Climate scepticism in the sense of climate denialism or contrarianism is not a new phenomenon, but it has recently been very much in the media spotlight. When, in November 2009, emails by climate scientists were published on the internet without their authors' consent, a debate began in which climate sceptic bloggers used an extended network of metaphors to contest science. This article follows the so-called 'climategate' debate on the web and shows how a paradoxical mixture of religious metaphors and demands (...) for 'better science' allowed those disagreeing with the theory of anthropogenic climate change to undermine the authority of science and call for political inaction with regard to climate change. (shrink)

Anton Dohrn projected the Stazione Zoologica as composed of two complementary halves: nature and culture. This attitude was not only expression of the general cultural background of the nineteenth century cultural elite, for Dohrn both formed a coherent and organized whole. In my essay I will analyse the different levels of the relationship between music and biology. In particular, I will demonstrate that both share similar “styles of thought”. In the last part I will show that Dohrn’s most important scientific (...) contribution, the concept or “principle” of Functionswechsel, provides evidence for the link he had established between music and biology -/- . (shrink)

This article proposes a new theorization of the concept of framing or framework, in which the argumentation plays a fundamental role. When we talk about making decisions, framing a matter involves offering the audience a prominent and therefore possibly paramount premise in a deliberative process that allows to substantiate as much of the decision as the action. The analysis focuses on the case of The Public Policy Controversy, which, over the years, became a socio-environmental movement and which, in September 2013, (...) culminated in the most important protests that have been experienced in Romania since the 1989 Revolution. Based on the concept of framing that Entman understands as "selection and emphasis", several framing strategies are identified and commented on illustrating three main mechanisms. The way "selection and emphasis" operates through a series of argument schemes within a deliberative decision-making process to produce framing effects (including possibly collective mobilization) is illustrated by examples from the 2013 campaign and protests (slogans, websites, blogs, and newsnotes). (shrink)

A central aspiration of the ‘Britishness’ agenda in UK politics is to promote community through the teaching of British values in schools. The agenda’s justification depends in part on the suppositions that harmony arising from agreement on certain values is a necessary condition of social health and that conflict arising from pluralism connotes a form of dysfunction in social life. These perceptions of harmony and conflict are traceable to the ancient Greeks. Plato used the device of the soul-city analogy to (...) provide a form of independent justification for his favoured model of community according to which harmony was essential. However, the soul-city analogy involves an intellectual sleight-of-hand. The idea that conflict connotes a defect in social life, which continues to haunt contemporary debates about community and values education, is the vestige of an ancient aristocratic ideology and we must learn to see it as such. There is no more reason to accept the Platonist portrayal of the place of conflict in social life than there is to accept a diametrically opposed Heraclitean account, which interprets harmony as the central threat to social flourishing. The implications of this ancient dispute for modern education are considerable: there is nothing natural or inevitable about the association of conflict with social dysfunction that partly supports the Britishness agenda; it is a political prejudice. Coming to see it as such will reveal new pathways to belonging and new ways of understanding the role of education in fostering the good society. (shrink)

This article explores a unique relationship between iconicity and metaphor: that seen in creative sign language, where iconic properties abound at all levels of linguistic representation. We use the idea of “iconic superstructure” to consider the way that metaphoric meaning is generated through the iconic properties of creative sign language. We focus on the interaction between the overall contextual force and individual elements that build up symbolism in sign language poetry. Evidence presented from the anthology of British Sign Language poetry (...) demonstrates that metaphoric meaning is not inherent in signs. What is inherent is iconic value—and purely iconic signs become metaphorical when situated in a certain poetic context. (shrink)

The analysis presented in this article shows that overarching conceptual systems, such as the metaphor “NATIONS ARE A FAMILY,” often bring together expressions with dissimilar intentions, ideologic...

Feminists note an association of arguing with aggression and masculinity and question the necessity of this connection. Arguing also seems to some to identify a central method of philosophical reasoning, and gendered assumptions and standards would pose problems for the discipline. Can feminine modes of reasoning provide an alternative or supplement? Can overarching epistemological standards account for the benefits of different approaches to arguing? These are some of the prospects for argumentation inside and outside of philosophy that feminists consider. -/- (...) The further concern is that the academic study of argumentation – in philosophy and other disciplines – has failed to account for the type of reasoning needed for social justice movements. What resources for addressing these concerns can be found in informal logic and interdisciplinary argumentation theory? Since part of the perceived problem derives from assuming that arguing is a contest, are more collaborative epistemological frameworks better? Can regular politeness or civility hedge against undesirable tendencies of argumentation? Can “critical thinking” pedagogy involving argument educations answer the needs of social justice? (shrink)

My central research focus over the past 30 years has been the articulation of what I call a radically temporal approach to philosophy. In the papers below, written between 2001 and 2022, I treat the varying ways in which radically temporal thinking manifests itself in the phenomenological perspectives of Edmund Husserl, Martin Heidegger and Eugene Gendlin. I also discuss Jacques Derrida's deconstructive project and George Kelly's personal construct theory as examples of radically temporal thinking. With the aim of clarifying and (...) further defining the nature of this family of orientations, I have delineated the important ways in which it differs from a range of interlinked approaches in philosophy and psychology that includes hermeneutic and radical constructivisms, social constructionism, 4EA (Embodied, Embedded, Enactive, Extended, and Affective) cognition, Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of corporeal intersubjectivity, autopoietic self-organizing systems theory and American pragmatism. Among the authors whose work I have submitted to critique from the radically temporal perspective are: Francisco Varela (autopoietic self-organizing systems), Shaun Gallagher, Evan Thompson, Matthew Ratcliffe, Maxine Sheets-Johnstone, Dan Zahavi, Hanne De Jaegher, Michel Bitbol, Thomas Fuchs (enactive, embodied ('4EA') cognition), Gilles Deleuze (Deleuzian biopolitics), Ken Gergen and John Shotter ( social constructionism), Kym Maclaren ( critical phenomenology) and Jan Slaby (critical neuroscience). I argue that these authors' accounts of the relation between affect, motivation and intention, attention , reflective and pre-reflective self-consciousness, the basis of mathematical naturalism and sensori-motor models of behavior, and the relation between the body, language and culture remain burdened by traditional presuppositions that the radically temporal philosophies of Heidegger et al put into question. (shrink)

Background Metaphors are central to the human understanding of complex issues; through the immediate associations they evoke and frame problems and suggest solutions. Our suggestion of Music in the Park as a metaphor for health systems reform brings to the forefront the environmentally diverse but bounded spaces of health services that offer a variety of attractors within their confines, while pushing into the background organizational and economic concerns.Reflections Parks, like health services, are embedded in their local landscape, serving their communities, (...) but most importantly parks are public spaces, publically funded, ideally offering universal access and equity and to be shared by all who want to go there.Music, like health, is tangible, technical and scientific, yet ultimately experiential and based on meaning. While it encompasses a wide range of styles and approaches, music making requires as its most important skill active listening which brings with it to be ‘in the moment’, to take personal risks and to draw energy and inspiration from the participants. Hence ‘audiences’ are equally active participants because music only has meaning if it internally resonates with the listener and only can exist in what is a co-constructed experience.Conclusions Music in the Park is a metaphor for primary health care systems based on shared values of experts and unique local communities. Health professionals are players in this arena, who develop and practise the full range of their skills in response to individual and community needs and preferences. Their leadership works through inspiration and empowerment, making patients ‘co-producers’ of their own health and ‘co-shapers’ of their health services. (shrink)

En este capítulo, analizo a qué se refiere Kuhn cuando habla de metáfora en las Conferencias Notre Dame, pero sobre todo a explorar a qué no se refiere. En la primera sección, analizo por qué Kuhn usa el término “metáfora” para referirse al proceso de aprendizaje de lenguaje científico, en particular, los paralelismos que encuentra entre ambos fenómenos. En la segunda sección, se presentan algunos aspectos centrales de dos teorías influyentes sobre la metáfora: la teoría del mapeo estructural y la (...) teoría de las metáforas conceptuales. Luego, en la sección III, vuelvo a Kuhn para ver las diferencias cruciales que encontramos entre los procesos metafóricos y el proceso de ostensión del que habla el autor. Finalmente, presento una noción del segundo Wittgenstein, la idea de figura, para ofrecer una nueva forma de interpretar la idea de que el cambio revolucionario involucra un cambio en la metáfora central. (shrink)

Metaphors used to describe new technologies mediate public understanding of the innovations. Analyzing the linguistic, rhetorical, and affective aspects of these metaphors opens the range of issues available for bioethical scrutiny and increases public accountability. This article shows how such a multidisciplinary approach can be useful by looking at a set of texts about one issue, the use of a newly developed technique for genetic modification, CRISPRcas9.

Many metaphor theorists argue that our mental experience of time is grounded in our understanding of space, including motion through space. Results from recent experiments – in which people think about motion, which in turn influences their thinking about time – support this position. Still, many questions remain about the nature of the metaphorical connection between time and space. Can the mere suggestion of motion influence how people reason about time, and if so, when and how? Three experiments investigated how (...) thinking about “abstract” motion through sequences of numbers or letters would influence reasoning about time. Our results extend earlier psychological work on the link between time and space by showing that even motion in non-physical domains can influence temporal reasoning. The results provide further evidence that metaphorical understanding is grounded in our everyday physical and conceptual experience. (shrink)

In this article, we address the problem of how people understand predicative metaphors such as “The rumor flew through the office,” and argue that predicative metaphors are understood as indirect (or two-stage) categorizations. In the indirect categorization process, the verb (e.g., fly) of a predicative metaphor evokes an intermediate entity, which in turn evokes a metaphoric category of actions or states (e.g., “to spread rapidly and soon disappear”) to be attributed to the target noun (e.g., rumor), rather than directly evoking (...) a metaphoric category as argued by CitationGlucksberg's (2001) categorization theory. We test our argument using two experiments, namely, offline comprehension and online priming. The offline comprehension experiment showed that interpretation of predicative metaphors had greater overlap with words indirectly associated with the verb than those directly associated with the verb. The online priming experiment demonstrated that indirectly associated words were activated during predicative metaphor comprehension, but directly associated words were not. These results provide convergent evidence for our argument, and thus the psychological validity of two-stage categorization as a process of predicative metaphor comprehension was confirmed. (shrink)

Metaphor has a double life. It can be described as a directional process in which a stable, familiar base domain provides inferential structure to a less clearly specified target. But metaphor is also described as a process of finding commonalities, an inherently symmetric process. In this second view, both concepts may be altered by the metaphorical comparison. Whereas most theories of metaphor capture one of these aspects, we offer a model based on structure-mapping that captures both sides of metaphor processing. (...) This predicts (a) an initial processing stage of symmetric alignment; and (b) a later directional phase in which inferences are projected to the target. To test these claims, we collected comprehensibility judgments for forward (e.g., “A rumor is a virus”) and reversed (“A virus is a rumor”) metaphors at early and late stages of processing, using a deadline procedure. We found an advantage for the forward direction late in processing, but no directional preference early in processing. Implications for metaphor theory are discussed. (shrink)

From its very outset, the cognitive theory of metaphor has rested on the basic premise that metaphor and culture are intimately related (a good case in point in this respect is the notion of ideali...

The metaphor “ARGUMENT IS WAR” looms large in the conceptualist and experientialist approach of CitationLakoff and Johnson (1980). Despite extensive discussion of this metaphor by critics and supporters of Lakoff and Johnson, it has so far escaped serious scrutiny on several key points. English-speakers can identify verbal exchanges as arguments without resort to metaphorical comparisons or transfers, and speakers' use of war metaphors to characterize verbal dispute depends on conventional understandings rather than personal experience of war or of other kinds (...) of physical struggle. Much of the evidence for Lakoff and Johnson's claims—a culture that metaphorizes argument as dance; the historical and personal priority of force over verbal dispute; the influence of metaphor on action; even the experience supposedly shaping source domains—depends on supposition and ungrounded assertion. In making sense of how people use this metaphor, the discourse-based program elaborated by Naomi CitationQuinn (1991, Citation1997) carries analysis further than a purely conceptualist approach. (shrink)

...Editions Revue Brochures Educatives مجلة كراسات تربوية .منشورات مجلة كراسات تربوية، (سلسلة ''كتب جماعية'' رقم 01)... ...... تقديم: شهد قطاع التعليم المغربي عدة تغييرات شملت مجالات متنوعة إن على مستوى المنهاج أو إصلاح الفضاءات التعليمية أو تكوين المدرسين. ولعل مردّ ذلك هو الانفجار المعرفيّ المتزايد، والمكانة المتميّزة للتّربية والتّعليم، واهتمامات الدولة التي أصبحت مركزة على الظواهر المدرسية وفي علاقتها بتغيير المجتمع وارتباطها بالأسرة والمحيط، وتأثرها بالمرجعية الثقافية والدينية، وتفاعلها مع الظروف السياسية والاقتصادية انطلاقا من التيمات الكبرى التي أُنتِجت حول المدرسة (...) من قبيل تصرفات المتعلم وسلوكياته داخل المدرسة، وعلاقات المدرسة بالآباء، وظاهرة العنف، والهدر المدرسي، ودراسة العلاقات التربوية، والأدوار التربوية، والجماعات التربوية. وتأسيسا على ذلك، أصبح الاهتمام بالتّربية والتّعليم من الأولويات في المملكة المغربية، كما انصب الاهتمام بالمدرسة والتنشئة الاجتماعية، و تم التركيز على دراسة الأنظمة التربوية والظواهر المدرسية ودورها في تغيير المجتمع من خلال علاقتها مع الأسرة والمحيط، وتأثرها بالمرجعية الثقافية والدينية، وتفاعلها مع الظروف السياسية والاقتصادية إذ أُضيفت إلى المدرسة رسائل جديدة ومهمّات متجدّدة؛ لضمان المتعة الثّقافيّة والحضاريّة والمعرفيّة والقيميّة في عالم أضحى يعيش على إيقاع مفاهيم جديدة ليس أقلّها شأنا... مفهوم المواطنة الكونيّة أو العالميّة. وأضحت وظائفها تلامس مختلف جوانب الإنسان لتأهيله وجعله ذلك الكائن الذي يعرف ذاته أولا ثم يكتشف الآخر ثانيا. وإذا ما نظرنا إلى هذه الوظائف نجدها متعددة، نظرا لتعدد أغراض وأهداف الإنسان، فمنها ما هو تربوي وتعليمي ثم إداري، واجتماعي وأمني، وتكويني، ومنها ما هو إيديولوجي، وإرشادي وتوجيهي، وتواصلي، واقتصادي... وبذلك تؤثر على سلوك الأفراد تأثيرا منظما. والمدرسة من حيث هي كذلك، وباعتبارها الوجه الحقيقي للنظام التربوي ككل، تنصب وظيفتها الرئيسة على سلوك الناشئة، ويقاس مدى تحقيقها لوظائفها بمدى التغيير الذي تنجح في تحقيقه في سلوك أبنائها ومن ثم كان ضروريا أن ينظر إليها نظرة شمولية كنظرتنا نحو المجتمع برمته، وأن تكون في مقدمة وطليعة كل سياسة إصلاحية للمجتمع، وأن ينظر إليها كمرجعية لكل تغيير أو تغير قد تعرفه باقي القطاعات والجوانب الأخرى لحياة الفرد لأنها تستهدف تأهيله والرفع من قدرة فاعليته، بما يتوافق مع التغيرات والتطورات على المستويين المحلي والإقليمي والخارجي. فلا يمكن الحديث عن نظام تربوي ناجح في المستقبل، ما لم يتم استحضار التطور الحاصل في أدوار ووظائف وآليات اشتغال المدرسة، من خلال التعرف على سيرورات التحولات التي عرفتها المؤسسة التعليمية في الماضي والحاضر. ففي الوقت الراهن تحولت هذه الوظائف من التلقين والحشو بالمعارف، إلى وظائف أكثر حيوية وتنوعا ودينامية، تتجه صوب إيجاد حلول لتحديات إكساب مناهج وتقنيات تحصيل المعرفة والبحث، وتعزيز القدرات والمهارات الحياتية، وتوسيع الخبرات، إضافة إلى سعيها لتطوير الجاهزية للشغل وتحقيق الذات والعيش المشترك مع الأفراد داخل المجتمع، من أجل القدرة على مواجهة الصعاب والمشكلات التي يمكن أن يواجهها المتعلم في ممارسته اليومية سواء داخل المدرسة أو خارجها. وقد بدأ الرهان منذ بداية الإصلاح، مع الميثاق الوطني للتربية والتكوين (2000) إلى حدود القانون الإطار (2019)، على العنصر البشري الذي يعتبر المشعل الذي ينير درب التنمية في المستقبل، فمتعلم اليوم هو مواطن الغد، وبذلك ركزت المدرسة المغربية كل أنشطتها واهتماماتها على هذا المتعلم وجعلته في قلب الاهتمام والتفكير والفعل، وجعلت كل الهياكل والبرامج والمشاريع في خدمته. فالطاقة البشرية المبنية على أساس الكفاءة والقدرة على مواجهة التحديات والصعاب المجتمعية من شأنها أن تتكيف مع الظروف والإمكانات المحلية والإقليمية والدولية بل والتمكن من بلورة إمكانات جديدة، وفق نهج قوامه الاندماج الاجتماعي. والتنمية الشاملة تحتاج إلى العديد من المقومات البشرية وغير البشرية، والعنصر البشري هو أهم هذه المقومات، حيث يعد هذا الأخير العنصر الأساسي والركيزة التي تقوم عليها التنمية في أي بلد، ولا سبيل إلى بناء هذا الإنسان إلا عن طريق التربية التي تقوم على تطوير الشخصية الإنسانية وإعادة بنائها، كما تعمل التربية على إيجاد أنماط من السلوك تناسب التنظيمات الاجتماعية الناشئة مع الأخذ بالأساليب العلمية والتكنولوجية، كما تعيد التربية بناء الآراء والمعتقدات لتواكب التغيرات الاجتماعية الناشئة عن عملية التنمية، ومن هنا يتضح أن الإنسان هو أساس التنمية وأداتها، وهو أيضا غايتها، وهو في الوقت نفسه محور العملية التربوية. لذلك يجب أن يكون الإنسان هو محور كل إصلاح كل نظام تربوي، بل يأخذ بعين الاعتبار كل خصوصياته ومتطلباته الاجتماعية صوب التنمية. ولعل أهم خاصية من خصائص التنمية هي تأهيل القوى البشرية وإعدادها للعمل في القطاعات المختلفة، وعلى كل المستويات، وذلك بتزويدها بالمعارف والكفايات والمهارات والقيم اللازمة للعمل المستهدف، والتهيئة للتعايش مع العصر التقني والتكنولوجي، والتوازن في تأهيل القوى العاملة حسب الاحتياجات المتغيرة، وكذلك تعزيز قيمة العمل والإنتاج، ودعم الاستقلالية في التفكير، ونبذ الاتكالية والنزعة الاستهلاكية. ولا شك أن الذي زاد من علاقة التربية بالتنمية وخاصة في منتصف هذا القرن هو الاقتصاد كمحور مهم، حيث ظهرت بعض النظريات المهمة مثل نظرية "رأس المال البشري"، والتي تعتبر بمثابة الإطار النظري المسؤول عن التبني الكامل للعلاقة الجدلية بين التعليم وسياسات التنمية، حيث أصبح التعليم بمقتضاه الحاسم الأول في النمو الاقتصادي للدول. ومع ظهور هذه النظرية زاد الاقتناع بدور القدرة الإنتاجية للموارد البشرية في العملية التنموية واعتبارها رأس مال مستثمرة. و يبقى التخطيط أهم آلية لبلورة وتجسيد الرؤى على أرض الواقع. ذلك التنمية تستلزم التوفر على ميكانيزمات التفكير الاستراتيجي، والتخطيط الاستراتيجي الذي ينبني على مجموعة من العناصر المساهمة في نجاح التخطيط ومنها: الرؤية الواضحة، والقيم المرشدة، والصلاحيات، وتشخيص الاحتياجات، والأهداف المركزية، وتدقيق الغايات، ورسم خطط العمل، ثم التنفيذ والمراقبة مع اعتماد أسس وآليات التتبع والمواكبة. إذ لا يكفي التوفر على تصور وبناء خطط لإنجاح التنمية رغم أهميتهما القصوى، بل لابد أيضا من التوفر على قدرات وموارد بشرية مبدعة وخلاقة قادرة على تجسيد هذا التصور وبلورة وتطبيق المخططات التنموية. من هنا تبرز أهمية تقوية قدرات الفرد في عملية التنمية مع استحضار أن هذا الفرد هو الأداة والهدف في المسلسل التنموي في نفس الوقت. ولتحقيق أهداف وغايات التنمية المأمولة، عملت المدرسة المغربية الجديدة في الآونة الأخيرة على تبني اختيارات تربوية وبيداغوجية حداثية وحديثة، أثبتت فعاليتها في دول أخرى، وخاصة اعتماد مدخل الكفايات لتحديث وتفعيل المنظومة التربوية والتكوينية المغربية، وفي علاقة مع المشروع التنموي المستدام وآمال النهضة المجتمعية الشاملة. لكن هل تمت ترجمة هذه التصورات النظرية المبرمجة مركزيا كما تم وضعها؟ أم هناك عمليات تكييف وملائمة مستمرة حسب الوسائل والتقنيات والمتطلبات المحلية المتاحة؟ وهل يمكن للمدرسة المغربية أن تكون وسيلة من وسائل تحقيق عملية التنمية؟ وما هي العوائق التي تقف حاجزا أمام تحقيق هذه التنمية؟ استنادا إلى ما سبق حاولنا تقديم رؤية واضحة من خلال بحوث متنوعة استقرت على تأليف كتاب جماعي تكون مقالاته منسجمة مع الإصلاح الذي طال المدرسة المغربية، سواء من حيث المناهج والبرامج التي تحوي مفاهيم راسخة وثابتة من قبيل القيم والمضامين والقدرات والمعارف...، أو من حيث البنية والفضاءات ومستلزمات الدراسة... حاولنا وضع خطة اقتراحية لبعض جهود الباحثين كل حسب رؤيته لاستكمال الخط المنهجي الذي رسمته الوزارة باعتماد مقاربات بيداغوجية، فكان اقتحام المناويل التّعليميّة والتّجارب العالميّة في إعداد المتعلم وتعليمه حتّى تصبح المؤسّسة التعليمية الحديثة في المغرب نموذجا للمدرسة الحديثة في العالم. يهدف مشروع تأليف هذا الكتاب إلى ما يلي: - الإسهام في تطوير المدرسة وجعلها بوابة كل تنمية؛ - الطموح في تحقيق الجودة في نظامنا التعليمي ومعه الجودة في شتى مناحي الحياة الاجتماعية والثقافية والاقتصادية والتكنولوجية وغيرها؛ - ربط التعلم بحياة المتعلمين اليومية بما يسهم في تطبيق المعرفة وتوظيفها بطرائق ابتكارية تحقق المتعة في التعلم؛ - تمكين المتعلمين من حذق كفايات التعلم الميسّرة المنفتحة على التكنولوجيا الحديثة وعلى الحياة، وختاما يمكن القول إن كتاب ″النظام التربوي المغربي في أفق تجديد الممارسات المهنية″، جاء من أجل فتح نقاش علمي حول أهم المقومات الأساسية التي بني عليها إصلاح نظام التربية والتكوين في المغرب منذ عهد الميثاق الوطني للتربية والتكوين(2000) إلى الآن في مختلف المجالات، ومن أجل المساهمة في تقييم مرحلة من مراحل الإصلاح التربوي في المغرب التي عرفت نوعا من الجدية ورفع شعارات التنمية البشرية، والعدالة الاجتماعية، والتأهيل الاقتصادي، وانفتاح المؤسسة التعليمية على المحيط السوسيو-اقتصادي وغيرها، وفي حقبة تم فيها تجاوز الوظائف التقليدية للمدرسة من قبيل الحفاظ على الثقافة وإعادة إنتاجها أو التأكيد على الجانب الإيديولوجي لهذه المؤسسة، بل تطوير فعل التفكير من أجل تأهيل العنصر البشري لتطوير المجتمع اقتصاديا وقيميا. الصديق الصادقي العماري سعاد اليوسفي . 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A response to a recent critique by Cem Bozşahin of the theory of syntactic semantics as it applies to Helen Keller, and some applications of the theory to the philosophy of computer science.

EXPANDED EDITION (eBook): -/- Infinity Is Not What It Seems...Infinity is commonly assumed to be a logical concept, reliable for conducting mathematics, describing the Universe, and understanding the divine. Most of us are educated to take for granted that there exist infinite sets of numbers, that lines contain an infinite number of points, that space is infinite in expanse, that time has an infinite succession of events, that possibilities are infinite in quantity, and over half of the world’s population believes (...) in a divine Creator infinite in knowledge, power, and benevolence. -/- According to this treatise, such assumptions are mistaken. In reality, to be is to be finite. The implications of this assessment are profound: the Universe and even God must necessarily be finite. -/- The author makes a compelling case against infinity, refuting its most prominent advocates. Any defense of the infinite will find it challenging to answer the arguments laid out in this book. But regardless of the reader’s position, FOREVER FINITE offers plenty of thought-provoking material for anyone interested in the subject of infinity from the perspectives of philosophy, mathematics, science, and theology. -/- This electronic edition of FOREVER FINITE is offered free online for all and is expanded with content that does not appear in the published edition due to print production page limitations. From the Introduction to the Conclusion, Chapters 1–27 are identical to the published print edition, including the page numbering for the chapters. This electronic edition adds an appendix and associated content—specifically, updates to the book’s back matter (68 new endnotes, 17 new bibliographic references, 3 new figure credits, 14 new glossary terms) and front matter (an updated table of contents and this preface note). (shrink)

A crucial question for a process view of life is how to identify a process and how to follow it through time. The genidentity view can contribute decisively to this project. It says that the identity through time of an entity X is given by a well-identified series of continuous states of affairs. Genidentity helps address the problem of diachronic identity in the living world. This chapter describes the centrality of the concept of genidentity for David Hull and proposes an (...) extension of Hull’s view to the ubiquitous phenomenon of symbiosis. Finally, using immunology as a key example, it shows that the genidentity view suggests that the main interest of a process approach is epistemological rather than ontological and that its principal claim is one of priority, namely that processes precede and define things, and not vice versa. (shrink)

Tercera Cultura: #TheLibro es una introducción a las ciencias cognitivas -Psicología, Lingüística, Filosofía, Neurociencia, Antropología, Inteligencia Artificial- escrita en un lenguaje simple y claro, ilustrado con ejemplos de la cultura popular, dirigido a estudiantes y geeks de todas las edades.

The visuospatial system integrates inner and outer functional processes, organizing spatial, temporal, and social interactions between the brain, body, and environment. These processes involve sensorimotor networks like the eye–hand circuit, which is especially important to primates, given their reliance on vision and touch as primary sensory modalities and the use of the hands in social and environmental interactions. At the same time, visuospatial cognition is intimately connected with memory, self-awareness, and simulation capacity. In the present article, we review issues associated (...) with investigating visuospatial integration in extinct human groups through the use of anatomical and behavioral data gleaned from the paleontological and archaeological records. In modern humans, paleoneurological analyses have demonstrated noticeable and unique morphological changes in the parietal cortex, a region crucial to visuospatial management. Archaeological data provides information on hand–tool interaction, the spatial behavior of past populations, and their interaction with the environment. Visuospatial integration may represent a critical bridge between extended cognition, self-awareness, and social perception. As such, visuospatial functions are relevant to the hypothesis that human evolution is characterized by changes in brain–body–environment interactions and relations, which enhance integration between internal and external cognitive components through neural plasticity and the development of a specialized embodiment capacity. We therefore advocate the investigation of visuospatial functions in past populations through the paleoneurological study of anatomical elements and archaeological analysis of visuospatial behaviors. (shrink)

The book is addressed to all readers interested in cognitive science, and especially in research combining a logical analysis with psychological, linguistic and neurobiological approaches. The publication is the result of a collaboration between the Department of Cognitive Science at University of Lodz and the Department of Cognitive Science at Lund University. It is intended to provide a comprehensive presentation of the key research issues undertaken in both Departments, including considerations on meaning, natural language and reasoning, linguistic as well as (...) numerical competence, the theory of decision making, modelling of conceptual representations, cognitive and game theoretic approach to social interactions. (shrink)

Cognitive Stylistics or Poetics has emerged as a powerful framework for the analysis of literary works due to the fact that it provides us with tools stemming from bodily experience which aim at universality. This proposal attempts to shed additional light on the analysis of the characters and settings carried out by Freeman (1995) by making use of some recent developments within the framework of Cognitive Linguistics, especially in connection with metonymy and image-schemas. It lends further support to the thesis (...) that Cognitive Poetics is endowed with explanatory power since it accounts both for the processes of generation and understanding of literary texts. (shrink)

Стаття присвячена розгляду генези, динаміки та онтологічної проблеми вчення Юрія Мамлєєва про Безодню. Автор виокремлює п’ять причин виникнення такого екстраординарного вчення: криза двадцятого століття та філософування у підпіллі, укоріненість у російській культурі та національна самоідентифікація Мамлєєва, вплив східної метафізики та інтегрального традиціоналізму, зв’язок філософії з літературою та художні витоки мамлєєвського мислення, містичний досвід автора вчення та його духовні осяяння. Розглядаючи динаміку вчення про Безодню, автор статті означує три етапи його становлення: формування утризму «Я» як можливості збереження особистості у формі вищого (...) «Я» під час досягнення Абсолюту, висвітлення глибин невидимих пластів космосу та створення «Останньої Доктрини», розкриття ідеї Росії Вічної як посередника між Абсолютом та Безоднею. Також автором статті досліджується можливість примирення радикальності мамлєєвського утризму «Я» з його ж вченням про Росію Вічну. Примирення стає можливим саме в контексті динаміки розвитку Мамлєєвського вчення про Безодню. Під час дослідження онтологічної проблеми співвідношення Абсолюту та Безодні зазначається: на метафізичному рівні, що носить езотеричний характер, Абсолют та Безодня тотожні та взагалі не можуть мислитись окремо. На релігійному ж рівні, що носить екзотеричний характер, вони можуть бути протиставлені один одному. При цьому трансцендентність Абсолюту розглядається як така, що дається людині і може бути досягнена, а трансцендентність Безодні, як така, що не дана людині і є принципово недосяжною. Автор статті доходить висновку, що розгляд генези та динаміки вчення Юрія Мамлєєва може допомогти у розумінні та вирішенні тих парадоксів, котрі формуються під час введення Безодні у традиційну метафізику. (shrink)

Monothematic delusions are delusions whose contents pertain to a single subject matter. Examples include Capgras delusion, the delusion that a loved one has been replaced by an impostor, and Cotard delusion, the delusion that one is dead or does not exist. Two-factor accounts of such delusions hold that they are the result of both an experiential deficit, for instance flattened affect, coupled with an aberrant cognitive response to that deficit. In this paper we develop a new expressivist two-factor account of (...) delusion. In contrast to existing endorsement and explanationist accounts, which treat delusions as either explanations or endorsements of the contents of these disordered experiences, we hold that delusional beliefs have an expressive function: they characterize, in impressionistic terms, what the subject’s experience is like for them. We show how our account improves upon existing two-factor views in explaining the central features of monothematic delusions, in particular the way in which delusional subjects fall short of the ideal of rationality. (shrink)

The present study analyzes metaphors of life, self, emotional states, and relationships in forty life stories that differ in their communicative situations and narrative goals. Twenty interviews were conducted with people who were seeking psychological help. Another twenty interviews were conducted with Russian celebrities for publication in popular psychology magazines. Metaphors in happy stories were more numerous and diverse than in unhappy stories. Some conceptual metaphors (e.g., “LIFE IS A CONTAINER,” “LIFE IS A JOURNEY,” and “EMOTION IS A PHYSICAL IMPACT”) (...) were found in both happy and unhappy narratives. More specific metaphors demonstrated significant differences between the two types of narratives. The metaphors of life as a “purposeful journey,” self as “alive and flexible object,” and emotional states as “internal and controlled forces” were used more often in happy narratives. This may reflect higher levels of activity, responsibility, and awareness of the authors of happy narratives. Specific for unhappy stories were metaphors “LIFE IS DEATH” and “SELF IS A DEAD OBJECT,” which may indicate a low level of personal well-being and serve as specific markers of personal unhappiness. The results of our study suggest that metaphors may help to construct the subjective reality of happy and unhappy life. By telling their life stories people are able to redefine their past experiences and future perspectives. Specific metaphors play an important part in defining subjective happiness or unhappiness. (shrink)

Temporal perspectives allow us to place ourselves and temporal events on a timeline, making it easier to conceptualize time. This study investigates how we take different temporal perspectives in our temporal gestures. We asked participants (n = 36) to retell temporal scenarios written in the Moving‐Ego, Moving‐Time, and Time‐Reference‐Point perspectives in spontaneous and encouraged gesture conditions. Participants took temporal perspectives mostly in similar ways regardless of the gesture condition. Perspective comparisons showed that temporal gestures of our participants resonated better with (...) the Ego‐ (i.e., Moving‐Ego and Moving‐Time) versus Time‐Reference‐Point distinction instead of the classical Moving‐Ego versus Moving‐Time contrast. Specifically, participants mostly produced more Moving‐Ego and Time‐Reference‐Point gestures for the corresponding scenarios and speech; however, the Moving‐Time perspective was not adopted more than the others in any condition. Similarly, the Moving‐Time gestures did not favor an axis over the others, whereas Moving‐Ego gestures were mostly sagittal and Time‐Reference‐Point gestures were mostly lateral. These findings suggest that we incorporate temporal perspectives into our temporal gestures to a considerable extent; however, the classical Moving‐Ego and Moving‐Time classification may not hold for temporal gestures. (shrink)

Why are moral actions beautiful, when indeed they are? This paper assesses the view, found most notably in Schiller, that moral actions are beautiful just when they present the appearance of freedom by appearing to be the result of internal harmony (the Schillerian Internal Harmony Thesis). I argue that while this thesis can accommodate some of the beauty involved in contrasts of the ‘continent’ and the ‘fully’ virtuous, it cannot account for all of the beauty in such contrasts, and so (...) needs to be weakened considerably (to the Internal Harmony Thesis). To account for the remaining beauty that cannot be fully accommodated even by this revised thesis, as well as the beauty contained in contrasts that involve agents who experience internal conflict as a result of being sensitive to different sources of moral value to an appropriate extent, a number of further theses need to be posited: namely, that the beauty of some moral actions is to be accommodated in terms of internal disharmony (the Internal Disharmony Thesis), and in terms of a felt harmony between the appreciator of the action and the executor of the action (the Affective Harmony Thesis). As such, in contrast to Schiller, I suggest that we need to take a pluralist and context-sensitive approach to accommodating the beauty of moral actions. (shrink)

The predictive processing account of action, cognition, and perception is one of the most influential approaches to unifying research in cognitive science. However, its promises of grand unification will remain unfulfilled unless the account becomes theoretically robust. In this paper, we focus on empirical commitments of PP, since they are necessary both for its theoretical status to be established and for explanations of individual phenomena to be falsifiable. First, we argue that PP is a varied research tradition, which may employ (...) various kinds of scientific representations, differing in the scope of empirical commitments they entail. Two major perspectives on PP qua cognitive theory may then be distinguished: generalized vs. hierarchical. The first one fails to provide empirical detail, and the latter constrains possible physical implementations. However, we show that even hierarchical PP is insufficiently restrictive to disallow incorrect models and may be adjusted to explain any neurocognitive phenomenon–including non-existent or impossible ones–through flexible adjustments. This renders PP a universal modeling tool with an unrestricted number of degrees of freedom. Therefore, in contrast with declarations of its proponents, it should not be understood as a unifying theoretical perspective, but as a computational framework, possibly informing further theory development in cognitive science. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to study the use of “UP–DOWN” metaphors in Russian and French material. A list of 10 conceptual metaphors expressing up–down movement was proposed by CitationLakoff and Johnson (1980), and this list has been reproduced many times since. However, this analysis shows that the list is not fully accurate. In addition to the conceptual metaphors proposed by Lakoff and Johnson, the authors find it important to include 5 more metaphorical models expressing vertical movement. On the (...) other hand, 5 of the conceptual metaphors in Lakoff and Johnson's list turned out not to be relevant to this analysis. The authors also attempt to describe the connections between different metaphoric models and observe that not all metaphoric models are equally important in their evidential and conceptual power. (shrink)

We are reminded of relevant stories, tales, or symbols from long-term memory when facing a novel problem our daily lives. Visual cues are 1 tool known to facilitate reminding. In 2 experiments, Chinese students, who had experienced a folk tale many years ago during childhood, were asked to solve an analogous problem. We tested the hypothesis that a visual cue can help bridge the gap between a novel problem and a source analogy experienced in the distant past. Different types of (...) cues proved to have distinct influences on components of analogical problem solving. This research suggests that analogical representational features of a story or problem can be stored in long-term memory and can be activated by visual cues. The implications of these findings for theories that point to perceptual or grounded, rather than decontextualized structures in knowledge representation are discussed. (shrink)

What is the nature of number systems and arithmetic that we use in science for quantification, analysis, and modeling? I argue that number concepts and arithmetic are neither hardwired in the brain, nor do they exist out there in the universe. Innate subitizing and early cognitive preconditions for number— which we share with many other species—cannot provide the foundations for the precision, richness, and range of number concepts and simple arithmetic, let alone that of more complex mathematical concepts. Numbers and (...) arithmetic, and mathematics in general, have unique features—precision, objectivity, rigor, generalizability, stability, symbolizability, and applicability to the real world—that must be accounted for. They are sophisticated concepts that developed culturally only in recent human history. I suggest that numbers and arithmetic are realized through precise combinations of non-mathematical everyday cognitive mechanisms that make human imagination and abstraction possible. One such mechanism, conceptual metaphor, is a neurally instantiated inference-preserving cross-domain mapping that allows the conceptualization of abstract entities in terms of grounded bodily experience. I analyze how the inferential organization of the properties and “laws” of arithmetic emerge metaphorically from everyday meaningful actions. Numbers and arithmetic are thus—outside of natural selection—the product of the biologically constrained interaction of individuals with the appropriate cultural and historical phenotypic variation supported by language, writing systems, and education. (shrink)

This paper focuses on evaluating Odera Oruka’s role as an expert witness in customary law for the Luo community during the Nairobi, Kenya-based trial in 1987 to decide on the place of the burial of S.M. Otieno. During that trial, an understanding of Luo burial and widow guardianship (ter) practices was essential. Odera Oruka described the practices carefully and defended them against misunderstanding and stereotype. He revisited related topics in several delivered papers, published articles, and even interviews and columns in (...) the Kenyan newspapers. The paper will raise the questions: How does Odera Oruka’s role as expert on Luo customs fit in with his sage philosophy project? In his testimony at the trial and subsequent public addresses and published work, does he accomplish two important goals, the first being defending African traditions against prejudice and anti-African bias, and secondly, does he champion reform of traditions when reform is needed? And, can Odera Oruka’s participation in the famous trial avoid seeming ethnic chauvinism and marginalization of women? My conclusion is that he achieves the first goal, but some problems remain in the achievement of the other goals. While he often asserted the need to evaluate traditions and to jettison those that have become unhelpful, in this context he evaluated traditions so strongly that the need for evaluation and possible change was muted. (shrink)

Intersemiotic translation (IT) was defined by Roman Jakobson (The Translation Studies Reader, Routledge, London, p. 114, 2000) as “transmutation of signs”—“an interpretation of verbal signs by means of signs of nonverbal sign systems.” Despite its theoretical relevance, and in spite of the frequency in which it is practiced, the phenomenon remains virtually unexplored in terms of conceptual modeling, especially from a semiotic perspective. Our approach is based on two premises: (i) IT is fundamentally a semiotic operation process (semiosis) and (ii) (...) IT is a deeply iconic-dependent process. We exemplify our approach by means of literature to dance IT and we explore some implications for the development of a general model of IT. (shrink)

Biosemiotics belongs to a class of approaches that provide mental models of life since it applies some semiotic concepts in the explanation of natural phenomena. Such approaches are typically open to anthropomorphic errors. Usually, the main source of such errors is the excessive vagueness of the semiotic concepts used. If the goal of biosemiotics is to be accepted as a science and not as a priori metaphysics, it needs both an appropriate source of the semiotic concepts and a reliable method (...) of adjusting them for biosemiotic use. Charles S. Peirce’s philosophy offers a plausible candidate for both these needs. Biosemioticians have adopted not only Peirce’s semiotic concepts but also a number of metaphysical ones. It is shown that the application of Peirce’s basic semiotic conceptions of sign and sign-process (semiosis) at the substantial level of biosemiotics requires the acceptance of certain metaphysical conceptions, i.e. Tychism and Synechism. Peirce’s method of pragmaticism is of great relevance to biosemiotics: 1. Independently of whether Peirce’s concepts are used or even applicable at the substantial level of biosemiotics, Peirce’s method remains valuable in making biosemiotics and especially in adjusting its basic concepts. 2. If Peircean semeiotic or metaphysics is applied at the substantial level of biosemiotics, pragmaticism is valuable in clarifying the meaning and reference of the applied Peircean concepts. As a consequence, some restrictions for the application of Peirce in biosemiotics are considered and the distinction of Peirce’s philosophy from the 19th century idealistic Naturphilosophie is emphasized. (shrink)

The concept of life plays a crucial role in the debate on synthetic biology. The first part of this chapter outlines the controversial debate on the status of the concept of life in current science and philosophy. Against this background, synthetic biology and the discourse on its scientific and societal consequences is revealed as an exception. Here, the concept of life is not only used as buzzword but also discussed theoretically and links the ethical aspects with the epistemological prerequisites and (...) the ontological consequences of synthetic biology. The second part examines this point of intersection and analyses some of the issues which are discussed in terms of the concept of life. The third part turns to the history of the concept of life. It offers an examination of scientific and philosophical discourses on life at the turn of the 20th century and suggests a surprising result: In the light of this history, synthetic biology leads to well-known debates, arguments, notions and questions. But it is concluded that the concept of life is too ambiguous and controversial to be useful for capturing the actual practice of synthetic biology. In the fourth part I argue that with regard to the ethical evaluation of synthetic biology, the ambiguity of the concept of life is not as problematic as sometimes held because other challenges are more important. The question whether the activity of synthetic biological systems should be conceived as life or not is primarily theoretical. (shrink)

In her ‘Causality and Determination’, Anscombe argues for the strong thesis that despite centuries of philosophical assumption to the contrary, the supposition that causality and necessity have something essential to do with one another is baseless. In this paper, I assess Anscombe’s arguments and endorse her conclusion. I then attempt to argue that her arguments remain highly relevant today, despite the fact that most popular general views of causation today are firmly probabilistic in orientation and thus show no trace of (...) the assumptions Anscombe hoped to undermine. My suggestion is that Anscombe's interests in causality are distinct from those which mostly animate the modern debate about the general nature of causality and that in those specialized areas of philosophy in which those concerns still dominate, one can still see the effects of the fallacies and confusions to which she alerts us. I conclude by offering two possible complementary explanations of the tendency to suppose that causation is a variety of necessitation. (shrink)

The subject of mental processes or mental states is usually assumed to be an individual, and hence the boundaries of mental features – in a strict or metaphorical sense – are naturally regarded as reaching no further than the boundaries of the individual. This chapter addresses various philosophical developments in the 20th and 21st century that questioned this natural assumption. I will frame this discussion by fi rst presenting a historically infl uential commitment to the individualistic nature of the mental (...) in Descartes’ theory. I identify various elements in the Cartesian conception of the mind that were subsequently criticized and rejected by various externalist theories, advocates of the extended mind hypothesis and defenders of embodied cognition. Then I will indicate the main trends in these critiques. (shrink)

One may distinguish between three broad conceptions of linguistic meaning. One conception, which I will call “logical”, views meaning as given in reference (for words) and truth (for sentences). Another conception, the “monological” one, seeks meaning in the cognitive capacities of the single mind. A third, “dialogical”, conception attributes meaning to interaction between individuals and personal perspectives. In this chapter I directly contrast how well these three approaches deal with the evidence brought forth by fictive interaction. I examine instances of (...) fictive interaction and argue that intersubjectivity in these instances cannot be reduced to either referential-logical or individual-cognitive semantic notions. It follows that intersubjectivity must belong to the essence of linguistic meaning. (shrink)

As Raymond Williams famously declared, nature is one of the most complex words in the English language – and, we may confidently predict, its Germanic relatives including Dutch. The workshop that took place in June 2007 in the Netherlands, from which this volume is derived, was based on an earlier program exploring connections between our concepts of nature and related concepts of science and religion. Though one may not immediately expect these three realms to be interrelated, countless examples suggest otherwise.

Once we perceive a situation as a danger, threat, or shock, the information about a fearful stimulus is immediately sent to the amygdala, which, being a component of the limbic system, is responsible for fear and anxiety processing, and plays an important role in emotion and behaviour. As the research suggests, the message about a potentially frightening situation can reach the amygdala long before we are even consciously aware of it. Then, the amygdala is to trigger a fight-or-flight reaction, marked (...) by our increased heart rate and respiration to prepare for action (cf. LeDoux 2007). The aim of the research is, first, to account for the most prototypical cognitive scenario of fear through the prism of Cognitive Linguistics (cf. Kövecses 1986, 2015) and supply it with this neuroscientific and psychological knowledge of fear. We learn that in addition to the most common human reactions to fear, i.e. the one of a fighter or the one of a runaway, a modern man reacts to fear by denying it as well as by displacing fear from their subconscious mind. Second, by investigating the novel metaphor FEAR IS AN ILLNESS OF THE BRAIN, we aim to propose a novel constructive cognitive scenario of fear, which helps us deal with this unwanted emotion in contemporary situations that generate fear, e.g. in the era of (post)Covid-19 pandemic (WHO 2021, July 15). (shrink)

This study investigates how COVID-19 advice is creatively delivered in a one-minute video produced by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control in February 2022. It examines metaphors in verbal, visual, and multimodal modes, and illustrates how such metaphors interact with multimodal narrativity. Drawing on the insights of studies on multimodal metaphors, this paper seeks to identify which are the most pervasive metaphors or what dominant metaphor, if any, is used in the video. It finds that the metaphorical mappings between coping (...) with the covid pandemic and handling olympic weightlifting are represented across modes and that the creative delivery of COVID-19 advice is woven from a warp of metaphors in various modes and a weft of narrativity across modes. Such metaphorical creativity is underpinned by the semiotic flow that features four interconnected configurations: moving between metaphorization, literalization, and re-metaphorization; somehow blurring the source-target boundary; expanding the range of functions that the multimodal representation can serve; and initiating a metaphorical thought from one or more contextual factors. (shrink)

The use of words to label concepts is a weak point in CMT but one which is little discussed. This article considers the relative merits of image and writing as semiotic modes for identifying conceptual metaphor domains and whether image can offer an alternative to target is source formulae. It reports on an experiment in which MA translation students draw composite drawings to represent orientational metaphoric aspects of a UK government press release. Conventional metaphoric language deriving from the orientational metaphors, (...) especially good is up/bad is down, plays a significant role across this text, forming a “metaphor chain” pattern. The drawings and post-task interviews with the participants reveal details of the internal structure of the source domain up and how it is conceptualized. Particularly of note is the strong horizontal forward aspect of orientation which emerges when the written text is represented pictorially. The article demonstrates how drawing can be used as a tool in metaphor-led discourse analysis. (shrink)