision, to the detriment of other modalities like audition or olfaction. In this paper I focus on olfaction and olfactory experience, and raise the following questions: is olfaction a perceptual-representational modality? If so, what does it represent? My goal in the paper is, firstly, to provide an affirmative answer to the first question, and secondly, to argue that olfaction represents odors in the form of olfactory objects, to which olfactory qualities are (...) attributed. In order to do this I develop an empirically adequate notion of olfactory object that is sensitive to the peculiarities of olfaction, and defend it against various objections. (shrink)

This paper deals with Fichte’s The Characteristics of the Present Age, and in particular with his discussion of the “empty form of knowledge” he claims stands at the centre of the third – i.e. the present – age. Fichte speaks of a fundamental principle that forms the ‘common denominator’ between the third and fourth main epochs. This fundamental principle – the “maxim of comprehensibility” – makes knowledge and comprehension the measure of all that “counts as being valid and as really (...) existing”. But the question arises: How can one and the same principle act as the “unifying concept” for two different “main epochs of human life”? Does this not go directly against Fichte’s claim that two main epochs differ from each other in every respect, precisely because they arise from two entirely different “unifying principles”, and because everything in them must reflect the difference between their “unifying principles”? Fichte’s answer to this question is as follows: a) the fundamental maxim in question allows for two diametrically opposed interpretations, so that each of them provides the principle or the “unifying concept” from which the third and fourth main epochs arise, and b) the third main epoch only gives rise to the empty form of science, as opposed to “truly real science”: it stands for a careless and easy-going, shallow, conventional, trivializing and incorrect conception of the “fundamental maxim of comprehensibility” – so that it misses what is essential, does not do justice to the fundamental maxim, overlooks its implications, and indeed goes against its innermost meaning. Special attention is paid to the question of whether and how some major features of Fichte’s “empty form of knowledge” result from a misguided and superficial understanding of Kant’s “maxims of the self-preservation of reason” and can be reconstructed from this vantage point. (shrink)

Através deste artigo científico pretende-se expor as contribuições de Linda Zagzebski para a teoria da epistemologia das virtudes contemporânea, evidenciando sua inspiração na teoria das virtudes de Aristóteles. A inovação trazida por Zagzebski é a proposta de indistinção entre virtudes morais e virtudes intelectuais. Para a autora, as virtudes intelectuais são um subconjunto das virtudes morais, e assim merecem avaliação conjunta com estas. Por fim, argumenta-se que essa interpretação não implica em um reducionismo das virtudes intelectuais e que pode servir (...) para inspirar uma renovação nas discussões filosóficas contemporâneas. (shrink)

The extended mind thesis claims that some mental states and cognitive processes extend onto the environment. Items external to the organism or exploratory actions may constitute in part mental states and cognitive processes. In Clark and Chalmers’ original paper, ‘The Extended Mind’, this thesis receives support from the parity principle and from the active externalism. In their paper, more emphasis is given to the parity principle, which is presented as neutral regarding the nature of cognition. It would be advantageous to (...) maintain that extended mental states and processes do not require a reform of our pre-theoretical view of cognition. In the present paper, I submit that we should give more emphasis on the active externalism, which, I argue, is not neutral regarding the nature of cognition. Cognition is viewed as successful adaptation to a specific task. Although this move may seem at first disadvantageous, it is necessary for the correct understanding and justification of Otto case as an example of extended mental state. Additionally, the parity principle cannot handle Weiskopf’s criticism that information registered in Otto’s notebook is not responsive to reasons. In order to address this criticism, we need to appeal to active externalism and its corresponding view of cognition. (shrink)

Abstract.In recent issues of Zygon, numerous reflections have been published commenting on where the field of science‐and‐religion has been, where it presently stands, and where it should move in the future. These reflections touch on the importance of the dialogue and raise questions as to what audience the dialogue addresses and whom it should address. Some scholars see the dialogue as prospering, while others point out that much work needs to be done to make the dialogue more accessible to a (...) larger audience and more successful at tackling the provocative questions before us. Other academics view the questions themselves as needing further consideration and focus before answers to them can even be explored. In this article I provide a general overview of these essays by outlining some general categories of thought that seem to emerge from the contributors. I then present some of my own opinions concerning the future of the science‐religion field and emphasize that the dialogue, in addition to its traditional roles, must further the philosophical framework that can aid humanity in resolving the most pressing global concerns of our time. (shrink)

RESUMO A partir dos estudos e reflexões de Mikhail Bakhtin sobre a origem e o desenvolvimento da prosa e do romance no Ocidente, este artigo intenta pensar a sua particularidade em torno das grandes produções literárias de ficção na América Latina, no século XX. Trabalhando basicamente com os conceitos de dialogismo e barroquismo, o artigo investiga, em fragmentos selecionados, aquelas que seriam algumas das principais marcas deixadas desse grande embate com as nossas marcas de fundação.ABSTRACT From Mikhail Bakhtin's studies and (...) discussions about the origins and development of prose and novel in the West, the purpose of this paper is to reflect on the peculiarities of the novel in great literary fictional productions in Latin America during the twentieth century. Based on the concepts of dialogism and the Baroque, this article investigates, with a selection of fragments, the main characteristics of the dialogic confrontation in the formation of Latin America. (shrink)

RESUMO O artigo examina algumas influências teóricas de Freud para recuperar os valores epistemológicos que subjazem à composição de sua concepção de ciência da natureza. Se, por um lado, Freud teve acesso ao pensamento de autores específicos que participaram efetivamente dos caminhos percorridos pela psicologia em sua reivindicação de uma identidade científica, por meio de entrelaçamentos com a física e a fisiologia, por outro lado, ele também teve contato com certos filósofos que lhe permitiram uma aproximação a alguns defensores da (...) cientificidade da psicologia que não abandonam o naturalismo, nem recorrem ao solo fisiológico. Nossa avaliação histórica constituiu-se como uma defesa de que Freud sofreu diversas influências no tocante ao status da psicologia no campo das ciências da natureza. A pluralidade dessas influências evoca uma necessidade de abertura para a avaliação do modo pelo qual podemos colocar em perspectiva a epistemologia e a concepção do naturalismo de Freud. ABSTRACT This article examines some of the theoretical outlooks Freud used to acquire the epistemological values that underlie the foundation of his notion of natural science. On the one hand Freud was familiar with the ideas of specific authors, who had made major contributions that support of psychology's status as a science by appealing to physics and physiology. On the other hand, his contact with certain philosophers allowed him to use their defenses of psychology's scientific status without abandoning naturalism and without recourse to physiology. Our historical evaluation of these struggles supports that Freud was affected by various points of view concerning psychology's standing within the natural sciences. Owing to the diverse influences on Freud, we need to figure out how we can put his epistemology and his concept of naturalism into perspective. (shrink)

ABSTRACT This article presents an overview of the Portuguese transposition of the European Directive on Good Clinical Practice (2001/20/e) concerning scientific and academic debates on bioethics and clinical investigation. Since the Directive was transposed into Portuguese law by its National Assembly, the bureaucracy of clinical trials has been ever more complex. Despite demands for swift application processes by the Pharmaceutical industry, supported by the European Parliament, the Directive's transcription to the national law has not always delivered the expected outcome. However, (...) this has led to an increased number of applications for clinical trials in Portuguese hospitals. In this article I revise bioethical publications and decree‐laws enabling an informed appraisal of the anxieties and prospects for the implementation of the clinical trials Directive in Portugal. This article also places the European Directive in the field of sociology of bioethics, arguing that Portuguese bioethical institutions differ from those of the US, and also from Northern European counterparts. The main divergence is that those people in Portugal who claim expertise in ‘legal’ bioethics do not dominate either the bureaucratic structure of research or ethics committees for health. Even experts in the applied ethics field now claim that ‘professional bioethicists do not exist’. The recent creation of a national Ethics Committee for Clinical Investigation (CEIC) in line with the European Directive on Good Clinical Practice (GCP) will not change the present imbalance between different professional jurisdictions in the national bioethical debate in Portugal. (shrink)

Editorial - Dossiê: Religião e Cultura (Religion and Culture) De religiões, cultura e capitalismo DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2011v9n21p199.

This essay aims to examine whether the Welfare State project has failed and how this apparent failure is intrinsically connected to the rise of citizen discontent. By tracing the historical roots of the Rechtsstaat and its development into the Welfare State, we highlight how the increasing gap between grand promises and their limited fulfillment has fueled widespread discontent. The much-acclaimed Welfare State seems to have transformed itself into a Malaise State, marked by a dual institutional failure: the inability to universalize (...) its promises and the lack of political responses to the social discontent caused by that first incapacity. In this context, what was once considered a collective social desire has become (hyper)individualized within a “turboglobalized” world, inverting the traditional relation in which public improvement had the capacity to positively impact private life. Despite this, the responsibility of governments remains justified, as the transfer of power through democratic elections inherently carries the condition of accountability. However, democracy by itself seems unable to resolve these crises, especially when it comes to the well know populisms that carry out the so-called policies of disconcertment. Traditional institutional structures and power divisions also fall short, as the crisis of liberal democracy transcends national borders, becoming a shared Western dilemma. This scenario presents a paradox: while liberal democracy struggles with its self-created problems, abandoning its core values risks descent into tyranny. How, then, can we bridge the democracy gap while remaining democratic? We identify that a forward-thinking State philosophy, rooted in institutional (re)imagination and a reconstruction of the political and conceptual foundations of power, offers a viable pathway for addressing these impasses and envisioning effective solutions. (shrink)

Tradução brasileira de importante obra do filósofo alemão Hans Jonas publicada pela Editora Paulus.