La formación ética enfrenta el reto de ser comprensible para los estudiantes, pero, sobre todo, de formularsedesde las formas de comprender y discutir sus propias vidas, para que les sea relevante. Una de esas formasespecialmente atractiva entre niños y jóvenes es la comunicación audiovisual, cuyo potencial formativo ha sidocomprendido usualmente en términos instrumentales, cuando no negado absolutamente. Este artículo presentauna propuesta fenomenológica para trabajar dialógicamente en el aula la problematización de una ética centradaen el deber, tal como es puesta en (...) escena en dos productos de animación japonesa (“anime”). En primer lugar,discute fenomenológicamente cómo comprender el potencial formativo de la experiencia de ver una narraciónanimada. En segundo lugar, argumenta cómo la reinterpretación fenomenológica del imperativo categóricopuede superar su desconexión de la dimensión afectiva del sujeto ético y sus contextos fácticos de acción paracentrarse en el cuidado de la condición humana de vulnerabilidad. En tercer lugar, muestra cómo las discusionesanteriores son elaboradas en dos “animes” que permiten que los estudiantes se involucren vivencialmente enestas interpelaciones éticas y que los docentes puedan acoger sus vivencias en una experiencia dialógica deaprendizaje comprendida narrativamente. Concluye recapitulando las oportunidades y exigencias planteadasa los docentes desde esta clave de lectura del sentido de las creaciones audiovisuales en la actividad educativa. (shrink)

En busca de comprender los cambios en la fecundidad en el Noroeste argentino, este estudio tiene por objetivo analizar su comportamiento entre 2015 y 2020. La investigación se justifica por la relevancia de examinar cómo ha evolucionado en los últimos años en la región. Mediante un análisis cuantitativo y descriptivo, a partir de los datos obtenidos del Departamento de Estadísticas e Información de la Salud (DEIS), se calcularon Tasas Específicas de Fecundidad (TEF) y Tasas Globales de Fecundidad (TGF). Las TGF (...) fueron categorizadas entre aquellas que se situaron por debajo de 2.1 (nivel de reemplazo), 1.6 (nivel de baja fecundidad) y 1.3 (nivel de muy baja fecundidad) hijos en promedio por mujer. Se aplicaron los modelos de baja fecundidad que la ONU propuso en 1963 para analizar las TEF, identificando tres regímenes de fecundidad: temprano, dilatado y tardío. Se observó el cambio en las TEF de 15 a 19 años y su relación con el resto de los grupos etarios. Los resultados revelan que, durante el periodo 2015-2020, la fecundidad en el promedio regional y en las provincias del NOA experimentó un pronunciado descenso; que las TGF se situaron por debajo del umbral mínimo de reemplazo, e incluso en algunos casos alcanzaron niveles de baja y muy baja fecundidad, oscilando entre 1.6 y 1.3 hijos en promedio por mujer; y que se produjo una concentración de los nacimientos en el grupo de mujeres de 25 a 29 años. (shrink)

O artigo que se segue formula reflexões acerca de um evento cujo distanciamento e imparcialidade são impossíveis. O caráter ensaístico da escrita é, neste sentido, exigência do próprio evento em análise. Não escrevemos para fornecer respostas, nem com o distanciamento de Heródoto, que evocou de igual forma testemunhos históricos feitos de gregos e troianos; escrevemos para compreender, enfrentar e resistir ao problema. Dessa forma, o presente artigo aborda a pandemia do coronavírus de maneira que possibilite contribuir para uma melhor compreensão (...) do fenômeno que estamos experienciando. Para isso, de início, analisa-se a atual pandemia em suas relações com a modernidade e seu caráter globalizante. Em seguida, adentrando em uma perspectiva que transita entre fatores econômicos e políticos, o artigo destaca as consequências das políticas neoliberais que tornaram o cenário pandêmico uma crise dentro da crise. Para além de uma crise econômica, configura-se como uma crise humanitária. Para tanto, desembocando no dilema que o neoliberalismo impõe à humanidade, o lucro ou as pessoas, expõem-se nitidamente as fissuras do capitalismo. Por fim, analisa-se a atuação da necropolítica na pandemia e discutem-se as medidas de isolamento social a partir de conceitos como "Estado de exceção", e "vigilância". (shrink)

O presente artigo detém o intuito de analisar a implementação do sistema de precedentes judiciais adotado pelo Brasil no Novo Código de Processo Civil, diante da teoria de Ronald Dworkin. O Brasil historicamente adota o sistema denominado de Civil Law, o qual adota a lei como fonte principal do Direito, dando ao precedente judicial um caráter secundário e não vinculante. Ante a nova atualização legislativa do Código de Processo Civil de 2015, que vislumbra a adoção de um sistema de precedentes, (...) o Brasil deve superar diversas dificuldades para adequar este sistema ao ordenamento jurídico, pois a maior dificuldade provém do fato da ausência de costume ao observar os precedentes como fonte do Direito. O texto faz uma análise sobre os sistemas judiciais de Civil Law e Common Law trazendo a diferença entre os sistemas e as fontes do Direito que cada um adere, bem como disserta sobre as teorias relativas à Interpretação e Integridade de Ronald Dworkin. Por fim, investiga as alterações legislativas no Código de Processo Civil, bem como a fundamental importância das teorias de Dworkin para implementar no Brasil de maneira correta o sistema de precedentes judiciais. A metodologia utilizada foi o método indutivo de abordagem e o método de procedimento foi o método monográfico. As fontes de pesquisa utilizadas foram as mais diversificadas, tais como livros, artigos, pesquisas em sites, consulta de outras monografias, consulta de tese de mestrado e jurisprudências. (shrink)

Historically, taxonomy, which is the area responsible for describing new species, used a priori only morphological characteristics. Darwin already pointed out that there was a great divergence among taxonomists when they classified some organism as a species. When a new species is described, due to its historical weight, the morphological characters are considered as the first species demarcation criterion, however, with the advance of genetics and molecular biology, new methods are added. The use of multiple methods seems to be necessary (...) for us to develop a contemporary taxonomy, so, a little more than a decade ago, the “integrative taxonomy” emerged, which refers to a taxonomy that aims to integrate all available data sources to frame the data. species limits. Data integration is not possible, as we do not have the technological capacity to do so. In view of this, we can interact the data through interactive taxonomy, which suggests, a way of treating the data under the assumption of different lines of evidence, through which the explanations have logical consequences that can be tested, mitigating the subjectivity of the subject in the process. Data interactions can overlap taxonomic descriptions, as they could encompass different phenomena and problem solving, thereby mitigating subjectivism. Therefore, in different fields, at least two indications would be necessary, which could be contained in two different approaches, one hypothetical and one by estimation. Such interpellations would contain evidence with different assumptions and dissimilar data characteristics, thus increasing the number of evidence, as well as improving the reliability of the argument. In this way, we can bring new species to light with a more objective bias and with less likelihood of error. Keywords: Taxonomy. Cryptic species. Estimation. Hypothetical. (shrink)

En el presente artículo nos proponemos realizar una comparación de la posición de D’Agostino con la de otro de los representantes del convencionalismo: William Morgan. A D’Agostino nos referiremos en el primer apartado y a Morgan en el segundo. Nos preguntaremos si Morgan, además de inscribir sus tesis dentro del convencionalismo, participa al mismo tiempo de la concepción internalista del deporte. Aunque uno y otro autor son convencionalistas, existen matices muy distintos entre sus posiciones que caben ser resaltadas, a fin (...) de clarificar su proximidad con otras teorías filosófico-deportivas. In this paper we propose a comparison of the position of D’Agostino with other rpresentatives of convention: Wilüam Morgan. We refer to D’Agostino’s position in the first section and in the second section to Morgan ’s. We ask whether Morgan, moreover of register his thesis within the Conventionalism, participaos also of the internaüst conception of sport. Although both authors are conventionalists, there are many different shades that fit between their positions be highüghted, in order to clarify its proximity to other phihsophical theories of port. (shrink)

En el presente texto proponemos una reflexión sobre uso de tecnologías genéticas que aumentan el rendimiento deportivo como futuro campo de investigación de una Neuroética social. Este problema, que se ha dado en llamar “dopaje genético”, congrega a su alrededor un debate entre los partidarios del Bioconservadurismo y del Transhumanismo. Expondremos la concepción de dos importantes representantes del Transhumanismo y de dos conocidos partidarios del Bioconservadurismo, a fin de subrayar la importancia de este debate y las futuras implicaciones en la (...) mejora del rendimiento físico, cognitivo y educacional a las que se deberá hacer frente desde el nivel socio-cultural de la Neuroética. (shrink)

Bravo, F. La dialéctica en Teilhard de Chardin.--Carías, R. El conocimiento de Dios en Max Scheler.--Cappelletti, A. J. El fuego y el logos en la filosofía de Heráclito.--Li Carrillo, V. Estructuralismo y antihumanismo.--Rosales, A. Martín Heidegger y la crisis de la filosofía transcendental.--Rosales, A. La crítica de Heidegger al idealismo moderno.--Rosales, A. El giro del pensamiento de Heidegger.

This essay explores Francisco Suárez’s account of the nature of human free will. To that end, Suárez’s engagement with John Calvin is considered so as to place the Jesuit’s account into greater relief. The conclusion of this study will reveal that, for Suárez, the human will’s freedom of self–determination is both caused by God and consists in its own indifference regarding the power to act and the power not to act.

This essay addresses dominant critiques of Francisco Suárez’s metaphysical project raised by many contemporary philosophers of religion. Those critiques often center upon two main claims. (1) God and creature are both comprehended under the concept of being such that God amounts to just one more being among others. As such, a univocal community of being results wherein God’s divine transcendence and irreducibility to creation are destroyed. (2) Since Suárez employs a univocal concept of being when conducting his metaphysical speculations (...) about God, he has (unwittingly) abandoned the God of Christian revelation in favor of a conceptual idol. The author argues that both critiques harbor a severe misunderstanding of Suárezian metaphysics, and that it is precisely in turning to the concept of being that Suárez defends both God’s irreducible transcendence and his incomprehensibility. Paradoxically, to think of God in terms of being is just to leave God unthought. (shrink)

This book examines the thought of scholasticism’s Doctor eximius in its entirety: both philosophically and theologically. Many of the most distinctive features of Suárez’s thought are identified and evaluated in light of his immediate historical context. What emerges from the studies contained in this volume is the picture of a thinker who is profoundly steeped in the riches of divergent schools of thought and yet who manages to find his own unique voice to add to the chorus of scholasticism.

The text describes the research Geopartitura executed by the team MidiaLab Computer art research laboratory, that raises the thought about social artists and urban space. As a work of art it can be considered activist action. As a system, it is composed by software, database, locative media and mobile devices. The work was created to be performed as urban interactive cyberintervention, in order to interact with passers-by, a bias of social inclusion, transforming the urban landscape and its noises, at a (...) dimension of open space for discussion. As active and engaged art, presents the artist as social citizen. (shrink)

La narración común sobre la metafísica de Francisco Suárez entre un grupo diverso de pensadores es que el jesuita presenta una ontología «indiferente» que descuida la concepción medieval tradicional de Dios como absolutamente trascendente y única. Aunque las críticas dirigidas contra Suárez son legiones e igualmente diversas como las críticas de las que derivan, tal como yo lo entiendo, hay una convicción común a todas ellas, aunque no expresada, de que el pensamiento del jesuita finalmente resulta en la secularización (...) de la metafísica. Por «secularización» me refiero a que, como se afirma con frecuencia, el análisis de Suárez sobre la naturaleza del ser ocurre por completo sin la necesidad de advertir sobre ningún marco teológico general. En este ensayo, cuestiono ese punto de vista y sostengo que la metafísica de Suárez está completamente determinada por su visión teológica y su proyecto. (shrink)

In this article I consider the problematic that creation ex nihilo presents for Christian metaphysicans’ speculation regarding possible being. I explore Thomas Aquinas’s doctrine of possibility and show that, while he attempts to remain faithful to a metaphysics of creation, encounters a metaphysical difficult when presenting his account in terms of imitation. Suárez, I argue, is mindful of this difficulty and offers a corrective that unites the approaches of Thomas Aquinas as well as that of Duns Scotus. In the end, (...) Suárez offers an original account of possible being that is faithful to the demands of a creation ex nihilo. (shrink)

The present essay considers the doctrine of the analogia entis that the late Baroque Scholastic thinker Pedro Hurtado de Mendoza develops. Central to Hurtado’s account is the notion of transcendence that he appropriates from Francisco Suárez’s transcendental explication of being. Being’s immanent containment within its own differences marked an important feature of Suárez’s own teaching, but his was a teaching with which Hurtado was left fundamentally unsatisfied. For Hurtado, being’s immanent transcendence makes it at once identical with itself but (...) also, paradoxically, diverse from itself. Still, though he finds reason to maintain that the common concept of being is in fact analogical, there remain concepts that, as Hurtado sees it, are truly univocal with respect to substance and accidents as well as God and creatures. Hurtado stands on the cusp, as it were, of the transition from the Jesuit Scholastic preference for analogy to the eventual wide-spread adoption of univocity. (shrink)

Apunte preliminar, por Francisco Romero.--La obra de Sócrates.--Los mitos en la filosofía de Platón.--Sobre el Banquete de Platón.--El devenir en la filosofía de Platón.--La teroía platónica de la particapación según el Parménides y el Sofista.--Las leyes de Platón y la teoria de las ideas.--La moral de Platón.--Traducción de los pasajes griegos.

The following essay considers Luis de Losada’s thinking with respect to the scholastic dispute between univocity and analogy. Noteworthy is the fact that the conclusions he reaches are at odds with those of Francisco Suarez, whom the younger Jesuit otherwise regards with unmitigated filial devotion. Though Losada differs from his master regarding analogy, the position he puts forth capitalizes upon a distinction between a logico-semantic perspective and a metaphysical perspective. The result is an irenic balance among all the schools (...) (Thomistic, Scotist, and Jesuit) regarding univocity and analogy. Nevertheless, Losada goes beyond the discussions dividing proponents of analogy and those of univocity when he inquires whether any kind of analogical community obtains between real being and beings of reason. Remarkably, he answers that there is a univocal community, thereby embracing the scholastic notion of supertranscendentality. (shrink)

A student of Étienne Gilson and Joseph Owens, John P. Doyle taught medieval and Scholastic philosophy at Saint Louis University for forty years. Of continuing interest to Doyle has been the thought of Francisco Suárez, S.J. On this topic Doyle has published over a dozen articles and four English translations of portions of Suárez's key works. This volume celebrates the life and career of one of those rare kinds of scholars who has mastered an entire field of inquiry and (...) thought. (shrink)

En este artículo se analiza la polémica sobre el “caso Heidegger”, suscitada en España a raíz de la traducción del libro de Víctor Farías, Heidegger y el nazismo. Para ello se recurre al método de la sociología de la filosofía. En primer lugar se examina lo que suposo la irrupción de este ensayo en el contexto de los lectores, predominantemente académicos, de Heidegger en España. En segundo lugar se estudia la presentación española del libro de Farías en 1989, como (...) si se tratara de un ritual de interacción. Por último se exploran las reacciones provocadas por esta difusión en el mundo de los expertos españoles en la filosofía heideggeriana. Desde 1989, los eruditos no podían ya dejar de pronunciarse sobre los nexos entre la ideología y el pensamiento del autor alemán. (shrink)

Recensión: Solanes Corella, Ángeles; Derechos y culturas. Los retos de la diversidad en el espacio público y privado. Tirant lo Blanch. Alternativa, Valencia, 2018, 488pp.

Escrever sobre a Teologia da Libertação (TdL), sua evolução e horizontes futuros, não é tarefa fácil. Primeiramente, porque ainda nos falta perspectiva histórica suficiente para observarmos com serenidade e com distanciamento o seu processo; em segundo lugar porque já existe uma vasta literatura sobe esse tema. Mais do que fazer um resumo abstrato desses 40 anos de existência da Teologia da Libertação, o artigo descreve seu desenvolvimento a partir de três eventos teológicos: O encontro Escorial 1972, o Encontro Escorial 1992 (...) e o Encontro São Leopoldo-Unisinos 2012. Se o primeiro foi marcado pelo paradigma do Êxodo e o segundo pelo paradigma do Exílio, o encontro de São Leopoldo-Unisinos se abre a horizontes futuros, novas questões e novos assuntos. A eleição do papa Francisco e sua opção por uma Igreja pobre e dos pobres, significa um sinal de esperança para a Igreja e Também para uma teologia libertadora. Palavras-chave : Libertação. Seguimento de Jesus. Opção pelos pobres. Êxodo. Exílio. Igreja pobre e dos pobres. Résumen Escribir sobre Teología de la liberación (TdL), su evolución y su horizonte futuro, no es fácil. En parte porque nos falta todavía perspectiva histórica suficiente para poder observar serenamente y desde más lejos su proceso, y en parte porque sobre este tema ya hay abundante literatura. Más que hacer un resumen abstracto de estos 40 años de teología de la liberación, el artículo describe la evolución de la teología de la liberación a partir de tres eventos teológicos: la reunión de El Escorial 1972, la de El Escorial 1992 y la de Sao Leopoldo-Unisinos 2012. Si la primera estuvo marcada por el paradigma del Éxodo y la segunda por el del Exilio, la reunión de Sao Leopoldo-Unisinos se abre a nuevos horizontes de futuro, nuevos temas y nuevos sujetos. La elección el Papa Francisco y su opción por una Iglesia pobre y de los pobres, significa un signo de esperanza para la Iglesia y también para una teología liberadora. Palabras clave : Liberación. Seguimiento de Jesús. Opción por los pobres. Éxodo. Exilio. Iglesia pobre y de los pobres.To write about Liberation Theology (TdL), its evolution and future horizons is not that easy. This difficulty is due, in some way, to the lack of a historical perspective enough to allow us to observe Liberation Theology process serenely and from farther. In another way, there is already a vast literature on the subject. Rather than making a summary of the 40 years of liberation theology, this article describes its development from three main theological events: the first meeting organized in El Escorial, Spain (1972), a second meeting held in the same place, in 1992, and the meeting held in Brazil, in 2012, at the University of Unisinos. The first meeting was marked by the paradigm of Exodus and the second by the paradigm of Exile. The meeting held at Sao Leopoldo, in turn, opened new perspectives for the future, new themes and new subjects. The election of Pope Francisco and his option for the poor means a sign of hope for the Church and also to a liberating theology. Keywords : Liberation. The following of Jesus. Option for the poor. Exodus. Exile. A poor Church and a Church of the poor. (shrink)

Según la doctrina del “discurso del odio”, todo mensaje calificable como tal supondrá por definición un abuso del derecho fundamental a la libertad de expresión. Esta doctrina, elaborada en distintas etapas por el TEDH a lo largo de las últimas décadas, ha sido seguida por la jurisprudencia española como pauta interpretativa de los llamados “delitos apologéticos”. En atención a esta linea, la ratio legis de este grupo de delitos consistiría, simplemente, en la prohibición del discurso del odio. La vaguedad de (...) esta idea ha llevado a un sector doctrinal a abandonar el paradigma del bien jurídico, para defender como alternativa la distinción entre daño y ofensa. En el presente trabajo se expondrán y valorarán críticamente los presupuestos y efectos de la “doctrina del odio” y se relativizará la eficacia práctica del binomio “daño-ofensa”, para llegar a una conclusión común: ambas concepciones son tautológicas. (shrink)

Victor Salas, Robert Fastiggi (eds.), A Companion to Francisco Suárez, Brill’s Companions to the Christian Tradition, vol. 53, Leiden, Boston, Brill, 2015, xii + 383 pp., ISSN 1871-6377.

La arquitectura digital ha alterado de manera decisiva la sociedad y, en consecuencia, demanda respuestas legales. De la Internet desarrollada en la década de 1970 con fines militares, casi nada permanece igual. La plataforma ha otorgado un poder sin igual a las empresas de tecnología, cambiando la forma en que nos comunicamos, abordamos la política, negociamos y también cómo nos relacionamos. En la economía digital actual, la atención de los usuarios es el principal producto, y estos usuarios también son productores (...) de contenido. En este modelo, se facilita la propagación de información falsa, lo que pone en riesgo la democracia y la ciencia. Para abordar estos fenómenos, es fundamental desarrollar y aplicar mecanismos adecuados de regulación de las plataformas para proteger a la sociedad y la libertad. Este estudio se basa en este contexto para analizar algunas respuestas regulatorias que se están debatiendo en Brasil. (shrink)

El objetivo de este trabajo es defender la presencia del pensamiento jesuítico en Argentina después de la independencia. La muestra a la que se ha sometido este interrogante se sitúa en los siglos XIX y comienzos del XX. El pensador elegido es Joaquín V. González político y jurista argentino de gran prestigio. Compararemos el pensamiento de este autor, símbolo de su época, con las ideas de la filosofía jurídica de los jesuítas, ejemplificando con el pensamiento de Francisco Suárez, sin (...) duda una de los pensadores más importates de la Filosofía Jurídica Española de todos los tiempos. (shrink)

This paper intends to provide a short assessment on how Marx and Weber approached social inequality. The assessment is conducted using evolutionary rationality. Even though Marx and Weber had seemingly contrasting approaches, I argue that in reality both are complementary and can be better understood using Darwinian evolutionary theory or “Universal Darwinism” as the locus in which the two rationalities described formation processes based on competition for the survival of social forces and the crafting of adaptive and advantageous strategies that (...) allow for the synchronic and diachronic reproduction of social groups. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Acosta, José de (1539–1600) Alberdi, Juan Bautista (1810–84) Bello, Andrés (1781–1865) Bilbao, Francisco (1823–65) Bolkvar, Simón (1783–1830) Casas, Bartolomé de las (1484–1566) Caso, Antonio (1883–1946) Cruz, Sor Juana Inés de la (1651–95) da Costa, Newton Carneiro Affonso (b. 1929) Dussel, Enrique (b. 1934) Frondizi, Risieri (1910–83) Gaos, José (1900–69) González Prada, Manuel (1848–1918) Gracia, Jorge J. E. (b. 1942) Haya de la Torre, Victor Raúl (1895–1979) Hostos, Eugenio Marka de (1839–1903) Ingenieros, José (1877–1925) Korn, (...) Alejandro (1860–1936) Lastarria, José Victorino (1817–88) Lemos, Miguel (1854–1917) Mariátegui, José Carlos (1895–1930) Martk, José (1853–95) Méndez Sierra, Justo (1848–1912) Mora, José Maria Luis (1794–1850) Miró Quesada, Francisco (b. 1918) Rabossi, Eduardo (1930–2005) Ramos, Samuel (1897–1959) Rodó, José Enrique (1872–1917) Romero, Francisco (1891–1962) Sahagún, Fray Bernardino de (1499–1590) Salazar Bondy, Augusto (1925–74) Sarmiento, Domingo Faustino (1811–88) Ofelia Schutte (b. 1945) Sepslveda, Juan Ginés de (ca. 1494–1573) Torretti, Roberto (b. 1930) Vasconcelos, José (1882–1959) Vaz Ferreira, Carlos (1872–1958) Villoro, Luis (b. 1922) Vitoria, Francisco de (ca. 1483–1546) Zea Aguilar, Leopoldo (1912–2004) Acknowledgment Further Reading. (shrink)

The Criminalization series arose from an interdisciplinary investigation into criminalization, focussing on the principles that might guide decisions about what kinds of conduct should be criminalized, and the forms that criminalization should take. Developing a normative theory of criminalization, the series tackles the key questions at the heart of the issue: what principles and goals should guide legislators in deciding what to criminalize? How should criminal wrongs be classified and differentiated? How should law enforcement officials apply the law's specifications of (...) offences? The sixth volume in the series offers a philosophical investigation of the relationship between moral wrongdoing and criminalization. Considering the justification of punishment, the nature of harm, the importance of autonomy, inchoate wrongdoing, the role of consent, and the role of the state, the book provides an account of the nature of moral wrongdoing, the sources of wrongdoing, why wrongdoing is the central target of the criminal law, and the ways in which criminalization of non-wrongful conduct might be permissible. (shrink)

This book provides a systematic, philosophically informed account of criminal responsibility. It begins by providing a general account of criminal responsibility based on the relationship between the action that the defendent has performed and their character. It then moves on to reconsider some of the central doctrines of criminal responsibility in the light of that account.

A review of research with chicks, songbirds, rodents, and nonhuman primates indicates that the brain is lateralized for a number of behavioral functions. These findings can be understood in terms of three hypothetical brain processes derived from a brain model based on general systems theory: hemispheric activation, interhemispheric inhibition, and interhemispheric coupling.Left-hemisphere activation occurs in songbirds and nonhuman primates in response to salient auditory or visual input, or when a communicative output is required. The right hemisphere is activated in rats (...) when spatial performance is required, and in chicks when they are placed in an emotion-provoking situation. In rats and chicks interhemispheric activation and inhibition occur when there is an affective component in the environment (novelty, aversive conditioning) or when an emotional response is emitted (copulation, attack, killing). An interhemispheric coupling (correlation) found in rats and rabbits implies that the hemispheres are two major components in a control system with a negative feedback loop. Early-experience variables in rats can induce laterality in a symmetric brain or facilitate its development in an already biased brain.It is predicted that functional lateralization, when present, will be similar across species: the left hemisphere will tend to be involved in communicative functions while the right hemisphere will respond to spatial and affective information; both hemispheres will often interact via activation-inhibition mechanisms when affective or emotional processes are involved. Homologous brain areas and their connecting callosal fibers must be intact at birth and must remain intact throughout development for lateralization to reach its maximum level. Injury to any portion of this unit will result in hemispheric redundancy rather than specialization. One major function of early experience is to provide stimulation during development, which acts to enhance the growth and development of the corpus callosum, thereby giving rise to a more specialized brain. (shrink)

Many philosophers endorse the Transparency Thesis, the claim that by introspection one cannot become aware of one's experience. Recently, some authors have suggested that the Transparency Thesis is challenged by introspective states reached under mindfulness. We label this the Mindfulness Opacity Hypothesis. The present paper develops the hypothesis in important new ways. First, we motivate the hypothesis by drawing on recent clinical psychology and cognitive science of mindfulness. Secondly, we develop the hypothesis by describing the implied shift in experiential perspective, (...) the scope of introspectable qualities, and the level of skill. Thirdly, we defend the hypothesis against various philosophical arguments. We conclude that the Mindfulness Opacity Hypothesis is empirically and theoretically well motivated and supported. (shrink)