So far, various approaches have been proposed to explain the progress of science. These approaches, which fall under a fourfold classification, are as follows: semantic, functional, epistemic, and noetic approaches. Each of these approaches, based on the intended purpose of science, defines progress on the same basis. The semantic approach defines progress based on the approximation to the truth, the functional approach based on problem-solving, the epistemic approach based on knowledge accumulation, and the noetic approach based on increased understanding. With (...) a stratified description of the world, Roy Bhaskar sees science as the movement toward deeper layers aimed at discovering productive mechanisms. He also explains progress based on the layering and acquisition of knowledge of the underlying layers. But because he believes in the social nature of science and considers knowledge a social product and subject to change, he acknowledges the fallibility of cognition. Hence, it is believed that moving to a new layer does not necessarily lead to the progress of science. However, it is possible that by acquiring knowledge about the new layer, our previous knowledge will be revised and corrected. In this article, while expressing the Bhaskar theory of scientific progress and explaining its contingency with respect to the fallibility of cognition, we pursue a basic goal. This goal is summarized in the review of all four approaches in order to show their lack of attention to the fallibility of cognition and its effect on explaining progress. What has been done in this article is based on two phases: explaining the contingency of the progress of science for Bhaskar and examining the four approaches to the progress of science in order to show their inattention to the fallibility of cognition. In his philosophy, referring to the two dimensions of transitive and intransitive, Roy Bhaskar considers the purpose of science to be the acquisition of knowledge about intransitive objects, and this knowledge is achieved through a social activity. Since this cognition is a social product and belongs to the transitive dimension of science, it will be fallible and subject to change. Bhaskar concludes with philosophical arguments that the world contains generative mechanisms, but that it is the task of science to discover their nature and exactly what mechanisms are at work. This requires work in two theoretical dimensions, namely the use of conceptual tools and a practical dimension, that is, the use of experimental tools. Now, as the theoretical and technical conditions under which cognition is formed and evaluated are themselves expanding and subject to change and modification, our knowledge may also be expanded or corrected. In this study, it was found that the semantic approach is unaware of the effect of fallibility on the evidence used to estimate the approximation to the truth and, consequently, progress. The functional approach ignores this effect in solving the problems posed by theories. The epistemic approach does not take into account the fallibility of evidence used to justify and validate the evidence, and finally, the noetic approach neglects the effect of the fallibility on what the explanation and prediction are based on. These have led to these approaches, which consider the satisfaction of the criteria in question necessarily leads to progress. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that Theodor W. Adorno 's philosophy of freedom needs an ontological picture of the world. Adorno does not make his view of natural order explicit, but I suggest it could be neither the chaotic nor the strictly determined ontological images common to idealism and positivism, and that it would have to make intelligible the possibility both of human freedom and of critical social science. I consider two possible candidates, Nancy Cartwright 's ‘patchwork of laws’, and (...) Roy Bhaskar 's critical realism. Arguing that Cartwright 's position conflicts with the spirit of Adorno 's philosophy, I suggest that Bhaskar 's realism is compatible with and to a significant extent implicit in Adorno 's position. Whilst Adorno is clearly not a critical realist, Bhaskar 's position does provide the best overall account of the ontological commitments of Adorno 's critical theory. It becomes possible in turn to locate Bhaskar 's arguments in a broader critical tradition and give fuller expression to the concerns that structure his work, in particular by locating the epistemic fallacy in the narrative account of the natural history of subjective reason and its tendency towards ‘identity thinking ’. The discussion goes on to consider the interdependence of reason, nature and freedom in the idea of emancipatory critique, confirming the deeper affinities between critical realism and critical theory. (shrink)

Tony Lawson, founder of The Social Ontology Group and The Realist Workshop of Cambridge, has proposed critical realism to reorient economics. The transformation of the social world that Lawson tries, emerges from the adherence to critical realism, this is, from taking the transcendental realism of Roy Bhaskar to the social realm. With the purpose of deepening the criticisms to this movement, we will specify what is critical realism, and which are the philosophical assumptions of the mainstream according to this (...) author. We will set out the criticisms on: a) the notion of mainstream economics, b) the possibilities of economics based on social ontology, c) the realism of economic models, and d) the notions of isolation and abstraction. (shrink)

In A Realist Theory of Science, Roy Bhaskar provides several transcendental arguments for critical realism – a position Bhaskar himself characterized as transcendental realism. Bhaskar provides an argument from perception and from the intelligibility of scientific experimentation, maintaining that transcendental realism is necessary for both. I argue that neither argument succeeds, and that transcendental idealism can better vindicate scientific practice than Bhaskar’s realism. Bhaskar’s arguments against the Kantian view fail, for they misrepresent the transcendental idealist (...) position. I conclude that, if they wish to retain their theoretical commitments, critical realists ought to be transcendental idealists. (shrink)

Literature reviews have traditionally been a simple exercise in reporting the current relevant research, both to provide an overview of the current status of the field, and perhaps to draw attention to controversies. From the perspective of positivist research traditions, it was important to neutrally report all the relevant research, which was assumed to be foundational. In this article, written for the Applied Critical Realism special issue of Journal of Critical Realism, I use my own research to illustrate how a (...) literature review might look if it were non-foundational and guided by the principles of immanent critique. Immanent critique is central to Bhaskar’s philosophical methodology but has not been much applied in critical realist empirical research. Following a brief introduction to immanent critique, its history and relation to other ways of grounding knowledge, an excerpt from a literature review is used as backdrop for an extended discussion about various potential applications, and impl... (shrink)

This book's core is exploring Islam Tan Malaka, later characterized as progressive Islamic thought. To demonstrate this, the author uses the theory sociology of knowledge formulated by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann, as well as the philosophy of science of critical realism formulated by Roy Bhaskar, as an approach to analysis. The result is the concept of Madilog as a progressive Islamic method that gave birth to the concept of monotheism as the foundation for the existence of social (...) justice, which later became the foundation for Human Rights (HAM), gender equality, pluralism, and unity of ummah. These concepts are conditionally interconnected based on the principle of causality and the laws of dialectics. This conceptual construction is what the author calls progressive Islam Tan Malaka. (shrink)

As Bhaskar (1989:1) argues, we need to take philosophy seriously because it underwrites both what constitutes science and knowledge and which political practices are deemed legitimate. At present, the field of educational research internationally is witnessing a pragmatist trend, whereby practical education research is carried out without reference to ontological and epistemological concerns. For David Reynolds, a leading UK school effectiveness academic, '[p]recisely because we did not waste time on philosophical discussion or on values debates, we made rapid progress' (...) (1998:20). Equally, for Teddlie, '[t]he orientation of many in the US is to do rather than to reflect […] In reality many practitioners are currently interested in what could work at their school […rather…] than in ruminations about social inequalities associated with different socioeconomic classes' (Teddlie and Reynolds 2000:27). The purpose of this chapter is not only to reclaim critical realist social philosophy for educational research, but also to reclaim reality from the positivist and statistical methodology that underpins School Effectiveness Research (SER) and to make clear the difference that realism makes by virtue of its critical explanatory power in unmasking the ideological nature of SER and its adoption by New Labour. (shrink)

The commentaries provided by Haig; Derksen and Morawski; and Trafimow vary considerably in how they address critical realism and its implications for replication. Haig’s preference for Kaidesoja’s “naturalised” version of critical realism and Lipton’s inference to the best explanation is deeply problematic. While Derksen and Morawski concede that they deal only indirectly with critical realism, their endorsement of “performativity” negates it. In Trafimow’s case, ontology’s regulative role is untenably diminished and ultimately supplanted by classic methodologism. I conclude that replication should (...) be replaced by exploratory stratified contextualism. (shrink)

In this article I present an original interpretation of Roy Bhaskar’s project in Dialectic: The Pulse of Freedom. His major move is to separate an ontological dialectic from a critical dialectic, which in Hegel are laminated together. The ontological dialectic, which in Hegel is the self-unfolding of spirit, becomes a realist and relational philosophical anthropology. The critical dialectic, which in Hegel is confined to retracing the steps of spirit, now becomes an active force, dialectical critique, which interposes into the (...) ontological dialectic at the ‘fourth dimension’ of a naturalistically reconfigured account of relational human nature, agency. This account allows Bhaskar to explain and vindicate the crucial role social criticism must play in any realistic project of self-emancipation, and to create a space that didn’t exist in Hegel for an open-ended concrete utopianism. Freedom is thus the actualization of human nature, but is not automatic: the relation of human nature to freedom is mediated historically through dialectical critique, which, informed by concrete utopianism, can have emancipatory power. Content Type Journal Article Category Article Pages 13-44 Authors Craig Reeves, Brunel University Journal Journal of Critical Realism Online ISSN 1572-5138 Print ISSN 1476-7430 Journal Volume Volume 12 Journal Issue Volume 12, Number 1 / 2013. (shrink)

This dissertation shows how initial conditions play a special role in the explanation of contingent and irregular outcomes, including, in the form of geographic context, the special case of uneven development in the social sciences. The dissertation develops a general theory of this role, recognizes its empirical limitations in the social sciences, and considers how it might be applied to the question of uneven development. The primary purpose of the dissertation is to identify and correct theoretical problems in the study (...) of uneven development; it is not intended to be an empirical study. Chapter 1 introduces the basic problem, and discusses why it has become especially salient in debates concerning uneven development. Chapter 2 develops an argument for the importance of initial conditions in the philosophy of science, developed specifically in the context of the Bhaskar/Cartwright ‘open systems’ (and by extension, ‘exogenous factor’) emphasis on the ubiquity of contingency in the universe and rejection of explanation based on laws of nature (regularity accounts) of causation. Chapter 3 makes three claims concerning the concept of contingency, especially as related to the study of society: 1) that there are eight distinct uses of the word contingency, and its many meanings are detrimental to clarity of discussion and thought in history and the social sciences; 2) that it is possible to impose some order on these different uses through developing a classification of contingency into three types based on assumptions concerning possible worlds and determinism; 3) that one of the classes is a special use of the word without relevance to the social sciences, while the two remaining classes are nothing more than a variety of the ‘no hidden factors’ argument in the debate on indeterminism and determinism (and thus related to the concept of spacetime trajectories caused by initial conditions and the interference of these in the form of ‘exogenous factors’ with ‘open systems’). Chapter 4 The concept of explanation based on initial conditions together with laws of nature is widely associated with determinism. In the social sciences determinism has frequently been rejected due to the moral dilemmas it is perceived as presenting. Chapter 4 considers problems with this view. Chapter 5 considers attitudes among geographers, economists, and historians towards using geographic factors as initial conditions in explanation and how they might acceptably be used, in particular their role in ‘anchoring’ aspatial theories of social processes to real-world distributions. Chapter 6 considers the relationship of the statistical methods common in development studies with the trend towards integrating geographical factors into econometric development studies. It introduces the statistical argument on ‘apparent populations’ that arrives at conclusions concerning determinism consistent with Chapters 2 and 3 of the dissertation. The need for the visual interpretation of data with descriptive statistics and maps and their utility in the study of uneven development is discussed with a number of examples. Chapter 7 applies these concepts to the ‘institutions versus geography’ debate in development studies, using Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson’s 2002 ‘reversal of fortune’ argument as a primary example. Chapter 8 considers possible directions for future work, both theoretical and empirical. Chapter 9 concludes with a discussion of additional possible objections to the use of initial conditions as exogenous factors in explanation. (shrink)

Novel is a time-art. Gunamoy Manna writes novel, express truth with the help of time. Gunamoy Manna is an anti-establish writer. He enlightens those people, whom live for truth and life. 'Mute` is one of the most extra-ordinary novel in history of Bengali novel, because most popular religious and cultural festival 'Gaajan` and its philosophy is the main theme in this novel. The main character Sudhir overcomes all the problems through his faith on lord Shiva.

RELAÇÃO E EFEITOS BIOQUÍMICO-NUTRICIONAIS SOBRE AS ALTERAÇÕES DO CORPO LÚTEO EM VACAS -/- Emanuel Isaque Cordeiro da Silva Departamento de Agropecuária – IFPE Campus Belo Jardim [email protected] ou [email protected] WhatsApp: (82)98143-8399 -/- •__7. ALTERAÇÕES DO CORPO LÚTEO -/- A estrutura funcional desenvolve-se a partir da cavidade folicular após a ovulação. O corpo lúteo é constituído pelas células da teca interna (pequenas e ativas na primeira fase do seu desenvolvimento) e células da granulosa (grandes e ativas na segunda metade do seu (...) desenvolvimento). As principais características de cada tipo de célula podem resumir-se da seguinte forma: As células pequenas são mais sensíveis à ação da LH porque possui uma quantidade maior de receptores biologicamente ativos para esta hormona e a resposta é mediada pelo sistema AMPc-adelinato ciclase. As grandes células lúteas têm menos receptores para a LH (a maior quantidade são para a PGF2α e a PGE2), e são as responsáveis pela produção da oxitocina luteal (BAH, et al. 2006; CAMPO, 2003). Contrariamente às pequenas células lúteas, a produção de progesterona (P4) é parcialmente controlada pelo sistema Ca+2 - Fosfatil inositol-quinase C (CAMPO, 2003). A regulação da função do corpo lúteo é um mecanismo complexo. Nela intervêm fatores tróficos e líticos que estão presentes em forma simultânea durante todo o ciclo estral, e portanto a estimulação ou inibição da síntese e secreção de P4 depende do balanço entre estes fatores. (CAMPO, 2003). Dentro dos fatores tróficos, os nutrientes desempenham um papel relevante sobre a luteólise e as funções luteotrópicas, entre estas pode-se citar a ação das seguintes: -/- 7.1 Vitaminas Deficiência em betacarotenos. Vitamina A é um termo genérico que designa qualquer composto com atividade de retinol, o trans-retinol, é o composto base, sua forma aldeído e ácido são chamados de retinol e ácido retinóico, respectivamente. Por outro lado, a forma ativa da Vitamina A participa no mecanismo da visão, como 11-cis-retinal. Adicionalmente, o betacaroteno, considerado uma provitamina A é a única forma em que esta encontra nas plantas. Em sentido nutricional, a família da Vitamina A compreende todos os compostos que possuem atividade de retinol, incluindo cerca de cinquenta carotenoides que possuem atividade de provitamina A, aceitando-se que o mais ativo é o trans-betacaroteno (TORRES, et al. 2002). As vitaminas que são necessárias para o crescimento e a produção, também são essenciais para a reprodução. As recomendações atuais de vitamina A são de 75.000 UI/dia durante a lactação e 80.000 UI/dia (nota: 1 mg de Vitamina A = 400 UI) durante o período seco nas vacas leiteiras. A suplementação com vitamina A tem pouco risco de toxicidade, enquanto a sua deficiência pode retardar o aparecimento do primeiro cio/estro, induzir cios/estros silenciosos, aumentar o número de quistos ováricos, reduzir os índices de concepção, causar abortos, mortes embrionárias e ocasionar o nascimento de bezerros debilitados e fracos, uma vez que não irão nascer com os índices e requerimentos ideais de nutrientes passados da mãe para o feto pela placenta, e que, já que a mãe possui deficiência nutricional, o colostro não terá o efeito completo para passar a imunidade essencial ao neonato. Embora os mecanismos de ação não sejam claros, foram notificadas maiores secreções de esteroides ováricos quando as concentrações de β-carotenos no fluido folicular foram elevadas; logo, foram observadas maiores concentrações elevadas de β- estradiol e vitamina A nos folículos que terminaram em ovulação do que naqueles que terminaram em atresia. Para evitar as perdas reprodutivas por deficiência de vitamina A, pode-se optar pela administração oral ou injetável desta ao animal, mediante dois métodos: o primeiro consiste em adicionar 1 a 2,5 kg de premix vitamínico em 1 tonelada de grãos o que supre de 4 a 6.000 UI o que é desejável; o segundo é a administração via injetável em quantidades vide bula do fármaco. 7.2 Minerais O excesso de fósforo é absorvido principalmente no intestino delgado dos mamíferos através de um mecanismo de transporte ativo dependente do sódio, que é estimulado pela pró-hormona 1,25- hidroxivitamina D3. Os ruminantes são capazes de absorver o fósforo dietético em proporção direta às quantidades presentes na ração. Estima-se que aproximadamente 1% do corpo animal é composto de fósforo, do qual 85% está presente nos dentes e no tecido ósseo. Os tecidos moles são capazes de conter entre 0,15-0,20% de fósforo sob a forma de fosfoproteínas, nucleoproteínas, fosfolipídios, fosfato creatinina, adenosintrifosfato, glicose-6-fosfato, etc. Ao nível do plasma sanguíneo, o fósforo apresenta valores de 12,09 mg/dl. Os valores plasmáticos de fósforo são regulados principalmente pelo rim, sendo observado um aumento na excreção urinária do elemento inorgânico quando este excede a capacidade de transporte (REBOLLAR & MATEOS, 1999). O fósforo faz parte dos fosfolipídios, que são importantes no transporte de lipídios e seu metabolismo, como componente das membranas celulares. O fosfato faz parte do RNA e do DNA, componentes celulares vitais, e são essenciais para a síntese proteica. O fosfato faz parte de sistemas enzimáticos como a cocarboxilase e NAD, portanto está envolvido em todos os processos de síntese e regulação energética, dado que o corpo lúteo requer altas quantidades de energia para a síntese celular e hormonal, um excesso de fósforo pode bloquear a capacidade renal da sua regulação gerando um desequilíbrio catiônico que descompensa a relação Na:K, já que deverão ser excretados íons fosfato para regular o equilíbrio ácido-básico, desta forma, os processos celulares em tecidos de alta sensibilidade como o ovário serão afetados em sua função. A situação para prevenção de problemas relacionados ao fósforo (P) já foi tratada em assuntos anteriores, porém, sempre vale frisar para o leitor fiel que me lê que as exigências de P presentes na matéria seca (MS) variam entre 0,17 e 0,59% de P por kg/MS para bovinos de corte e em 0,32 a 0,44% por kg/MS para o gado leiteiro. Dessa forma, dados obtidos por pesquisas, ditam que para a mantença de uma vaca ou quaisquer outra categoria bovina o ideal é o consumo de 1.43 g/100 kg de peso vivo (PV), garantindo assim a prevenção de possíveis afecções reprodutivas como as alterações do corpo lúteo. Gramíneas, forragens, leguminosas e os concentrados fornecem muito bem os requerimentos de fósforo para os animais, todavia deve-se estar atento as relações e dependências do P com outros elementos como o Ca e a relação Na:K (10-15:1 idealmente). 7.3 Compostos estrogênicos Os fitoestrogênios afetam repetidamente a estabilidade do corpo lúteo. Os compostos estrogênicos encontrados principalmente em leguminosas pertencem principalmente a três grupos: isoflavanos, isoflavonas, presentes no gênero Trifolium e praticamente restritos às leguminosas, e cumestanos, que foram estudados na alfafa (Medicago sativa) e na Melilotus alba. Todas as isoflavonas sofrem algum grau de transformação no rúmen, sendo o Isoflavonoide formononetina, na realidade um pró-estrógeno, o único que se ativa no ecossistema ruminal ao ser convertido em equol, enquanto que as demais são degradadas a produtos inativos (RAMOS, et al. 1998). Por fim, a alta concentração no sangue do equol retarda a retroalimentação sobre a hipófise mediante a qual se reduzem os níveis de FSH para dar lugar à onda ovulatória de LH, se esta não ocorrer, o corpo lúteo obviamente não se formará. O conhecimento acerca dos estrogênios na alimentação animal é defasado nos livros sobre o tema, no entanto, o criador pode ficar tranquilo no que tange o tema na prática da sua fazenda e dos seus animais, uma vez que tal elemento é muito bem fornecido naturalmente por meio dos alimentos volumosos presentes no seu pasto. -/- Apoio -/- Realização -/- REFERÊNCIAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS BAH, Mamadou M. et al. Role of intraluteal prostaglandin F2α, progesterone and oxytocin in basal and pulsatile progesterone release from developing bovine corpus luteum. Prostaglandins & other lipid mediators, v. 79, n. 3-4, p. 218-229, 2006. BERCHIELLI, Telma Teresinha; PIRES, Alexandre Vaz; OLIVEIRA, SG de. Nutrição de ruminantes. Jaboticabal: funep, 2006. BINDARI, Yugal Raj et al. Effects of nutrition on reproduction-A review. Adv. Appl. Sci. Res, v. 4, n. 1, p. 421-429, 2013. BOLAND, M. P. Efectos nutricionales en la reproducción del ganado. XXXI Jornadas Uruguayas de Buiatría, 2003. CAMPO, E. Comportamiento reproductivo del ganado Bovino y Bufalino. 2003. Universidad Agraria de la Habana. Havana, 2003. DEHNING, R. Interrelaciones entre nutrición y fertilidad. In: Curso Manejo de la Fertilidad Bovina18-23 May 1987Medellín (Colombia). CICADEP, Bogotá (Colombia) Universidad de La Salle, Medellín (Colombia) Instituto Colombiano Agropecurio, Bogotá (Colombia) Sociedad Alemana de Cooperación Técnica-GTZ (Alemania), 1987. DE LUCA, Leonardo J. Nutrición y fertilidad en el ganado lechero. XXXVI Jornadas Uruguayas de Buiatría, 2008. FRAZER, Grant S. Bovine theriogenology. Veterinary Clinics: Food Animal Practice, v. 21, n. 2, p. xiii-xiv, 2005. GORDON, Ian. Controlled reproduction in farm animals series. Nova Iorque: CAB International, 1996. HURLEY, W. L.; DOANE, R. M. Recent developments in the roles of vitamins and minerals in reproduction. Journal of Dairy Science, v. 72, n. 3, p. 784-804, 1989. KUMAR, Sudhir et al. Importance of micro minerals in reproductive performance of livestock. Veterinary world, v. 4, n. 5, p. 230, 2011. MAAS, John. Relationship between nutrition and reproduction in beef cattle. The Veterinary Clinics of North America. Food Animal Practice, v. 3, n. 3, p. 633-646, 1987. PASA, Camila. Relação reprodução animal e os minerais. Biodiversidade, v. 9, n. 1, 2011. RAMOS, Graciano et al. Los compuestos secundarios de las plantas en la nutrición de los herbívoros. Archivos de Zootecnia. 47: 597-620, 1998. REBOLLAR, Paloma García; MATEOS, Gonzalo González. El fósforo en nutrición animal. Necesidades, valoración de materias primas y mejora de la disponibilidad. CURSO DE ESPECIALIZACIÓN FEDNA. Avances en nutrición y alimentaciín animal, XV, p. 19-64, 1999. SHORT, Robert E.; ADAMS, D. C. Nutritional and hormonal interrelationships in beef cattle reproduction. Canadian Journal of Animal Science, v. 68, n. 1, p. 29-39, 1988. TEIXEIRA, J. C.; TEIXEIRA, LFAC. Alimentação de bovinos leiteiros. FAEPE, Lavras, 1997. TEIXEIRA, J. C. Nutrição de ruminantes. Lavras: FAEPE, 1992. TORRES, M. et al. Aspectos Farmacológicos relevantes de las Vitaminas Antioxidantes (E, A y C). Archivos Venezolanos de Farmacología y Terapéutica, v. 21, n. 1, p. 22-27, 2002. YASOTHAI, R. Importance of minerals on reproduction in dairy cattle. International Journal of Science, Environment and Technology, v. 3, n. 6, p. 2051-2057, 2014. -/- Emanuel Isaque Cordeiro da Silva Belo Jardim, 29 de março de 2020. (shrink)

Cartwright attempts to argue from an analysis of the composition of forces, and more generally the composition of laws, to the conclusion that laws must be regarded as false. A response to Cartwright is developed which contends that properly understood composition poses no threat to the truth of laws, even though agreeing with Cartwright that laws do not satisfy the "facticity" requirement. My analysis draws especially on the work of Creary, Bhaskar, Mill, and points towards a general rejection of (...) Cartwright's view that laws, especially fundamental laws, should be seen as false. (shrink)

Heikki Patomäki claims, in ‘After Critical Realism?’, that Roy Bhaskar's early critical realism is inadequate to the contemporary natural and social sciences. He claims that Bhaskar defends anthropomorphic conceptions of causality; fails to recognise real change; and fails to underlabour for futures studies. These claims are based on a series of misunderstandings, notably about the nature and implications of underlabouring. Underlabouring is discussed in terms of the disclosure and transformation of the deep categorial structures of science and theory.

ABSTRACT The individual-community relationship has always been one of the most fundamental topics of social sciences. In sociology, this is known as the micro-macro relationship while in economics it refers to the processes, through which, individual actions lead to macroeconomic phenomena. Based on philosophical discourse and systems theory, many sociologists even use the term "emergence" in their understanding of micro-macro relationship, which refers to collective phenomena that are created by the cooperation of individuals, but cannot be reduced to individual actions. (...) "Emergence" theories attempt to explain the nature of society as a complex system by examining how individuals and their relationships lead to the creation of integrated and macro-social phenomena such as markets, educational systems, cultural beliefs, and shared social practices. As a prelude to activity, every researcher has to answer the question from the methodological point of view, how is it possible to study the behavior of social groups and how can we gain knowledge about the laws related to social groups? Anyone who deals with humanities and social sciences or any reality and phenomenon that affects human beings, inevitably deals with the reality that is emerging. In fact, emergence occurs when one level of reality emerges radically from another level. Examples of emergent levels of reality include how the mind emerges from the body; or the way society emerges from human beings. Therefore, when there is an emerging factor, different scientific disciplines should be used, because it is inevitable to talk about social affairs, psychology and neurobiology, as well as physical and even chemical. -/- INTRODUCTION Since its beginning in the 19th century, sociology has faced the fundamental question of what a social phenomena stands for? At a glance, sociologists deal with the study of social groups, collective behavior, institutions, social structures, social networks, and social dynamics, and ultimately all such phenomena are composed of individuals. Therefore, social phenomena seem to have no independent ontological status, and in this case, sociology is ultimately about reducible individuals. Different approaches about the micro-macro relationship, using the concept of "emergence", argue that although collective phenomena are created by individuals, they cannot be reduced to individual action. The term "emergence" is used to distinguish "emergent results" from " Procedural results". Results are called Procedural that can only be calculated by adding or subtracting the causes that act together. On the contrary, they are emergent outcomes that are qualitatively novel compared to the causes from which they originate. An example of such emergent results is mental characteristics that emerge from neural processes, but are not considered among the characteristics of neural processes of components - which are their origin. Philosophical debates about emergentism and reductionism focus on the mind-brain relationship, but as many philosophers have noted, they can be generalized to apply to any hierarchical set of features. The cognitive revolution reactivated a 19th century controversy between theorists of Identity and dualism. The theorists of Identity believe in reductionist materialism and elimination of metaphysics, according to which the mind is nothing more than the biological, while the dualists believe that the mind and the brain are distinct from each other. Emergence has been considered as a third way between the theories of Identity and dualism. -/- METHODOLOGY Interdisciplinarity Is fundamentally indicated by the dominance of open systems as well as social and emerging systems at different levels. Therefore, as long as we are facing a new emergentism, there will necessarily be different fields and an interdisciplinary method. The commonality of social sciences and cognitive sciences on the issue of emergence provides the possibility of interaction and exchange of concepts between these two for deeper research. Therefore, in this research, apart from the concepts of Subvenience and downward causation, we have used multiple realization and wildly disjunctive, which are used to explain the emerging concept in cognitive sciences, including neurobiology, psychology, and philosophy. For analytical and interdisciplinary approaches, after examining the concepts of subvenience, and wildly disjunctive, Individualistic and collectivist emergentism have been reviewed. And then their adequacy is criticized and evaluated in meeting strong emergence conditions. -/- FINDINGS Philosophers of the mind have been able to define the conditions of irreducibility and downward causation, which are essential for strong emergence, by using the principle of subvenience with the help of multiple realization and wildly disjunctive principles. Therefore, by definition, emergentist individualism suffers from the problem of how to explain downward causality and irreducibility, and emergentist collectivism faces the challenge of reification. The analysis of the challenges facing the two methodological approaches of individualism and collectivism leads us to three unresolved issues about the emerging phenomenon, which are realism, downward causality, and mechanism. Despite the differences in the stances of these two approaches regarding the aforementioned triple problems, individualists and collectivists both agree that some social characteristics are reducible; and some others are irreducible due to their complexity, the determination of which, depends on the case study of the mechanism of emergence of each social characteristic. -/- CONCLUSION An emergence that is consistent with reductionism is called a weak emergence. And strong emergence includes the principle of irreducibility and downward causality. According to strong emergence, the characteristics of social phenomena have downward causal power, which cannot be reduced to the causal forces. The principle of subvenience, together with multiple realization and wildly disjunctive, can provide the conditions of irreducibility and downward causality, which are essential conditions of strong emergence. Based on the philosophical analysis of two methodological approaches, individualist and collectivist, it can be concluded that emergentist individualism suffers from the problem of how to explain downward causality and irreducibility, and reification collectivism faces the challenge of reification. The analysis of the problems faced by these two approaches leads us to three unresolved issues, which are realism, downward causality, and mechanism. individualist emergentists acknowledge the existence of emergent social characteristics, but despite this, they believe that these characteristics are not real but merely analytical constructs that require explanation based on individuals and their mutual actions. But collectivists argue that emergentism yields a categorical ontology and supports social realism. They accept the dependence of social characteristics on individuals, but claim that social entities and structures are ontologically independent. Individualists and collectivists both agree that some social characteristics are reducible; and others are irreducible due to their complexity; and the only way to recognize this is to engage in empirical studies of the mechanisms and temporal processes of "emergence" that create social characteristics. -/- NOVELTY The newness of this compact article is as follows: a) Presenting an interdisciplinary approach using the analysis of philosophy of cognitive sciences, including the philosophy of mind, neurobiology and psychology to formulate the issue of social emergence; b) Criticizing individualist and collectivist methodological approaches to the issue of social emergence and explaining the sufficiency and shortcomings of both in providing weak and strong emerging conditions; c) Explaining and categorizing the challenges facing methodological approaches in explaining the phenomenon of social emergence, in three categories: realism, downward causality, and mechanism. BIBLIOGRAPHY Beckermann, A., Flohr, H., & Kim, J. (eds.) (1992). Emergence or reduction? Essays on the prospects of nonreductive physicalism. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Bhaskar, R. (1979). The possibility of Naturalism. New York: Routledge. Bhaskar, R., Danermark, B. & Price, L. (2018). Interdisciplinarity and wellbeing: A critical realist general theory of interdisciplinarity. London and New York: Routledge. Blau, P.M. (1981). Introduction: diverse views of social structure and their common denominator. In Blau, P.M. & Merton, R.K. (eds.), Continuity in Structural Inquiry (pp. 1–23). Beverly Hills: Sage. Blau, P.M. (1987). Microprocess and macrostructure. In K.S. Cook (ed.), Social Exchange Theory (pp. 83–100). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Brooks, R.A., & Maes, P. (eds). (1994). Artificial life IV; proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. Clark, A. (1997). Being there: Putting brain, body, and world together again. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Coleman, J. S. (1987). Microfoundations and macrosocial behavior. In: J. C. Alexander, B. Giesen, R. Munch, & Neil J. Smelser (Eds.). The Micro-Macro Link (pp. 153–73). Berkeley: University of California. Coleman, J. S. (1990). Foundations of social theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Elster, J. (1985). Making sense of Marx. New York: Cambridge University Press. Fodor, J.A. (1974). Special sciences (Or: The disunity of science as a working hypothesis). Synthese, 28(2), 97–115. Fodor, J.A. (1989). Making mind matter more. Philosophical Topics, 17, 59-79. Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. Berkeley: University of California Press. Hempel, C.G. (1965). Aspects of scientific explanation and other essays in the philosophy of science. New York: The Free Press. Horgan, T. (1993). From supervenience to superdupervenience: meeting the demands of a material world. Mind, 102, 555-586. Humphreys, P. (1997). How properties emerge”. Philosophy of Science, 64, 1-17. Kim, J. (1999). Making sense of emergence. Philosophical Studies, 95, 3–36. Kincaid, H. (1997). Individualism and the unity of science. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Lewis, D.K. (1986). The plurality of worlds. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Nigel, G., & Conte, R. (eds.) (1995). Artificial societies; The computer simulation of social life. London: UCL Press. O’Connor, T. (1994). Emergent properties. American Philosophical Quarterly, 31, 91-104. Popper, K.R. (1968). Conjectures and refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge. New York: Harper & Row. Sawyer, R. K. (2001). Emergence in sociology: contemporary philosophy of mind and some implications for sociological theory. American Journal of Sociology, 107, 551-585. Sawyer, R. K. (2004). The mechanisms of emergence. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 34, 260–282. Sawyer, R. K. (2005). Social emergence: societies as complex systems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Sawyer, R.K. (2003). Nonreductive individualism: Part 2, Social causation. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 33, 203–224. Winch, P. (1993). The idea of a social science and its relation to philosophy‭ (SAMT, Trans.). Tehran, Iran: SAMT. (shrink)

Tony Lawson, fundador del Grupo de Ontología Social y del Taller Realista de Cambridge, ha propuesto el realismo crítico para reorientar la economía. La transformación del mundo social, que intenta Lawson, surge de la adhesión al realismo crítico, esto es, de trasladar el realismo trascendental de Roy Bhaskar al reino social. Con el propósito de profundizar en las críticas a este movimiento, explicitaremos en qué consiste el realismo crítico, y cuáles son los presupuestos filosóficos de la mainstream según este (...) autor. Plantearemos las críticas en torno a: a) la noción de economía mainstream, b) las posibilidades de una economía fundada en la ontología social, c) el realismo de los modelos económicos y d) las nociones de aislamiento y abstracción. (shrink)

RELAÇÃO E EFEITOS BIOQUÍMICO-NUTRICIONAIS SOBRE OS TRANSTORNOS DO CICLO ESTRAL DE VACAS -/- Emanuel Isaque Cordeiro da Silva Departamento de Agropecuária – IFPE Campus Belo Jardim [email protected] ou [email protected] WhatsApp: (82)98143-8399 -/- •__6. Transtornos do ciclo estral -/- Qualquer alteração na frequência, duração ou intensidade do ciclo estral é considerada uma perturbação do ciclo, cujas origens variam etiologicamente. As perturbações do ciclo podem originar-se em qualquer das partes do eixo hipotálamo-hipófise-ovário (FRAZER, 2005; GORDON, 1996). Pode ou não ser do tipo (...) permanente e pode depender de sua origem, momento e intensidade cursar com outras alterações reprodutivas, por exemplo uma retenção do corpo lúteo, dá lugar a prolongamento da fase lútea, altos níveis de progesterona circulante e pode, finalmente, desencadear em um cisto luteal ou em uma metrite. Entre os fatores desencadeadores da falha do ciclo estral estão os fatores de origem nutricional, dentre eles: 6.1 Minerais 6.1.1 Relação Na:K (Sódio: Potássio) A deficiência de sódio pode causar distúrbios do ciclo estral, isto porque as células animais intracelularmente possuem uma alta concentração de K e uma baixa concentração de Na, esta relação pode chegar a 10:1 ou mais, em relação ao meio externo. Com esta relação, as concentrações intracelulares estão em equilíbrio com o meio externo. A absorção e secreção de cátions pela célula para conseguir o equilíbrio é simultânea, gerada por um sistema de transporte específico chamado "bomba Na-K". Se a nível celular não existe um balanço iônico de K:Na, a maior prioridade das células tubulares do rim é a de conseguir novamente um equilíbrio, o mecanismo destas células é o da reabsorção do íon que se encontre em excesso de água, diminuindo a quantidade deste no líquido para manter as funções em equilíbrio dinâmico. Os desequilíbrios não compensados a nível celular ou renal, levam a alterações na condutividade nervosa por alteração da bomba de transmissão elétrica. O ciclo estral é alterado por diminuir a expressividade dos sinais comportamentais de estro, que são produzidos por concentrações crescentes de estrogênio mas com alta necessidade de adequação nervosa para a exposição corporal do cio e a aceitação da monta. O potássio, em particular, desempenha um papel fundamental como coator em certas interações enzimáticas, incluindo a transferência de energia, a síntese de proteínas e o metabolismo de hidratos de carbono, em especial nos sistemas em que o ADP está envolvido, as hexoquinases e a anidrase carbônica. O sódio, por sua vez, é o principal cátion extracelular, regula o equilíbrio hídrico no organismo e a mecânica de fluidos, desta forma regula a pressão osmótica e a troca aquosa nos tecidos. Devido a esta função, um dos fatores importantes do fluxo Na:K é o rim, que é controlado pela aldosterona, a principal hormona reguladora da absorção de sódio e excreção de potássio. Qualquer desequilíbrio na relação Na:K, afetará o ciclo estral, de maneira direta e indireta, através da alteração na síntese de proteínas e da perda da regulação hídrica, fator importante pelas secreções que devem acompanhar as manifestações de cio/estro. 6.1.2 Relação Cobalto (Co) A deficiência de cobalto gera um efeito biológico determinado pela sua presença na molécula da vitamina B12, a qual regula a hematopoese (Ativa a síntese de protoporfirina) e afeta o metabolismo do nitrogênio e dos carboidratos. A vitamina B12 atua como uma coenzima da transmetilação (síntese do glutamato mutase, metilmalonil-CoA-Mutase, diol-dehidratase e redução dos ribonucleótidos a desoxirribonucleótidos, isomerização da a-lisina, etc.). Especialmente em ruminantes, a reação mutase da metilmalonina-CoA está relacionada com o metabolismo do ácido propiônico e, portanto, com a síntese de glicose e o equilíbrio energético. O cobalto também está envolvido na carboxilação da propionil-CoA à metilmalonil-CoA e na isomerização deste último para succinil-CoA. O metabolismo do ácido propiônico ocorre no fígado e é reduzido pelo fato do metilmalonil não poder ser convertido em succinil-CoA, impedindo a sua passagem para oxalacetato e glicose, gerando uma relação inversa entre os níveis de energia e proteína; causando uma diminuição de GnRH que afeta negativamente a liberação de LH que, por sua vez, cria um aumento na FSH. Isso produz uma anulação da ovulação e, consequentemente, ausência de um ciclo estral verdadeiro. Vale reforçar que, para prevenção da deficiência do cobalto, o criador pode optar pelo fornecimento de volumosos que dispõem de quantidades de cobalto que suprem as exigências dos animais, ou pela inserção de sais de cobalto à mistura da ração, sempre no intervalo sugerido de 0,07 e 0,11 mg/kg para cada animal, suprindo a necessidade do mesmo e garantindo assim a prevenção dos transtornos do ciclo estral ou outras afecções do sistema reprodutivo. 6.1.3 Relação Cobre (Cu) e Molibdênio (Mo) A deficiência de cobre gera, indiretamente, molibdênio, durante esse processo, tanto o macho como a fêmea são inférteis ou sub-férteis, mas, em geral, os transtornos surgem não por molibdeniose mas por hipocuprose condicionada por excesso de molibdênio nas pastagens e pelos sulfatos presentes na água de bebida (BREM, 2016). Isso leva à formação de tiomolibdato no rúmen, que por sua vez combina com o cobre para formar tiomolibdato de cobre, sal muito insolúvel. O tiomolibdato presente, formado em excesso e que não encontra cobre suficiente, contribuirá para produzir a diarreia, limitando ainda mais a absorção de cobre. A interferência mais importante do molibdênio ocorre no processo metabólico do cobre, interferindo sua atividade enzimática. O molibdênio atua sobre o complexo sulfeto-oxidase hepático. A enzima que está envolvida na oxidação de metabolitos sulfurados, reduz a sua atividade na presença de altos teores de molibdênio, especialmente quando a quantidade de cobre é baixa. Daqui resulta a formação de sulfureto de cobre, muito insolúvel e, portanto, pouco ou nada utilizável pelas células e/ou tecidos (QUIROZ-ROCHA & BOUDA, 2001). O excesso de molibdênio nas pastagens ou na água de bebida reduz a quantidade de cobre no fígado, mas para uma dada dose de molibdênio, esta redução é diretamente proporcional ao aumento dos sulfatos na ingestão, porque só na presença de sulfatos o molibdênio exerce sua ação limitante. O melhor modo de tratar o molibdênio e a ação dos sulfatos sobre o cobre, é aumentar a quantidade de cobre disponível pelos animais, seja por via bucal ou parenteral. Desta forma, há aumentos na cupremia e no ganho de peso. É conveniente, para o efeito, efetuar um controle dos resultados mediante a observação clínica, pesagem dos animais e análise de cobre no sangue. Isso permitirá estabelecer as doses ideais e adequadas para cada estabelecimento e efetuar um estudo econômico da suplementação (BAVERA, 2002). Como já foi tratado o requerimento do cobre para evitar os problemas reprodutivos das vacas, falemos do molibdênio (Mo). O Mo é um elemento primordial para bovinos leiteiros, uma vez que é componente de uma enzima presente no leite (xantina oxidasse). A deficiência de Mo a nível prático não foi relatada, porém casos podem acontecer. Para ovinos, que é uma espécie ruminante, a concentração exigida pelo animal em Mo presente na MS é de 5 a 10 mg/kg, porém deve levar em consideração a relação crítica entre o Mo e o Cu que deve ser no máximo 20 e nunca superior. O nível crítico de toxidade de Mo nos alimentos volumosos (forrageiras, gramíneas e leguminosas) não pode ultrapassar os 6% por kg de MS. Através de todos esses cuidados, o criador poderá obter sucesso tanto na prevenção contra os distúrbios do ciclo estral das vacas, quanto de outras complicações como toxidade, desnutrição, etc. 6.2 Relação energia:proteína Em relação ao aumento do consumo de proteína crua ou de deficiência de energia, aumenta-se a quantidade de ureia no sangue e produz-se uma toxicidade tecidular, afetando o endométrio e diminuindo a produção de prostaglandinas, que são as encarregadas de manter o corpo lúteo, caso não se mantenha acaba provocando um ciclo estral longo. A situação pode ser explicada a nível do eixo hipotálamo-hipófise, no qual os baixos níveis de glicose inibem a secreção de GnRH e resultam na diminuição da pulsatilidade da LH, seja por ação direta ou mediada através das ß-endorfinas. Outro fator que afeta o crescimento folicular é a nutrição, especificamente a perda da condição corporal, quando o animal não se alimenta direito ou quando se alimenta não tem uma condição balanceada que supra suas exigências nutricionais e que tenha um aceitável ganho de peso diário (GPD), acaba perdendo massa muscular ou de gordura, em outras palavras altera-se a condição corporal do mesmo, e se a perda for de 22 a 24 % de peso corporal (PC), os animais que perdem essa condição entram em anestro o que acaba tornando um animal inviável para a reprodução e também para o abate, uma vez que encontra-se fora do peso ideal. Tanto as proteínas quanto a energia foram tratados em trabalhos anteriores, porém nunca é tarde para salientar que ambas devem ser fornecidas em qualidade e quantidade que consiga favorecer ao desenvolvimento do animal e aos mecanismos fisiológicos do mesmo. 6.3 Fito-toxidade Finalmente, um fator adicional que induz a alteração da ciclicidade estral são os fitoestrógenos, plantas com altos teores de isoflavonas que possuem, no organismo animal, uma ação estrogênica. Os fitoestrógenos estão amplamente difundidos, nos trevos, alfafa, milho e nas pastagens de cultivo intensivo. Os fitoestrogênios são diferentes dos estrogênios produzidos pelo animal, mas a sua ação é idêntica nos receptores do trato reprodutivo; o seu metabolismo e excreção é diferente (por exemplo, desmetilização) e a sua excreção renal através dos glicoronosidos, assim mesmo a formação de ésteres sulfatos no tecido hepático é menor, acumulando-se em circulação e alterando a duração da fase estrogênica do ciclo, isso leva à ninfomania das vacas e com ela a perda da função reprodutiva. Deve-se estar atento ao pasto que se cultiva e ao solo em que se implanta o pasto, uma vez que o solo pode ter excessos de minerais prejudiciais ao animal e que o coloque em uma situação de toxidade, já que a planta absorve do solo o excesso e da planta vai para o animal por meio direto ou pela silagem. Um exemplo é o teor de molibdênio na planta que não pode ser maior que 6%, se for ocorrerá inúmeras transformações fisiológicas maléficas ao animal, que acabará sendo descartado do objetivo que seria a reprodução na fazenda. -/- Apoio -/- Realização -/- REFERÊNCIAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS BAVERA, Guillermo Alejandro. Aguas y aguadas para el ganado. Rio Cuarto: Inter-Medica Editorial, 2009. BERCHIELLI, Telma Teresinha; PIRES, Alexandre Vaz; OLIVEIRA, SG de. Nutrição de ruminantes. Jaboticabal: funep, 2006. BINDARI, Yugal Raj et al. Effects of nutrition on reproduction-A review. Adv. Appl. Sci. Res, v. 4, n. 1, p. 421-429, 2013. BOLAND, M. P. Efectos nutricionales en la reproducción del ganado. XXXI Jornadas Uruguayas de Buiatría, 2003. BREM, J. J. et al. Alteraciones del ciclo estral provocadas por un alto ingreso de molibdeno en vaquillonas Brangus y respuesta a la suplementación con cobre. Revista Veterinaria, v. 12, n. 1 y 2, p. 28-33, 2016. DEHNING, R. Interrelaciones entre nutrición y fertilidad. In: Curso Manejo de la Fertilidad Bovina18-23 May 1987Medellín (Colombia). CICADEP, Bogotá (Colombia) Universidad de La Salle, Medellín (Colombia) Instituto Colombiano Agropecurio, Bogotá (Colombia) Sociedad Alemana de Cooperación Técnica-GTZ (Alemania), 1987. DE LUCA, Leonardo J. Nutrición y fertilidad en el ganado lechero. XXXVI Jornadas Uruguayas de Buiatría, 2008. FRAZER, Grant S. Bovine theriogenology. Veterinary Clinics: Food Animal Practice, v. 21, n. 2, p. xiii-xiv, 2005. GORDON, Ian. Controlled reproduction in farm animals series. Nova Iorque: CAB International, 1996. GRAHAM, Thomas W. Trace element deficiencies in cattle. Veterinary clinics of North America: food animal practice, v. 7, n. 1, p. 153-215, 1991. GUEDES, Luciana Freitas et al. A importância do cobre, molibdênio e enxofre na alimentação de ovinos. Nucleus Animalium, v. 10, n. 2, p. 7-22, 2018. HURLEY, W. L.; DOANE, R. M. Recent developments in the roles of vitamins and minerals in reproduction. Journal of Dairy Science, v. 72, n. 3, p. 784-804, 1989. KUMAR, Sudhir et al. Importance of micro minerals in reproductive performance of livestock. Veterinary world, v. 4, n. 5, p. 230, 2011. MAAS, John. Relationship between nutrition and reproduction in beef cattle. The Veterinary Clinics of North America. Food Animal Practice, v. 3, n. 3, p. 633-646, 1987. MILLS, C. F. Cobalt deficiency and cobalt requirements of ruminants. Recent advances in animal nutrition, p. 129-141, 1981. NICODEMO, M. L. F.; SERENO, J. R. B.; AMARAL, T. B. Minerais na eficiência reprodutiva de bovinos. Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste-Documentos (INFOTECA-E), São Carlos, 2008. PASA, Camila. Relação reprodução animal e os minerais. Biodiversidade, v. 9, n. 1, 2011. QUIROZ-ROCHA, Gerardo F.; BOUDA, Jan. Fisiopatología de las deficiencias de cobre en rumiantes y su diagnóstico. Vet. Méx, v. 32, n. 4, p. 289, 2001. SHORT, Robert E.; ADAMS, D. C. Nutritional and hormonal interrelationships in beef cattle reproduction. Canadian Journal of Animal Science, v. 68, n. 1, p. 29-39, 1988. YASOTHAI, R. Importance of minerals on reproduction in dairy cattle. International Journal of Science, Environment and Technology, v. 3, n. 6, p. 2051-2057, 2014. Emanuel Isaque Cordeiro da Silva Belo Jardim, 29 de março de 2020. (shrink)

One way in which to address the intriguing relations between science and reality is to work via the models (mathematical structures) of formal scientific theories which are interpretations under which these theories turn out to be true. The so-called 'statement approach' to scientific theories -- characteristic for instance of Nagel, Carnap, and Hempel --depicts theories in terms of 'symbolic languages' and some set of 'correspondence rules' or 'definition principles'. The defenders of the oppositionist non-statement approach advocate an analysis where the (...) language in which the theory is formulated plays a much smaller role. They hold that foundational problems in the various sciences can in general be better addressed by focusing on the models these sciences employ than by reformulating the products of these sciences in some appropriate language. My model-theoretic realist account of science lies decidedly within the non-statement context, although I retain the notion of a theory as a deductively closed set of sentences (expressed in some appropriate language), in this paper I shall focus -- against the background of a model-theoretic account of science -- on the approach to the reality-science dichotomy offered by Nancy Cartwright and briefly comment on a few aspects of Roy Bhaskar's transcendental realism. I shall, in conclusion, show how a model-theoretic approach such as mine can combine the best of these two approaches. (shrink)

The recent so-called crisis of replication continues to dominate psychology’s methodological landscape. It is argued here that the apparent renaissance of Popperian thinking that characterises some of the key responses to the crisis of replication is fundamentally flawed. In essence, there is a serious lack of any sustained and rigorous treatment of ontology that underpins much of the current debate about replication and Popper’s falsificationist approach. The overriding problem is that the replication debate reflects the methodologist tendency for mainstream psychologists (...) to avoid or gloss over crucial ontological questions. In contradistinction, this article (a) underscores the primacy of ontology; (b) delineates and applies a critical realist stratified ontology to psychology; (c) utilises the latter as a springboard from which to argue for Popper’s methodological “retirement”; and (d) revindicates the indispensability of context and the subtlety of psychological phenomena in arguing for the intrinsic limits of replication and experimentalism in general. (shrink)

It is not uncommon in educational research and social science in general either to eschew the word truth or to put it in scare quotes in order to signify scepticism about it. After the initial wave of relativism in the philosophy of natural science, a second wave has developed in social science with the rise of postmodernism and poststructuralism. The tendency here is to relativise truth or to bracket out questions of truth. In contradistinction, this paper revindicates the metaphysical nature (...) of truth. Truth is a transcendental precondition of educational inquiry and is best understood as a formal, regulative norm. Realism about truth enjoins a defence of the correspondence theory, which is provided here. At the same time, however, the development of realism in the social sciences has ironically followed the postmodernists in its scepticism about truth and its rejection of the correspondence theory. This paper critically appraises such recent developments, since all research is unintelligible without realism about the social world and whether our substantive knowledge-claims correspond with it. (shrink)

Psychopaths routinely disregard social norms by engaging in selfish, antisocial, often violent behavior. Commonly characterized as mentally disordered, recent evidence suggests that psychopaths are executing a well-functioning, if unscrupulous strategy that historically increased reproductive success at the expense of others. Natural selection ought to have favored strategies that spared close kin from harm, however, because actions affecting the fitness of genetic relatives contribute to an individual’s inclusive fitness. Conversely, there is evidence that mental disorders can disrupt psychological mechanisms designed to (...) protect relatives. Thus, mental disorder and adaptation accounts of psychopathy generate opposing hypotheses: psychopathy should be associated with an increase in the victimization of kin in the former account but not in the latter. Contrary to the mental disorder hypothesis, we show here in a sample of 289 violent offenders that variation in psychopathy predicts a decrease in the genetic relatedness of victims to offenders; that is, psychopathy predicts an increased likelihood of harming non-relatives. Because nepotistic inhibition in violence may be caused by dispersal or kin discrimination, we examined the effects of psychopathy on (1) the dispersal of offenders and their kin and (2) sexual assault frequency (as a window on kin discrimination). Although psychopathy was negatively associated with coresidence with kin and positively associated with the commission of sexual assault, it remained negatively associated with the genetic relatedness of victims to offenders after removing cases of offenders who had coresided with kin and cases of sexual assault from the analyses. These results stand in contrast to models positing psychopathy as a pathology, and provide support for the hypothesis that psychopathy reflects an evolutionary strategy largely favoring the exploitation of non-relatives. (shrink)

Where does the mind begin and end? Most philosophers and cognitive scientists take the view that the mind is bounded by the skull or skin of the individual. Robert Wilson, in this provocative and challenging 2004 book, provides the foundations for the view that the mind extends beyond the boundary of the individual. The approach adopted offers a unique blend of traditional philosophical analysis, cognitive science, and the history of psychology and the human sciences. The companion volume, Genes and the (...) Agents of Life, explores the theme in the biological sciences. Written with verve and clarity, this ambitious book will appeal to a broad swathe of professionals and students in philosophy, psychology, cognitive science, and the history of the behavioural and human sciences. You can download the table of contents here. (shrink)

Author refers to theories of mater and form, trying to find a way to establish the material grounds for musical sound. From Aristotle basic definition of physis author turns to Roger Scruton and his doubts whether what listeners hear as music, tone and even sound may be found among the physical things.

I argue that there can be no such thing as a borderline case of the predicate ‘phenomenally conscious’: for any given creature at any given time, it cannot be vague whether that creature is phenomenally conscious at that time. I first defend the Positive Characterization Thesis, which says that for any borderline case of any predicate there is a positive characterization of that case that can show any sufficiently competent speaker what makes it a borderline case. I then appeal to (...) the familiar claim that zombies are conceivable, and I argue that this claim entails that there can be no positive characterizations of borderline cases of ‘phenomenally conscious’. By the Positive Characterization Thesis, it follows that ‘phenomenally conscious’ can not have any borderline cases. (shrink)

Many epistemologists are enamored with a defeat condition on knowledge. In this paper we present some implementation problems for defeatism, understood along either internalist or externalist lines. We then propose that one who accepts a knowledge norm of belief, according to which one ought to believe only what one knows, can explain away much of the motivation for defeatism. This is an important result, because on the one hand it respects the plausibility of the intuitions about defeat shared by many (...) in epistemology; but on the other hand, it obviates the need to provide a unified account of defeat which plays well with the most plausible views of how knowledge fits with evidential probability. (shrink)

I argue that we can understand the de se by employing the subjective mode of presentation or, if one’s ontology permits it, by defending an abundant ontology of perspectival personal properties or facts. I do this in the context of a discussion of Cappelen and Dever’s recent criticisms of the de se. Then, I discuss the distinctive role of the first personal perspective in discussions about empathy, rational deference, and self-understanding, and develop a way to frame the problem of lacking (...) prospective access to your future self as a problem with your capacity to imaginatively empathize with your future selves. (shrink)

Who is recognised as a philosopher and what counts as philosophy influence both the content of a philosophical education and academic philosophy’s continuing demographic skew. The “philosophical who” and the “philosophical what” themselves are a partial function of matters that have been passed over in collective silence, even if that now feels to some like a silence belonging to the distant past. This paper discusses some philosophical silences regarding race, gender, and disability in the context of reflection on philosophical education (...) and on philosophical practice in the public sphere. It focuses on Charles Mills’ writings on race, Susan Babbitt’s on race and gender, and on more collaboratively-generated work on eugenics and disability. (shrink)

The Ontology for Biomedical Investigations (OBI) is an ontology that provides terms with precisely defined meanings to describe all aspects of how investigations in the biological and medical domains are conducted. OBI re-uses ontologies that provide a representation of biomedical knowledge from the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) project and adds the ability to describe how this knowledge was derived. We here describe the state of OBI and several applications that are using it, such as adding semantic expressivity to (...) existing databases, building data entry forms, and enabling interoperability between knowledge resources. OBI covers all phases of the investigation process, such as planning, execution and reporting. It represents information and material entities that participate in these processes, as well as roles and functions. Prior to OBI, it was not possible to use a single internally consistent resource that could be applied to multiple types of experiments for these applications. OBI has made this possible by creating terms for entities involved in biological and medical investigations and by importing parts of other biomedical ontologies such as GO, Chemical Entities of Biological Interest (ChEBI) and Phenotype Attribute and Trait Ontology (PATO) without altering their meaning. OBI is being used in a wide range of projects covering genomics, multi-omics, immunology, and catalogs of services. OBI has also spawned other ontologies (Information Artifact Ontology) and methods for importing parts of ontologies (Minimum information to reference an external ontology term (MIREOT)). The OBI project is an open cross-disciplinary collaborative effort, encompassing multiple research communities from around the globe. To date, OBI has created 2366 classes and 40 relations along with textual and formal definitions. The OBI Consortium maintains a web resource providing details on the people, policies, and issues being addressed in association with OBI. (shrink)

Frankfurt cases are supposed to provide us with counterexamples to the principle of alternative possibilities. Among the most well known responses to these cases is what John Fischer has dubbed the flicker of freedom strategy. Here we revisit a version of this strategy, which we refer to as the fine-grained response. Although a number of philosophers, including some who are otherwise unsympathetic to Frankfurt’s argument, have dismissed the fine grained response, we believe there is a good deal to be said (...) on its behalf. We argue, in particular, that reflection on certain cases involving omissions undermines the main objections to the response and also provides the groundwork for an argument in support of it. (shrink)

Fragmentalism was first introduced by Kit Fine in his ‘Tense and Reality’. According to fragmentalism, reality is an inherently perspectival place that exhibits a fragmented structure. The current paper defends the fragmentalist interpretation of the special theory of relativity, which Fine briefly considers in his paper. The fragmentalist interpretation makes room for genuine facts regarding absolute simultaneity, duration and length. One might worry that positing such variant properties is a turn for the worse in terms of theoretical virtues because such (...) properties are not involved in physical explanations and hence theoretically redundant. It will be argued that this is not right: if variant properties are indeed instantiated, they will also be involved in straightforward physical explanations and hence not explanatorily redundant. Hofweber and Lange, in their ‘Fine’s Fragmentalist Interpretation of Special Relativity’, object that the fragmentalist interpretation is in tension with the right explanation of the Lorentz transformations. It will be argued that their objection targets an inessential aspect of the fragmentalist framework and fails to raise any serious problem for the fragmentalist interpretation of special relativity. (shrink)

The self can be understood in objective metaphysical terms as a bundle of properties, as a substance, or as some other kind of entity on our metaphysical list of what there is. Such an approach explores the metaphysical nature of the self when regarded from a suitably impersonal, ontological perspective. It explores the nature and structure of the self in objective reality, that is, the nature and structure of the self from without. This is the objective self. I am taking (...) a different approach. In addition to objective reality, which is usually understood and explored from an impersonal, quasi-observational and metaphysically realist perspective, we can also explore the nature and structure of subjective reality. The nature and structure of subjective reality is defined by the nature and structure of first-personal, conscious experience. Subjective reality is as real as objective reality, and a metaphysical realist such as myself can endorse the existence of both kinds of ontology. The mental states that, as experienced from the first-personal or subjective perspective, capture the nature and structure of subjective reality, are included in objective reality. The questions to explore in a subjective ontology of the self concern the nature and structure of the self from the first-personal or subjective perspective, that is, the nature and structure of the self from within. This is the subjective self. (shrink)

In this article, I reconsider bio-essentialism in the study of kinship, centering on David Schneider’s influential critique that concluded that kinship was “a non-subject” (1972:51). Schneider’s critique is often taken to have shown the limitations of and problems with past views of kinship based on biology, genealogy, and reproduction, a critique that subsequently led those reworking kinship as relatedness in the new kinship studies to view their enterprise as divorced from such bio-essentialist studies. Beginning with an alternative narrative connecting kinship (...) past and present and concluding by introducing a novel way of thinking about kinship, I have three constituent aims in this research article: (1) to reconceptualize the relationship between kinship past and kinship present; (2) to reevaluate Schneider’s critique of bio-essentialism and what this implies for the contemporary study of kinship; and (3) subsequently to redirect theoretical discussion of what kinship is. This concluding discussion introduces a general view, the homeostatic property cluster (HPC) view of kinds, into anthropology, providing a theoretical framework that facilitates realization of the often-touted desideratum of the integration of biological and social features of kinship. [bio-essentialism, kinship studies, homeostatic property cluster kinds, Schneider, genealogy]. (shrink)

Recently, due to the rapid progress of computer technology, researchers develop an effective computer program to enhance the achievement of the student in learning process, which is Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS). Science is important because it influences most aspects of everyday life, including food, energy, medicine, leisure activities and more. So learning science subject at school is very useful, but the students face some problem in learning it. So we designed an ITS system to help them understand this subject easily (...) and smoothly by analyzing it and explaining it in a systematic way. In this paper, we describe the design of an Intelligent Tutoring System for teaching science for grade seven to help students know the 7 characteristics for living things smoothly. The system provides all topics of living things and generates some questions for each topic and the students should answer these questions correctly to move to the next level. In the result of an evaluation of the ITS, students like the system and they said that it is very useful for them and for their studies. (shrink)

In the context of the global intellectualization, human capital is the determining factor in the innovation development and the international competitiveness of countries. In the XXI century. the leading component of human capital are qualitatively new information, communication and network technologies. Particular importance are education and training, professionalism, high level of human resources management, building up, reproduction and human capital development. These factors are the prerequisite for the growth of the competitive advantages of the country in the conditions of globalization.

It has generally been assumed that rapid visual search is based on simple features and that spatial relations between features are irrelevant for this task. Seven experiments involving search for line drawings contradict this assumption; a major determinant of search is the presence of line junctions. Arrow- and Y-junctions were detected rapidly in isolation and when they were embedded in drawings of rectangular polyhedra. Search for T-junctions was considerably slower. Drawings containing T-junctions often gave rise to very slow search even (...) when distinguishing arrow- or Y-junctions were present. This sensitivity to line relations suggests that preattentive processes can extract 3-dimensional orientation from line drawings. A computational model is outlined for how this may be accomplished in early human vision. (shrink)

This paper examines a recent, influential argument for individualism in psychology defended by Jerry Fodor and others, what I call the argument from causal powers. I argue that this argument equivocates on the crucial notion of "causal powers", and that this equivocation constitutes a deep problem for arguments of this type. Relational and individualistic taxonomies are incompatible, and it does not seem in general to be possible to factor the former into the latter. The distinction between powers and properties plays (...) a central role in my argument. (shrink)

Today marks the 7th anniversary of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Social Research (ISR), at Phenikaa University. ISR has for seven years now the place where the co-founders of this portal have been working and producing publications. A special event occurs now as the Current Conservation magazine publishes a new writing piece by our member, Dr Minh-Hoang Nguyen.

a translation of A. Schoot "Kivy and Langer on Expressivity in Music".

The adoption of web-based telecare services has raised multifarious ethical concerns, but a traditional principle-based approach provides limited insight into how these concerns might be addressed and what, if anything, makes them problematic. We take an alternative approach, diagnosing some of the main concerns as arising from a core phenomenon of shifting trust relations that come about when the physician plays a less central role in the delivery of care, and new actors and entities are introduced. Correspondingly, we propose an (...) applied ethics of trust based on the idea that patients should be provided with good reasons to trust telecare services, which we call sound trust. On the basis of this approach, we propose several concrete strategies for safeguarding sound trust in telecare. (shrink)

This chapter uncovers a less investigated aspect of the relationship between the two most important scholastic schools of the Renaissance, Thomism and Scotism: the influence of Scotist literature on distinctions as seen in some sixteenth-century Thomists. The chapter has a primary focus on Chrysostomus Javelli’s engagement in his discussion of divine attributes with the Scotist doctrine of distinctions, but also considers other Thomist sources. First, the beginnings of the highly specialised Scotist literature on distinctions are traced back to the start (...) of the fourteenth century; I show how some early followers of Duns Scotus, in particular Francis of Meyronnes and Petrus Thomae, systematised Scotus’ ontology of the various grades of being by compiling lists of subtle distinctions to be applied to various levels of reality. I give some indications as to the later reception of these models of distinctions in the Scotist school. Special attention is paid to Étienne Brulefer, since his summary of Petrus Thomae’s model of seven distinctions was Javelli’s source for the Scotist doctrine. I then investigate how Javelli worked with Brulefer’s summary, and how he sought to integrate the Scotist doctrine into his own discussion of divine attributes. Thomists traditionally allowed only a rational or mental kind of distinction among divine attributes, and between them and the divine essence. Javelli, however, endeavours to show how the Thomist position may be reconciled with the Scotist doctrine of a formal or ex natura rei distinction. He did not always endorse this conciliatory approach; I hypothesise that he changed his mind on the subject over time. Finally, I show how other Renaissance Thomists reacted to the Scotist system of distinctions; in particular, I draw attention to the Thomists Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt, Bartolomeo Manzoli, and Mattia Gibboni da Aquario, who all wrote treatises on Thomist distinction theory modelled on the Scotist system of distinctions. In some of this literature, lists of distinctions based on Thomist metaphysics were compiled in order to replace the Scotist system. I argue that Javelli’s approach is more conciliatory and, in fact, has some overlap with the concordist thought of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, who himself considered Scotus and Aquinas to be in fundamental agreement as regards the distinction between divine attributes. (shrink)

Many countries are experiencing increasing levels of demand for access to assisted reproductive technologies. Policies regarding who can access ART and with what support from a collective purse are highly contested, raising questions about what state responses are justified. Whilst much of this debate has focused on the status of infertility as a disease, we argue that this is something of a distraction, since disease framing does not provide the far-reaching, robust justification for state support that proponents of ART seem (...) to suppose. Instead, we propose that debates about appropriate state responses should consider the various implications for health and broader well-being that may be associated with difficulties starting a family. We argue that the harms and disruption to valued life projects of subfertility-related suffering may provide a stronger basis for justifying state support in this context. Further, we suggest that, whilst ART may alleviate some of the harm resulting from subfertility, population-level considerations can indicate a broader range of interventions aimed at tackling different sources of subfertility-related harm, consistent with broader public health aims. (shrink)

About six weeks ago, our post referred to the long-winding path to a new theoretical innovation as the pursuit of “useless knowledge” in Flexner’s terms. That little creation is the freshly minted informational entropy-based definition of value, presented in a very short paper, initially regarded by its authors as a research note. (And it still is.) Well, only two and a half months since its birth, this new concept of value has had enough time to power up several of our (...) publications in different disciplinary fields. The first published paper using the new definition deals with climate change denialism. The second paper (forthcoming) discusses the problem of academic retractions amidst the growing influence of generative AI. And the third, just accepted, explains the underlying mechanism of submission mechanism employed by journal editors and peer-reviewers, and the information-value nexus associated with it. (shrink)

John Locke is known within anthropology primarily for his empiricism, his views of natural laws, and his discussion of the state of nature and the social contract. Marilyn Strathern and Marshall Sahlins, however, have offered distinctive, novel, and broad reflections on the nature of anthropological knowledge that appeal explicitly to a lesser-known aspect of Locke’s work: his metaphysical views of relations. This paper examines their distinctive conclusions – Sahlins’ about cultural relativism, Strathern’s about relatives and kinship – both of which (...) concern the objectivity of anthropological knowledge. Although Locke’s own views of relations have been neglected by historians of philosophy in the past, recent and ongoing philosophical discussions of Locke on relations create a productive trading zone between philosophy and anthropology on the objectivity of anthropological knowledge that goes beyond engagement with the particular claims made by Sahlins and Strathern. (shrink)

Throughout the biological and biomedical sciences there is a growing need for, prescriptive ‘minimum information’ (MI) checklists specifying the key information to include when reporting experimental results are beginning to find favor with experimentalists, analysts, publishers and funders alike. Such checklists aim to ensure that methods, data, analyses and results are described to a level sufficient to support the unambiguous interpretation, sophisticated search, reanalysis and experimental corroboration and reuse of data sets, facilitating the extraction of maximum value from data sets (...) them. However, such ‘minimum information’ MI checklists are usually developed independently by groups working within representatives of particular biologically- or technologically-delineated domains. Consequently, an overview of the full range of checklists can be difficult to establish without intensive searching, and even tracking thetheir individual evolution of single checklists may be a non-trivial exercise. Checklists are also inevitably partially redundant when measured one against another, and where they overlap is far from straightforward. Furthermore, conflicts in scope and arbitrary decisions on wording and sub-structuring make integration difficult. This presents inhibit their use in combination. Overall, these issues present significant difficulties for the users of checklists, especially those in areas such as systems biology, who routinely combine information from multiple biological domains and technology platforms. To address all of the above, we present MIBBI (Minimum Information for Biological and Biomedical Investigations); a web-based communal resource for such checklists, designed to act as a ‘one-stop shop’ for those exploring the range of extant checklist projects, and to foster collaborative, integrative development and ultimately promote gradual integration of checklists. (shrink)

Skepticism is one of the most enduring and profound of philosophical problems. With its roots in Plato and the Sceptics to Descartes, Hume, Kant and Wittgenstein, skepticism presents a challenge that every philosopher must reckon with. In this outstanding collection philosophers engage with skepticism in five clear sections: the philosophical history of skepticism in Greek, Cartesian and Kantian thought; the nature and limits of certainty; the possibility of knowledge and related problems such as perception and the debates between objective knowledge (...) and constructivism; the transcendental method as a response to skepticism and the challenge of naturalism; overcoming the skeptical challenge. (shrink)

On what conditions, if it all possible, can Christianity be life-affirming in line with the general schema outlined throughout Nietzsche's wide-ranging corpus? Through a post-modern interpretation of Christ as OverMan of course. Pack your crosses and your pentagrams and buckle up for this visual transmission of my most recent brainchild.

A post-Newtonian understanding of matter includes immaterial forces; thus, the concept of ‘physical’ has lost what usefulness it previously had and Cartesian dualism has, consequently, ceased to support a divide between the mental and the physical. A contemporary scientific understanding of mind that goes back at least as far as Priestley in the 18th century, not only includes immaterial components but identifies brain parts in which these components correlate with neural activity. What are we left with? The challenge is no (...) longer to figure out how a physical brain interacts with a nonphysical mind, but to try to unify theories of mind and theories of brain that to date do not share a single property. The challenge is enormous, but at least we can be quite clear about what its nature is, as there is no reason to be distracted by the idea of two distinct substances. In the present volume, many historical perspectives on the mind-body problem are discussed. In what follows, we follow major currents of thought regarding the mind-body problem so that it can be seen how we arrived at the modern conception that it makes sense only to talk about theory unification. (shrink)

Our approach is based on a tri-partite method of integrating psychodynamic hypotheses, cognitive subliminal processes, and psychophysiological alpha power measures. We present ten social phobic subjects with three individually selected groups of words representing unconscious conflict, conscious symptom experience, and Osgood Semantic negative valence words used as a control word group. The unconscious conflict and conscious symptom words, presented subliminally and supraliminally, act as primes preceding the conscious symptom and control words presented as supraliminal targets. With alpha power as a (...) marker of inhibitory brain activity, we show that unconscious conflict primes, only when presented subliminally, have a unique inhibitory effect on conscious symptom targets. This effect is absent when the unconscious conflict primes are presented supraliminally, or when the target is the control words. Unconscious conflict prime effects were found to correlate with a measure of repressiveness in a similar previous study (Shevrin et al., 1992, 1996). Conscious symptom primes have no inhibitory effect when presented subliminally. Inhibitory effects with conscious symptom primes are present, but only when the primes are supraliminal, and they did not correlate with repressiveness in a previous study (Shevrin et al., 1992, 1996). We conclude that while the inhibition following supraliminal conscious symptom primes is due to conscious threat bias, the inhibition following subliminal unconscious conflict primes provides a neurological blueprint for dynamic repression: it is only activated subliminally by an individual's unconscious conflict and has an inhibitory effect specific only to the conscious symptom. These novel findings constitute neuroscientific evidence for the psychoanalytic concepts of unconscious conflict and repression, while extending neuroscience theory and methods into the realm of personal, psychological meaning. (shrink)

After reconstructing three arguments for Nietzsche’s descriptive analysis of the self as complex, this article clarifies some of greatness’s psychological conditions. It then offers three arguments for why we should not focus on these internal conditions when seeking to verify or to achieve greatness. First, Nietzsche’s descriptive analysis of the self renders introspection too coarse-grained and error-prone to verify the subtle type of unity required for greatness. Second, Nietzsche associates introspective appraisal of one’s psyche with a moral project that weakens (...) and represses the drives, such that inquiry into whether greatness’s internal conditions are satisfied typically speaks against their realization. Finally, the actions characteristic of Nietzsche’s great individuals prohibit introspective preoccupation with oneself. These arguments suggest that we should attend to outwardly directed accomplishments, rather than psychology, when appraising the greatness of others and seeking to become great ourselves. (shrink)

Considerable variation exists not only in the kinds of transposable elements (TEs) occurring within the genomes of different species, but also in their abundance and distribution. Noting a similarity to the assortment of organisms among ecosystems, some researchers have called for an ecological approach to the study of transposon dynamics. However, there are several ways to adopt such an approach, and it is sometimes unclear what an ecological perspective will add to the existing co-evolutionary framework for explaining transposon-host interactions. This (...) review aims to clarify the conceptual foundations of transposon ecology in order to evaluate its explanatory prospects. We begin by identifying three unanswered questions regarding the abundance and distribution of TEs that potentially call for an ecological explanation. We then offer an operational distinction between evolutionary and ecological approaches to these questions. By determining the amount of variance in transposon abundance and distribution that is explained by ecological and evolutionary factors, respectively, it is possible empirically to assess the prospects for each of these explanatory frameworks. To illustrate how this methodology applies to a concrete example, we analyzed whole-genome data for one set of distantly related mammals and another more closely related group of arthropods. Our expectation was that ecological factors are most informative for explaining differences among individual TE lineages, rather than TE families, and for explaining their distribution among closely related as opposed to distantly related host genomes. We found that, in these data sets, ecological factors do in fact explain most of the variation in TE abundance and distribution among TE lineages across less distantly related host organisms. Evolutionary factors were not significant at these levels. However, the explanatory roles of evolution and ecology become inverted at the level of TE families or among more distantly related genomes. Not only does this example demonstrate the utility of our distinction between ecological and evolutionary perspectives, it further suggests an appropriate explanatory domain for the burgeoning discipline of transposon ecology. The fact that ecological processes appear to be impacting TE lineages over relatively short time scales further raises the possibility that transposons might serve as useful model systems for testing more general hypotheses in ecology. (shrink)