La investigación ecológica a largo plazo (Long Term Ecological Research, LTER) maneja problemas que abarcan décadas o plazos más largos. El programa y su nombre formal comenzaron en Estados Unidos en 1980. Si bien los estudios y observaciones a largo plazo comenzaron tempranamente en 1400 y 1800 en Asia y Europa, respectivamente, el enfoque a largo plazo no se formalizó sino hasta el establecimiento de los programas de investigación ecológica de largo plazo en Estados Unidos. Estos programas han permitido experimentos (...) a nivel de ecosistemas y comparaciones entre sitios que condujeron a una mejor comprensión de la estructura y funcionamiento de la biosfera. El enfoque ecosistémico holístico de esta iniciativa permite también la incorporación de la dimensión humana en la ecología, y recientemente ha dado lugar al nuevo concepto de investigación socio-ecológica de largo plazo (LTSER). Hoy los programas de investigación socio-ecológica a largo plazo existen en por lo menos 32 países (esto es, los miembros de la Red Internacional de Investigación Ecológica a Largo Plazo o ILTER (International Long Term Ecological Research). Sin embargo, la consolidación de la red internacional dentro del paradigma de investigación socio-ecológica a largo plazo todavía requiere: (1) inclusión de algunas regiones remotas del mundo que aún están poco representadas, como el suroeste de América del Sur; (2) modificaciones en el tipo de investigación realizado, tales como la integración de las ciencias sociales y naturales con las humanidades y la ética, y (3) la incorporación de las conclusiones y resultados dentro de los procesos sociales y políticos. En este contexto, la naciente red de investigación socio-ecológica a largo plazo en Chile, que se extiende en el rango latitudinal más largo de bosque templado en el Hemisferio Sur, agrega una nueva región remota a las investigaciones ecológicas de largo plazo que había sido pasada por alto anteriormente. Además, la colaboración con la Universidad de North Texas y otros asociados internacionales ayuda a desarrollar un enfoque interdisciplinario para integrar las ciencias ecológicas y la filosofía ambiental, junto con los conocimientos ecológicos tradicionales, la educación informal y formal, la política, las humanidades, los procesos socio-políticos y la conservación biocultural. (shrink)

La investigación ecológica a largo plazo (Long Term Ecological Research, LTER) maneja problemas que abarcan décadas o plazos más largos. El programa y su nombre formal comenzaron en Estados Unidos en 1980. Si bien los estudios y observaciones a largo plazo comenzaron tempranamente en 1400 y 1800 en Asia y Europa, respectivamente, el enfoque a largo plazo no se formalizó sino hasta el establecimiento de los programas de investigación ecológica de largo plazo en Estados Unidos. Estos programas han permitido experimentos (...) a nivel de ecosistemas y comparaciones entre sitios que condujeron a una mejor comprensión de la estructura y funcionamiento de la biosfera. El enfoque ecosistémico holístico de esta iniciativa permite también la incorporación de la dimensión humana en la ecología, y recientemente ha dado lugar al nuevo concepto de investigación socio-ecológica de largo plazo (LTSER). Hoy los programas de investigación socio-ecológica a largo plazo existen en por lo menos 32 países (esto es, los miembros de la Red Internacional de Investigación Ecológica a Largo Plazo o ILTER (International Long Term Ecological Research). Sin embargo, la consolidación de la red internacional dentro del paradigma de investigación socio-ecológica a largo plazo todavía requiere: (1) inclusión de algunas regiones remotas del mundo que aún están poco representadas, como el suroeste de América del Sur; (2) modificaciones en el tipo de investigación realizado, tales como la integración de las ciencias sociales y naturales con las humanidades y la ética, y (3) la incorporación de las conclusiones y resultados dentro de los procesos sociales y políticos. En este contexto, la naciente red de investigación socio-ecológica a largo plazo en Chile, que se extiende en el rango latitudinal más largo de bosque templado en el Hemisferio Sur, agrega una nueva región remota a las investigaciones ecológicas de largo plazo que había sido pasada por alto anteriormente. Además, la colaboración con la Universidad de North Texas y otros asociados internacionales ayuda a desarrollar un enfoque interdisciplinario para integrar las ciencias ecológicas y la filosofía ambiental, junto con los conocimientos ecológicos tradicionales, la educación informal y formal, la política, las humanidades, los procesos socio-políticos y la conservación biocultural. (shrink)

Os textos enfocam questoes relativas ao acesso da populacao aos bens e servicos de saude, as interfaces da bioetica com o direito e com a psicologia, a reflexao etica sobre a questao ambiental, os desafios da deontologia medica e do patenteamento de material genetico humano (AU).

1. Living organisms are characterized by complexity and uniqueness of structure, as well as by specific pattern of changes during ontogenesis programmed in their own genome.2. Although general mechanisms of gene expression and regulation are well understood, our knowledge of spatial morphogenesis is rather limited and patchy despite discovery of homeotic genes.3. Developmental biology is able to explain principles of formation of neuronal network in the brain, whereas neurophysiology provides detailed information on the role of various neurotransmitters, but we still (...) do not understand the essence of consciousness, and even more self-consciousness of the man.4. Some philosophical theories trying to explain the nature of self-consciousness, such as parallelism and interactionism, are briefly discussed. (shrink)

Fé e crime na “quebrada”: pentecostais e PCC na construção da sociabilidade nas periferias de São Paulo (Faith and crime in the "quebrada": Pentecostalism and PCC in the construction of sociability in the outskirts of São Paulo). DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2014v12n33p99 Tratamos, neste texto, da convivência em um mesmo ambiente urbano de fenômenos aparentemente díspares como é o caso do pentecostalismo de um lado e, de outro, o crime organizado e a violência como seu modus operandi , ambos representando expressões de sociabilidade (...) e formação identitária nas periferias das metrópoles. Nesse contexto, o conceito de conversão precisa ser revisto dada a sua ineficácia para se compreender os processos sociais experimentados pelas populações dos bairros periféricos. Nesses bairros, ser pentecostal não é necessariamente uma opção de vida que exclui a participação na organização criminosa do Primeiro Comando da Capital - PCC. O artigo está dividido em dois tópicos: no primeiro, fazemos um breve levantamento dos estudos que trabalham com as diferentes formas em que a religião e a violência criam interfaces de contato. No segundo tópico procuramos apresentar nossas observações empíricas de uma comunidade pentecostal da qual faz parte um dos líderes locais do PCC. As conclusões são apontamentos que procuram manter abertas as portas para outras reflexões e dar continuidade à pesquisa mais do que para encerrar o debate. Palavras chaves : Pentecostalismo. PCC. Crime organizado. Conversão.In this paper we look at the coexistence, in the same urban environment, of seemingly disparate phenomena such as Pentecostalism on one side, and on the other the organized crime and violence as its modus operandi , two of the expressions of sociability and identity in the outskirts of the metropolis. In this context the concept of conversion needs to be revised given its ineffectiveness to understanding social and religious processes experienced by the populations of the suburbs. In these neighborhoods, be Pentecostal is not necessarily a lifestyle choice that precludes participation in a criminal organization like the Primeiro Comando da Capital, PCC. The article is divided into two topics: first, we made a brief survey of studies that work with the different ways in which religion and violence make some interfaces. After we tried to present our empirical observations about a Pentecostal community in which a PCC local leader is part of. The notes of the conclusion are looking to keep the doors open to other ideas and to continue the research more than to wind up the debate. Keywords : Pentecostalism. PCC. Organized crime. Conversion. (shrink)

Desde la década de 1960, con el surgimiento de las problemáticas ambientales, el discurso hegemónico de la ecología es recibido, reproducido y amplificado por una amplia variedad de actores sociales. Aquí, analizaremos un aspecto que consideramos central de este discurso. Nuestro objetivo se dirige a indagar en qué medida la ecología recupera los dualismos y. Nuestra hipótesis de trabajo es que esta disciplina opera mediante un doble movimiento: mientras trae a primer plano el dualismo, simultáneamente, soslaya el dualismo. Bajo este (...) doble movimiento, esperamos mostrar que el discurso ecológico logra despolitizar la naturaleza, relegando a la periferia diferentes formas de concebir el entorno. Nuestro enfoque epistemológico-metodológico descansará sobre una lógica de las distinciones, de aquí que trabajaremos sobre los dualismos mencionados, a partir de la distinción. Finalmente, presentaremos algunas consideraciones sobre el dominio del discurso ecológico y sobre la relevancia de una posición relativista en el contexto internacional de las problemáticas ambientales. (shrink)

O processo educacional atual enfrenta desafios variados, pois lida com relações e inteligências múltiplas. A educação escolar participa destes desafios. Como educar para a tolerância e para a responsabilidade social, tendo em vista a construção da cultura de paz, do respeito e do cuidado com o diferente? Como a disciplina de Ensino Religioso pode participar ativamente deste processo de formação humana? Este estudo faz parte de uma pesquisa mais ampla sobre tolerância e promoção da cultura de paz em algumas escolas (...) públicas de Ensino Fundamental da periferia da cidade de Belo Horizonte/MG; e, baseada na investigação bibliográfica e observacional, visa pensar uma ação pedagógica com foco dialógico. Denominamos de “pedagogia do cuidado e do conhecimento”, pois afeto e saberes devem coexistir no ambiente escolar para estimular relações construtivas. Esta reflexão objetiva apresentar resultados desta pesquisa e propor o cuidado nas relações interpessoais, para que a escola atinja índices de qualidade desejáveis, tanto no nível intelectual quanto emocional. Relações dialógicas são construídas na valorização do humano e por isto permanecem. O exercício do diálogo inter-religioso no ambiente escolar pode ser oportunidade e treinamento de construções dialógicas, tanto ao participar de projetos escolares quanto ao serem praticados no interior da sala de aula. (shrink)

Résumé: O design cultural integra o conteúdo cultural no processo de design. É um meio importante para perceber a inovação da cultura tradicional na herança. O comportamento do design cultural é sutilmente influenciado pela filosofia cultural. Especificamente, a análise do ambiente cultural, a associação semântica cultural e a extração de imagens culturais, na perspectiva da filosofia cultural, ajudam a perceber a explicitação do conhecimento implícito no processo de codificação e decodificação de genes culturais. Selecionamos Ningbo como uma amostra, aprofundamos os (...) genes culturais regionais, exploramos o modelo de geração de design cultural e ainda propusemos a estrutura para a construção de um sistema de serviços de conhecimento de design cultural para fornecer orientação metodológica, para a prática de design cultural regional, a fim de construir capacidades de design cultural sustentável. (shrink)

A un secolo e mezzo dalla pubblicazione dell'Origine delle specie, la nozione di omologia di Owen, che implica che due organi o due funzioni a confronto possono essere riconosciuti come “la stessa cosa” continua a dominare gli attuali approcci al problema dell’omologia. L'idea che i caratteri possano “rimanere se stessi” attraverso un numero indefinito (anche se finito) di stati alternativi che si susseguono nel corso dell'evoluzione è probabilmente basato su un'interpretazione idealistica di come gli organismi si evolvono. Se si dà (...) per scontata l'esistenza di caratteristiche del corpo che conservano la loro identità nel cambiamento, l'esistenza di omologhi può essere spiegata (i) in termini di leggi universali della forma, magari nella forma moderna dello strutturalismo di processo, o (ii) come il prodotto di discendenza comune, o (iii) in termini di cause prossime responsabili della comparsa di moduli di sviluppo conservati. Tuttavia, leggendo la storia della vita attraverso la lente dell’evoluzione, appare molto problematico descrivere un organismo come una somma di caratteri che, una volta apparsi come novità evolutive, rimangono poi come unità costruttive essenzialmente immutabili tra le quali possiamo predicare (o negare) omologia. Tutti i tratti sono meglio interpretati come incroci complessi e mutevoli di un numero indeterminato di elementi e dei processi che li modellano nel corso dell’ontogenesi e della filogenesi. Di conseguenza, appare raccomandabile un approccio fattoriale, o combinatorio, all’omologia. (shrink)

Aus bekannten Versuchsergebnissen und Naturbeobachtungen lÄsst sich ein Mechanismus der ontogenetischen Evolution und Involution ableiten, der mit den unten stehenden vier GrundsÄtzen gekennzeichnet werden kann. Es wird dabei als anerkannt vorausgesetzt, dass die Entwicklung der Lebewesen auf genotypischen Potenzen beruht, die nach Einwirkung bestimmter Umweltreize bestimmte phÄnotypische Effekte bewirken. Es wird als “phylogenetischer Auslesefaktor” einer genotypischen Potenz derjenige Faktor der Äusseren oder inneren Umwelt bezeichnet, an den in der Phylogenese die Anpassung erfolgt ist. Der phylogenetische Auslesefaktor einer genotypischen Potenz wird (...) in der Ontogenese als genaktivierender Manifestationsreiz für den entsprechenden phÄnotypischen Effekt rekapituliert. Nach dem Ende des genaktivierenden Manifestationsreizes nimmt der von diesem Reiz abhÄngige Aktivierungszustand der genotypischen Potenz in charakteristischer Weise ab, und entsprechend bildet sich der von diesem Genaktivierungszustand abhÄngige phÄnotypische Effekt zurück; infolgedessen wird der phÄnotypische Effekt je nach der verschiedenen ReizabhÄngigkeit des Genaktivierungszustandes manifest als reizabhÄngige Modifikation, als vorübergehend reizunabhÄngige Dauermodifikation oder als fortgepflanzte vorübergehend reizunabhÄngige Dauermodifikation. Bei der ontogenetischen Evolution ist im Bereich der inneren Umwelt der phÄnotypische Effekt einer Entwicklungsstufe als rekapitulierter phylogenetischer Auslesefaktor der genotypischen Potenz der nÄchsten Entwicklungsstufe auch der genaktivierende Manifestationsreiz für den phÄnotypischen Effekt der nÄchsten Entwicklungsstufe . Bei Beendigung der ontogenetischen Evolution mit PhÄn x ist im Bereich der inneren Umwelt PhÄn x−1 der phylogenetische Auslesefaktor für Gen x−1 und wird als der genaktivierende Manifestationsreiz für PhÄn x rekapituliert. Mit der Manifestation von PhÄn x verschwindet PhÄn x−1 und damit auch der von ihm ausgehende genaktivierende Manifestationsreiz für PhÄn x ; infolgedessen beginnt die ontogenetische Involution von PhÄn x nach Massgabe der StabilitÄt des Aktivierungsgrades von Gen x−1.The development of living individuals is due to genotypical potencies, which lead to certain phenotypical effects after the influence of certain stimuli of the environment. The factor of the exogenous or endogenous environment to which adaptation has occurred during the phylogenesis is defined as the phylogenetical selectionfactor.A mechanism of ontogenetical evolution and involution is deduced from known experimental results and observations. This mechanism can be characterized by the following four main principles. The phylogenetical selectionfactor of a genotypical potency is recapitulated during ontogenesis as the gene-activating stimulus for the manifestation of the corresponding phenotypical effect. After the cessation of the gene-activating stimulus the activation of the genotypical potency declines in a characteristic manner. And according to it the phenotypical effect being dependent on this condition of gene-activation is involuted. This means that a phenotypical effect is manifest as stimulus dependent modification, as a temporary stimulus independent modification or as a temporary stimulus independent modification which is transmitted from generation to generation. During the ontogenetical evolution the phenotypical effect in a certain step of the development in the sphere of the endogenous environment is the manifestation stimulus activating the gene for the phenotypical effect of the following developmental step , since Phene n or Substrate n is the recapitulated selectionfactor for the genotypical potency of this step . When the ontogenetical evolution ends with the appearance of Phene n , Phene x−1 is the phylogenetical selectionfactor for Gene x−1 in the endogenous environment and is recapitulated as the gene-activating stimulus for the manifestation of Phene x . By the manifestation of Phene x Phene x−1 vanishes and thus the manifestationstimulus for Phene x . Consequently the ontogenetical involution of Phene x begins according to the degree of instability of the activated condition of Gene x−1. (shrink)

Questo volume affronta lo sviluppo della teoria filosofica e antropologica di Susanne Langer, mettendo in evidenza l’importanza che in essa riveste un evento particolare della filogenesi della specie umana: la nascita della coscienza simbolica. Il nucleo del concetto di coscienza simbolica è costituito dall’idea di un’organizzazione mentale basata sull’utilizzo di rappresentazioni simboliche e strumenti linguistici, che dischiudono all’uomo inaudite possibilità di esperienza. L’ambito in cui si muove questo libro è quindi in primo luogo quello cognitivo, con particolare riferimento alla differenza (...) qualitativa che separa l’uomo dagli altri animali e che non si lascia ricondurre a un mero perfezionamento delle capacità animali di interazione con l’ambiente. Va però sottolineato che i problemi incontrati da Langer non possono non portare a frequenti sconfinamenti nei territori della psicoanalisi, della psicologia e dell’etica. L’autore dedica una particolare attenzione alla ricostruzione langeriana dello sviluppo assieme, psichico e morale e alla preoccupazione dell’autrice per l’eccessiva logicizzazione e per lo spietato disincantamento della simbolic mentality della modernità (elementi che Langer considera come una vera e propria crisi evolutiva). Questo aspetto della sua riflessione permette di accostare Langer a quei pensatori che, da Cassirer a Max Weber, da Carl Gustav Jung a Leroi-Gouhran, manifestano una forte inquietudine di fronte alla perdita radicale non solo della mentalità mitica delle culture premoderne, ma anche e soprattutto del sistema di valori che orientava l’esperienza quotidiana e la condotta etica degli individui. (shrink)

Este estudio describe el desarrollo filogenético de la filosofía fenomenológica desde Europa hasta América Latina, señalando las líneas de transmisión y las diferentes recepciones en cada ámbito regional. Su objetivo principal es demostrar que, tras un desarrollo ontogenético de este movimiento filosófico, existen las condiciones para hablar de una fenomenología del sur como claro exponente de la filosofía contemporánea en el siglo XXI.

The last two centuries have been the centuries of the discovery of the cell evolution: in the XIX century of the germinal cells and in the XX century of two groups of somatic cells, namely those of the brain-mind and of the immune systems. Since most cells do not behave in this way, the evolutionary character of the brain-mind and of the immune systems renders human beings formed by two different groups of somatic cells, one with a deterministic and another (...) with an indeterministic (say Darwinian) behavior. An inherent consequence is that of the generation, during ontogenesis, of a dual biological identity. The concept of the dual biological identity may be used to explain the Kantian concept of the two metaphysical worlds, namely of the causal necessity and of the free will (Azzone, 2001). Two concepts, namely those of complex adaptive systems (CAS) and of emergence (Holland, 2002), are useful tools for understanding the mechanisms of adaptation and of evolution. The concept of complex adaptive systems indicates that living organisms contain series of stratified components, denoted as building blocks, forming stratified layers of increasing complexity. The concept of emergence implies the use of repeating patterns and of building blocks for the generation of structures of increasing levels of complexity, structures capable of exchanging communications both in the top-down and in the bottom-up direction. Against the concept of emergence it has been argued that nothing can produce something which is really new and endowed of causal efficacy. The defence of the concept of emergence is based on two arguments. The first is the interpretation of the variation-selection mechanism as a process of generation of information and of optimization of free energy dissipation in accord with the second principle of thermodynamics. The second is the objective evidence of the cosmological evolution from the Big Bang to the human mind and its products. Darwin has defended the concept of the continuity of evolution. However evolution should be considered as continuous when there is no increase of information and as discontinuous when there is generation of new information. Examples of such generation of information are the acquisition of the innate structures for language and the transition from absence to presence of morality. There are several discontinuity thresholds during both phylogenesis and ontogenesis. Morality is a relational property dependent on the interactions of human beings with the environment. Piaget and Kohlberg have shown that the generation of morality during childhood occurs through several stages and is accompanied by reorganization of the child mental organization. The children respect the conventions in the first stage and gradually generate their autonomous morality. The transition from absence to presence of morality, a major adaptive process, then, not only has occurred during phylogenesis but it occurs again in every human being during ontogenesis. The religious faith does not provide a logical justification of the moral rules (Ayala, 1987) but rather a psychological and anthropological justification of two fundamental needs of human beings: that of rendering Nature an understandable entity, and that of increasing the cooperation among members of the human societies. The positive effects of the altruistic genes in the animal societies are in accord with the positive effects of morality for the survival and development of the human societies. (shrink)

The population, molecular and submolecular (quantum) levels of oncogenesis are considered. The quantum description takes into account the nonlocal Einstein- Podolsky-Rosen correlations, interactions at-the-distance, quantum entanglement and macroscopic quantum coherence. In this approach, cancerogenesis is initiated by destruction of the quantum entanglement of the DNA molecules due to mutation, which leads to appearance of an oncogen and a local decoherence of the organism. In the genetic approach a cancer is the gene disease, whereas in the quantum approach — a disease (...) of the living system. On the basis of the Humphreys criteria, an attempt of the ontological classification of bio- and ontogenesis is made. Those phenomena can be considered in terms of the coherent, synchronic and holistic emergence. (shrink)

Evolutionary stasis is discussed in light of the idea that the common output of every successful evolution is the creation of the entities that are increasingly resistant to further change. The moving force of evolution is entropy. This general aspiration for chaos is a cause of the mortality of organisms and extinction of species. However, being a prerequisite for any motion, entropy generates (by chance) novelties, which may happen to be (by chance) more resistant to further decay and thus survive. (...) The entities that change rapidly disappear. All existing entities are endowed with an ability to resist further change. In simple organisms, the stasis is primarily achieved by means of the high fidelity of DNA reproduction. In organisms with a large genome and complex development, the achievable fidelity of genome reproduction fails to guarantee homeorhetic reproduction: there is more mutation than reproduction. Such species must be capable of surviving and remain phenotypically unchanged at continuous changes of their genes. This capability (canalization or robustness) reflects a global degeneracy of the link structure-function: there are more genotypes than phenotypes. Hence, function (i.e. meaning), not structure, is selected. The selection for successful ontogenesis in a varying environment creates developmental robustness to mutational and environmental perturbations and, consequently, to the halt of evolution. Evolution is resistance to entropy, the adaptation to environment being only one of the means of this resistance. Everything essential in biology is determined not by physical causality but by semantic rules and goal-directed programs. This principal operates on various levels of biological organization. (shrink)

A primeira tese de Sober é que não podemos agir livremente, a não ser que o Argumento da Causalidade ou o Argumento da Inevitabilidade tenham alguma falha. O Argumento da Causalidade é o seguinte: nossos estados mentais causam movimentos corporais; mas nossos estados mentais são causados por fatores do mundo físico. Nossa personalidade pode ser reconduzida à nossa experiência e à nossa genética. E tanto a experiência quanto a genética foram causados por itens do mundo físico. Assim, o meio ambiente (...) e os genes são os causadores de nossas crenças e desejos. E estes, por sua vez, causam o nosso comportamento. Como, em última instância, não escolhemos nem os nossos genes e nem o meio ambiente no qual adquirimos as nossas experiências, também não escolhemos o nosso comportamento: ele é causado por fatores além do nosso controle; isso nos faz não ser livres. E o Argumento da Inevitabilidade é exposto por Sober assim: se uma ação foi praticada livremente, então deve ter sido possível ao agente agir de outra forma. Mas, dado que as causas de nossas ações são as nossas crenças e desejos, não poderíamos ter agido diferentemente de como elas nos determinam a agir. (shrink)

Cyanolichens are symbiotic organisms involving cyanobacteria and fungi (bipartite) or with the addition of an algal partner (tripartite). Cyanolichens are known for their heightened susceptibility to environmental pollution. We focus here on the impacts on cyanolichens due to rising air pollution; we are especially interested in the role of sulfur dioxide on cyanolichen biology. Cyanolichens due to air pollution including sulfur dioxide exposure, show symptomatic changes including degradation of chlorophyll, lipid membrane peroxidation, decrease in ATP production, changes in respiration rate, (...) and alteration of endogenous auxins and ethylene production, although symptoms are known to vary with species and genotype. Sulfur dioxide has been shown to be damaging to photosynthesis but is relatively benign on nitrogen fixation which proposes as a hypothesis that the algal partner may be more in harm’s way than the cyanobiont. In fact, the Nostoc cyanobiont of sulfur dioxide-susceptible Lobaria pulmonaria carries a magnified set of sulfur (alkane sulfonate) metabolism genes capable of alkane sulfonate transport and assimilation, which were only unraveled by genome sequencing, a technology unavailable in the 1950–2000 epoch, where most physiology- based studies were performed. There is worldwide a growing corpus of evidence that sulfur has an important role to play in biological symbioses including rhizobia-legumes, mycorrhizae-roots and cyanobacteria-host plants. Furthermore, the fungal and algal partners of L. pulmonaria appear not to have the sulfonate transporter genes again providing the roles of ambient-sulfur (alkanesulfonate metabolism etc.) mediated functions primarily to the cyanobacterial partner. In conclusion, we have addressed here the role of the atmospheric pollutant sulfur dioxide to tripartite cyanolichen viability and suggest that the weaker link is likely to be the photosynthetic algal (chlorophyte) partner and not the nitrogen-fixing cyanobiont. (shrink)

La obra del profesor Sanmartín Los nuevos redentores mantiene plenamente su actualidad y vigencia. El estilo con el que está escrita favorece plenamente el debate social sobre la ciencia y su servicio al verdadero desarrollo humano. El autor dialoga continuamente con el lector y le interpela con las preguntas que él mismo se hace. Así cultiva el género de la conversación sobre la ciencia, que aparece como el más conveniente para evaluar éticamente la ciencia, sin ceder a ningún tipo de (...) simplismo ni de prejuicio ante ella. El contenido más urgente que revisar es el imaginario antropológico con el que se pretendía desarrollar la ciencia a finales del siglo pasado y en la actualidad. Una antropología tremebunda, unida a una sociobiología al dictado del imperialismo de los genes sobre la conducta, ha venido siendo presentada como la prueba irrefutable de que el ser humano necesita ser redimido por la tecnología científica. Por la ingeniería genética, el hombre debía acabar imponiéndose al modelo de la máquina como garantía del verdadero progreso. Un eslogan compartido por el transhumanismo de nuestros días. Pero el ser humano, advierte Sanmartín, ni es heredero de una antropología cruel, ni vive aislado en una burbuja sin influjo del ambiente histórico y del contexto social, ni es pura materia pasiva que pueda ser manipulada con la excusa de mejoras. Solo una educación adecuada, que tome de la ciencia lo que tiene que tomar, pero que parta de los fundamentos antropológicos más sólidos y contrastados, podrá apuntar a un futuro a la altura de la dignidad humana, de la familia humana y de cada persona. (shrink)

Defense of an account of intrinsic properties in terms of (what is now called) grounding rather than naturalness.

Discussion of partial grounds that aren't parts of full grounds; definition of full grounding in terms of partial grounding.

This experimental study evaluated the influence of stated organizational concern for ethical conduct upon managerial behavior. Using an in-basket to house the manipulation, a sample of 113 MBA students with some managerial experience reacted to scenarios suggesting illegal conduct and others suggesting only unethical behavior. Stated organizational concern for ethical conduct was varied from none (control group) to several other situations which included a high treatment consisting of a Code of Ethics, an endorsement letter by the CEO and specific sanctions (...) for managerial misconduct. Only in the case of suggested illegal behavior tempered by high organizational concern were managers influenced by organizational policy to modify the morality of their actions. However, the responses to the illegal scenarios were significantly more ethical than the reactions given to the unethical (but not illegal) situations. The implications of these findings are then discussed. (shrink)

There is a growing call for greater public involvement in establishing science and technology policy, in line with democratic ideals. A variety of public participation procedures exist that aim to consult and involve the public, ranging from the public hearing to the consensus conference. Unfortunately, a general lack of empirical consideration of the quality of these methods arises from confusion as to the appropriate benchmarks for evaluation. Given that the quality of the output of any participation exercise is difficult to (...) determine, the authors suggest the need to consider which aspects of the process are desirable and then to measure the presence or quality of these process aspects. To this end, a number of theoretical evaluation criteria that are essential for effective public participation are specified. These comprise two types: acceptance criteria, which concern features of a method that make it acceptable to the wider public, and process criteria, which concern features of the process that are liable to ensure that it takes place in an effective manner. Future research needs to develop instruments to measure these criteria more precisely and identify the contextual and environmental factors that will mediate the effectiveness of the different participation methods. (shrink)

This study is the most comprehensive account to date of modern treatments of the love commandment. Gene Outka examines the literature on agape from Nygren's Agape and Eros in 1930. Both Roman Catholic and Protestant writings are considered, including those of D'Arcy, Niebuhr, Ramsey, Tillich, and above all, Karl Barth. The first seven chapters focus on the principal treatments in the theological literature as they relate to major topics in ethical theory. The last chapter explores further the basic normative content (...) of agape and discusses some of the most characteristic problems. "The book is in my judgment the best recent work in religious ethics. Outka brings together analytic moral philosophy and theological ethics, providing a masterly survey of views and issues arising in the past forty years.... I can think of few books of interest to scholars in both philosophy and theology, but Outka's is one. Unlike some scholars who are at home in continental theology, Outka is also at home in secular analytic philosophy; he brings them together in a mutually illuminating way."--Donald Evans "Outka has mastered this vast literature on love, and has brought a critical and clarifying analysis to bear upon it. This is a most important book on a most important subject, and brings the whole discussion into a new phase."--John Macquarrie "The first thing to be said about Outka's book quite simply is that it is excellent; in fact, it is probably the very best available book about contemporary Christian ethical theory."--The Humanities Association Review. (shrink)

Imprecise definition of key terms in the “public participation” domain have hindered the conduct of good research and militated against the development and implementation of effective participation practices. In this article, we define key concepts in the domain: public communication, public consultation, and public participation. These concepts are differentiated according to the nature and flow of information between exercise sponsors and participants. According to such an information flow perspective, an exercise’s effectiveness may be ascertained by the efficiency with which full, (...) relevant information is elicited from all appropriate sources, transferred to all appropriate recipients, and combined to give an aggregate/consensual response. Key variables that may theoretically affect effectiveness—and on which engagement mechanisms differ—are identified and used to develop a typology of mechanisms. The resultant typology reveals four communication, six consultation, and four participation mechanism classes. Limitations to the typology are discussed, and future research needs identified. (shrink)

Abstract:This study examined the relationship between the individual difference variables of personal moral philosophy, locus of control, Machiavellianism, and just world beliefs and ethical judgments and behavioral intentions. A sample of 602 marketing practitioners participated in the study. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships. The results either fully or partially supported hypothesized direct effects for idealism, relativism, and Machiavellianism. Findings also suggested that Machiavellianism mediated the relationship between individual difference variables and ethical judgments/behavioral intentions.

This paper begins by examining several potentially unethical recent marketing practices. Since most marketing managers face ethical dilemmas during their careers, it is essential to study the moral consequences of these decisions. A typology of ways that managers might confront ethical issues is proposed. The significant organizational, personal and societal costs emanting from unethical behavior are also discussed. Both relatively simple frameworks and more comprehensive models for evaluating ethical decisions in marketing are summarized. Finally, the fact that organizational commitment to (...) fostering ethical marketing decisions can be accomplished by top management leadership, codes of ethics, ethics seminars/programs and ethical audits is examined. (shrink)

How should the “physical” in “physicalism” be understood? I here set out systematic criteria of adequacy, propose an account, and show how the account meets those criteria. The criteria of adequacy focus on the idea of rational management: to vindicate philosophical practice, the account must make it plausible that we can assess various questions about physicalism. The account on offer is dubbed the “Ideal Naturalist Physics” account, according to which the physical is that which appears in an ideal theory that (...) both meets the explanatory goals of physics and is naturalist in a sense to be explained. The combination of these two provides a satisfying account of the physical that meets the criteria of adequacy and can be used to predict puzzle cases as well. (shrink)

The concept of public participation is one of growing interest in the UK and elsewhere, with a commensurate growth in mechanisms to enable this. The merits of participation, however, are difficult to ascertain, as there are relatively few cases in which the effectiveness of participation exercises have been studied in a structured manner. This seems to stem largely from uncertainty in the research community as to how to conduct evaluations. In this article, one agenda for conducting evaluation research that might (...) lead to the systematic acquisition of knowledge is presented. This agenda identifies the importance of defining effectiveness and of operationalizing one’s definition. The article includes analysis of the nature of past evaluations, discussion of potential difficulties in the enactment of the proposed agenda, and discussion of some potential solutions. (shrink)

Informed by a search of the literature about the usage of genetic testing information (GTI) by insurance companies, this paper presents a practical ethical analysis of several distinct public policy options that might be used to govern or constrain GTI usage by insurance providers. As medical research advances and the extension to the Human Genome Project (2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/human_genome_project_-_write) moves to its fullness over the next decade, such research efforts will allow the full synthesis of human DNA to be connected to (...) predictive health dispositions. As testing costs fall, there will be ever more pressure for citizens to disclose GTI. Genetic testing information is integral to future medical care because it can be used to better assess individually tailored medical therapies as well as to allow a more informed risk analysis by the insurance industry, which in some countries such as the USA underwrites a majority of citizen medical expenses. As discussed in this examination, the revelation of people’s uniquely personal GTI to insurers has enormous societal implications. The major contribution of the paper is to offer policy makers and concerned citizens a nuanced articulation of the basic options to regulate GTI, with a special consideration for ethical fairness and equity. As genetic-based medicine blossoms and pressures to reduce healthcare costs increase, there will be an ever greater impetus for countries to revisit their genetic testing policies. Organizations and policy makers striving to create GTI oversights perceived to be both “fair and effective” need to be aware of the ethical perspectives discussed in this paper. (shrink)

What has come to be known as “a priori physicalism” is the thesis, roughly, that the non-physical truths in the actual world can be deduced a priori from a complete physical description of the actual world. To many contemporary philosophers, a priori physicalism seems extremely implausible. In this paper I distinguish two kinds of a priori physicalism. One sort – strict a priori physicalism – I reject as both unmotivated and implausible. The other sort – liberal a priori physicalism – (...) I argue is both motivated and plausible. This variety of a priori physicalism insists that the necessitation of non-physical truths by the physical facts must be underwritten in a certain fashion by a priori knowledge, but the a priori knowledge need not amount to a simple deduction of the non-physical truths from a complete physical description of the world. Further, this sort of liberal a priori physicalism has the advantage that it offers hope for a genuinely satisfying account of how the physical facts manage to necessitate the facts about phenomenal consciousness – thereby in effect solving the “hard problem” of consciousness. The first half of the paper sets out the motivation for liberal a priori physicalism and its superiority to the strict version; the second half presents one strategy available to the liberal a priori physicalist for showing how consciousness can be accommodated in a purely physical world. (shrink)

The concept of “public participation” is currently one of great interest to researchers and policy makers. In response to a perceived need for greater public involvement in decision making and policy formation processes on the part of both policymakers and the general public, a variety of novel mechanisms have been developed, such as the consensus conference and citizens jury, to complement traditional mechanisms, such as the public meeting. However, the relative effectiveness of the various mechanisms is unclear, as efforts at (...) evaluation have been sparse. In this article, the authors describe an evaluation of a two-day “deliberative conference” on the topic of radiation dose assessment. The authors detail the evaluation framework that they adopt and describe the instruments that they have developed to determine the attainment of the evaluationcriteria stipulated in that framework. They then describe the participation exercise that they have evaluated. Finally, they apply the instruments to assess the effectiveness of the exercise, and discuss the results and their implications for the conduct of evaluations and the use of this particular participation mechanism. (shrink)

This volume centers on debates about how far moral judgments bind across traditions and epochs. Nowadays such debates appear especially volatile, both in popular culture and intellectual discourse: although there is increasing agreement that the moral and political criteria invoked in human rights documents possess cross-cultural force, many modern and postmodern developments erode confidence in moral appeals that go beyond a local consensus or apply outside a particular community. Often the point of departure for discussion is the Enlightenment paradigm of (...) a common morality, in which it is assumed that certain unchanging beliefs inhere in the structure of human reason. Whereas some thinkers continue to defend this paradigm, others modify it in diverse ways without abandoning entirely the attempt to address a universal audience, and still others jettison virtually all of its distinguishing features. Exhibiting a range of positions Western participants take in these debates, this volume seeks to advance the substance of the debates themselves without prejudging the outcome. Rival assessments of the Enlightenment paradigm are offered from various philosophical and theological points of view. In addition to the editors, the contributors include Robert Merrihew Adams, Annette C. Baier, Alan Donagan, Margaret A. Farley, Alan Gewirth, David Little, Richard Rorty, Jeffrey Stout, and Lee H. Yearley. (shrink)

Based on brain imaging findings, we present a model according to which addiction emerges as an imbalance in the information processing and integration among various brain circuits and functions. The dysfunctions reflect (a) decreased sensitivity of reward circuits, (b) enhanced sensitivity of memory circuits to conditioned expectations to drugs and drug cues, stress reactivity, and (c) negative mood, and a weakened control circuit. Although initial experimentation with a drug of abuse is largely a voluntary behavior, continued drug use can eventually (...) impair neuronal circuits in the brain that are involved in free will, turning drug use into an automatic compulsive behavior. The ability of addictive drugs to co‐opt neurotransmitter signals between neurons (including dopamine, glutamate, and GABA) modifies the function of different neuronal circuits, which begin to falter at different stages of an addiction trajectory. Upon exposure to the drug, drug cues or stress this results in unrestrained hyperactivation of the motivation/drive circuit that results in the compulsive drug intake that characterizes addiction. (shrink)

Research findings on addiction are contradictory. According to biographical records and widely used diagnostic manuals, addicts use drugs compulsively, meaning that drug use is out of control and independent of its aversive consequences. This account is supported by studies that show significant heritabilities for alcoholism and other addictions and by laboratory experiments in which repeated administration of addictive drugs caused changes in neural substrates associated with reward. Epidemiological and experimental data, however, show that the consequences of drug consumption can significantly (...) modify drug intake in addicts. The disease model can account for the compulsive features of addiction, but not occasions in which price and punishment reduced drug consumption in addicts. Conversely, learning models of addiction can account for the influence of price and punishment, but not compulsive drug taking. The occasion for this target article is that recent developments in behavioral choice theory resolve the apparent contradictions in the addiction literature. The basic argument includes the following four statements: First, repeated consumption of an addictive drug decreases its future value and the future value of competing activities. Second, the frequency of an activity is a function of its relative (not absolute) value. This implies that an activity that reduces the values of competing behaviors can increase in frequency even if its own value also declines. Third, a recent experiment (Heyman & Tanz 1995) shows that the effective reinforcement contingencies are relative to a frame of reference, and this frame of reference can change so as to favor optimal or suboptimal choice. Fourth, if the frame of reference is local, reinforcement contingencies will favor excessive drug use, but if the frame of reference is global, the reinforcement contingencies will favor controlled drug use. The transition from a global to a local frame of reference explains relapse and other compulsive features of addiction. (shrink)

The advance of technology has influenced marketing in a number of ways that have ethical implications. Growth in use of the Internetand e-commerce has placed electronic “cookies,” spyware, spam, RFIDs, and data mining at the forefront of the ethical debate. Some marketers have minimized the significance of these trends. This overview paper examines these issues and introduces the two articles that follow. It is hoped that these entries will further the important “marketing and technology” ethical debate.

This article draws upon 100 years of writings which are referred to as the Catholic Social Tradition (CST). Using this tradition as a guide, the nature of work is explored along with the principles and virtues which vitalize the deepest dimension of work — how it affects the dignity of the human person. It develops five operational ethical principles which can be applied to questions of workplace ethics. Organizational policies and programs that seem consistent with CST are also discussed.

The role of imagery in encoding event-based prospective memories has yet to be fully clarified. Herein, it is argued that imagery augments a cue-to-context association that supports event-based prospective memory performance. By this account, imagery encoding not only improves prospective memory performance but also reduces interference to intention-related information that occurs outside of context. In the current study, when lure words occurred outside of the appropriate responding context, the use of imagery encoding strategies resulted in less interference when compared with (...) a standard event-based intention condition. This difference was eliminated when participants were not given a specific context to associate their intention . These results support a cue-to-context association account of how imagery operates in certain event-based prospective memory tasks. (shrink)

Recent work by Jaegwon Kim and others suggest that functionalism leaves mental properties causally inefficacious in some sense. I examine three lines of argument for this conclusion. The first appeals to Occam's Razor; the second appeals to a ban on overdetermination; and the third charges that the kind of response I favor to these arguments forces me to give up "the homogeneity of mental and physical causation". I show how each argument fails. While I concede that a positive theory of (...) mental causation is desirable, there is no reason to think that functionalism renders such a theory unattainable. (shrink)