El artículo comienza exponiendo a grandes rasgos la interpretación freudiana del malestar que conlleva la civilización para, seguidamente, describir con mayor detalle la corrección de Herbert Marcuse a la misma, ayudándose del análisis histórico-social de los principios psicoanalíticos y de las implicaciones políticas de la metapsicología. Analiza principalmente Eros y civilización, pero también las obras posteriores de este filósofo, en las que matiza las conclusiones y alternativas que expuso en su libro de 1955. El artículo descubre posteriormente interesantes similitudes con (...) los análisis de Byung Chul Han de la “sociedad del rendimiento” de nuestro siglo XXI que, a pesar de haber cambiado de máscaras, conserva e intensifica gran parte de los “malestares” culturales denunciados por Marcuse, particularmente, la agonía de Eros y, con él, la de la filo-sofía, pero ¿a costa de qué? Concluye invitando al lector a pensar los peligros que surgen de esta situación. (shrink)

Com toda uma vida dedicada à reflexão, Fausto Castilho teve a sua trajetória marcada por duas grandes paixões: a Filosofia e o Brasil. Ambas o acompanharam desde a infância e a adolescência, tendo atravessado o seu caminho personagens emblemáticos, que o ajudaram a demarcar o traçado peculiar do seu destino. Formado na Sorbonne, numa época em que ela reunia, com seu corpo docente, um dos mais significativos e completos departamentos de filosofia do ocidente, Fausto Castilho trouxe consigo diversos métodos rigorosos (...) de trabalhar um texto filosófico, sem jamais deixar de ter um pensamento e uma posição refletida sobre os temas aos quais se dedicou. Essa mesma postura sempre marcou sua profunda reflexão sobre o Brasil, que sempre coadunou assuntos estratégicos, vocação tecnológica e formação política, ocupando-se não tanto com a identidade do país – tema que marcou sua geração –, mas muito mais com o seu desenvolvimento e sua inserção cosmopolita. (shrink)

Some students who possess the same cognitive skill set as their counterparts but who neither speak nor write English fluently have to contend with an unnecessary barrier to academic success. While an administrative top-down approach has been in progress for many years to address this issue, enhancement of student performance begins in the classroom. Thus, we argue that instructors ought to implement a more organic bottom-up approach. If it is possible for instructors to make class content available in other languages, (...) such as Spanish, without thereby compromising something of comparable pedagogical value, then they ought to do so. In fact, we provide here Anselm’s Ontological Argument rendered in Spanish to show how, when translated, it provides native Spanish speakers with greater accessibility to difficult material. Then, we consider the possible beneficial implications of doing so for university students. (shrink)

The purpose of this study is exposition on the themes of method and mysticism in the work of Simone Weil. Nearly a decade before the onset of her first mystical experience, Weil developed a method to be rigorously applied in daily philosophical reflection. She outlines this method in her dissertation on Descartes (1929-1930). I examine the question of how Weil applied method to philosophical reflection on her mystical experiences (onset 1938-1939). I analyze Weil’s mystical experiences as a type of transformative (...) experience in L. A. Paul’s strict sense of the term. On Paul’s view, an experience is transformative if it is both epistemically and personally transformative. An experience is epistemically transformative if the only way to know what it is like to have it is to have it yourself. An experience is personally transformative if it changes your point of view, including your core preferences (Paul, 2014). I present a thought experiment and textual evidence to motivate the claim that Weil’s mystical experiences meet Paul’s conditions for transformative experience. I then propose two epistemological facts that can be revealed by philosophical reflection on mystical experience. First, it is possible to read meaning erroneously in the appearances of things. Second, it is possible to come to hold to the certainty of a conviction for reasons that elude the intellect. My findings suggest that Weil’s late views on philosophy accommodate these two epistemological constraints, thereby demonstrating a possible connection between Weil’s mystical experiences and her mature views on the nature, scope, and proper method of philosophy. However, my preliminary findings also suggest that Weil’s early work on method may have anticipated these epistemological obstacles prior to the onset of her first mystical experience. Thus, further exposition of Weil’s method is needed to support or elucidate the claim (Rozelle-Stone and Davis, 2021) that Weil’s epistemology underwent significant changes because of her mystical experiences. (shrink)

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The MRCT Center Post-trial Responsibilities: Continued Access to an Investigational Medicine Framework outlines a case-based, principled, stakeholder approach to evaluate and guide ethical responsibilities to provide continued access to an investigational medicine at the conclusion of a patient’s participation in a clinical trial. The Post-trial Responsibilities (PTR) Framework includes this Guidance Document as well as the accompanying Toolkit. A 41-member international multi-stakeholder Workgroup convened by the Multi-Regional Clinical Trials Center of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University (...) (MRCT Center) developed this Guidance and Toolkit. Project Motivation A number of international organizations have discussed the responsibilities stakeholders have to provide continued access to investigational medicines. The World Medical Association, for example, addressed post-trial access to medicines in Paragraph 34 of the Declaration of Helsinki (WMA, 2013): “In advance of a clinical trial, sponsors, researchers and host country governments should make provisions for post-trial access for all participants who still need an intervention identified as beneficial in the trial. This information must also be disclosed to participants during the informed consent process.” This paragraph and other international guidance documents converge on several consensus points: • Post-trial access (hereafter referred to as “continued access” in this Framework [for terminology clarification – see definitions]) is the responsibility of sponsors, researchers, and host country governments; • The plan for continued access should be determined before the trial begins, and before any individual gives their informed consent; • The protocol should delineate continued access plans; and • The plan should be transparent to potential participants and explained during the informed consent process. -/- However, there is no guidance on how to fulfill these responsibilities (i.e., linking specific responsibilities with specific stakeholders, conditions, and duration). To fill this gap, the MRCT Center convened a working group in September of 2014 to develop a framework to guide stakeholders with identified responsibilities. This resultant Framework sets forth applicable principles, approaches, recommendations and ethical rationales for PTR regarding continued access to investigational medicines for research participants. (shrink)

Abstract: This paper analyzes some influential ideas in virtue ethics. Alasdair MacIntyre, in his work After Virtue, and Elizabeth Anscombe, in his controversial essay “Modern Moral Philosophy”, brought fresh ideas into moral philosophy of their time changing views on contemporary morality. They strongly influenced moral philosophers who then followed their ideas. The two philosophers criticized contemporary moral philosophies such as emotivism, utilitarianism, deontology. Elizabeth Anscombe criticized also the use of the concepts of duty and moral obligation in the absence of (...) God as the context God had no place. For solving the quests of modern morality, both MacIntyre and Anscombe proposed that the only solution was the returning to ancient Aristotelian virtues. (shrink)

The aim of this abstract is to present an overview of the thinking of the philosopher Hebert Marcuse in relation to Art, exposing his criticism of the orthodox conception of Marxist aesthetics, as well as to explain the author 's proposal on art as an essential component of the revolution in opposed to the affirmative culture of the "status quo" and the established ". For such an exposition to the methodology used, it started from a literary and philosophical consultation in (...) the work esthetic, as well as articles and magazines that endorsed the Marcuse thought on the relations between aesthetics, art, Literature and philosophy. (shrink)

Abstract: According to Marcuse, esthetics is an essential component to the process of freedom of consciousness and behavior of individuals. It is, in Hegelian language, to free the absolute spirit. In this sense, art configures itself as fantasy, which makes the “apparent” reveal the essence of things. Essence here is understood not as a metaphysical field, but as an unveiling of questions, within a false truth of the (establishment), in the totality of relationships. In dialectical terms, art manifests itself in (...) the face of internal and external contradictions, seeking the opposition to the representation of the aesthetic form. Marcuse refutes the conceptions of some “orthodox Marxist aesthetes”, making, therefore, the defense in relation to the art when recognizing that it transcends the material relations. He still considers the literary currents of romanticism and surrealism fundamental to awaken critical consciousness, and that the autonomy of art (independence, freedom, and fantasy), integrate the categorical imperative that “things must change” against the realism of the Marxist aesthetes. In this sense, we intend to expose Marcuse’s critical to the Marxist esthetes in order to understand the critical function of art for the liberation struggle. Keywords: Aesthetics. Orthodoxy. Critic. (shrink)

Aristotle defined the ethical and intellectual virtues which are recognized even nowadays as fundamental. Contemporary virtue ethics still takes into account Aristotelian virtues. The modern moral philosophers have tried to find new ethical values in a society in which religions are in decline and the old values lost their meaning. The starting point of their research has been Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics” which has remained the most important work in ethics influencing the philosophical thinking until nowadays. This paper seeks to explain (...) the actual importance of the cardinal Aristotelian virtues and how they are seen today. Keywords: virtue; reason; wisdom; moral virtues; intellectual virtues. (shrink)

En el presente artículo pretendo mostrar a través de un análisis de mi propiotrabajo práctico, que aproximaciones en el trabajo de la consultoría filosófica tan distintas como las de Ran Lahav, Oscar Brenifier y Ora Gruengard no son en realidad tan incompatibles como ellos mismos consideran que son. Para ello comentaré extractos de una sesión de consultoría filosófica mía filmada hace un tiempo atrás, indicando las coincidencias con estos filósofos, que motivaron o inspiraron algunos de los pasos que llevé a (...) cabo en esta sesión. Asimismo trataré de absolver algunas de las posibles objeciones alas comparaciones propuestas. Mi propósito entonces es mostrar en base aun ejemplo práctico, cómo las reflexiones y discusiones sobre los diferentes aspectos de la consultoría filosófica de filósofos prácticos de diferentes aproximaciones, pueden servir para enriquecer la práctica filosófica y abrir nuevas perspectivas para su desarrollo, en vez de usarse para excluirse mutuamente. In this paper I mean to show, through an analysis of my own practical work that approaches of philosophical counseling as different as those of Ran Lahav, Oscar Brenifier and Ora Gruengard are not really that incompatible as they themselves consider them to be. To show this I am going to comment a videotaped session of philosophical counseling that I made to a counselee some time ago and I will show the coincidences with these philosophers, who motivated or inspired some of the steps I took. I also will try to respond to some of the possible objections to the comparisons that I am proposing. My purpose is to show through a practical example, how the reflections and discussions of different aspects of philosophical counseling of philosophical counselors with different approaches can help to enrich philosophical practice and open up new perspectives for its development, instead of excluding each other. (shrink)

Metabolizable energy levels affect the productive performance and carcass quality of meat quails, as well as impacting diet costs. The aim was to determine the metabolizable energy (ME) requirement for European quails (Coturnix coturnix coturnix) from 1 to 14 days of age and from 15 to 35 days of age, aiming to evaluate performance and influence on carcass composition. Five treatments with 6 replicates, 12 animals per replicate, totaling 360 animals in the experiment, were used, with energy levels in the (...) diet of 2700, 2800, 2900, 3000, and 3100 kcal from 1 to 14 days of age, and levels of 2850, 2950, 3050, 3150, and 3300 kcal from 15 to 35 days of age. Total carcass weight, breast, wing, back, fat, liver, heart, and gizzard weights were determined, both absolute and relative to the carcass (%). It was concluded that the best metabolizable energy level in the diet from 1 to 14 days of age is 3000 kcal/kg of ME and that the best metabolizable energy level in the diet from 15 to 35 days is 3150 kcal/kg of ME on diet. Keywords: performance; carcass; levels. (shrink)

Electrical brain activity modulation in terms of changes in its intensity and spatial distribution is a function of age and task demand. However, the dynamics of brain modulation is unknown when it depends on external factors such as training. The aim of this research is to verify the effect of deductive reasoning training on the modulation in the brain activity of healthy younger and older adults ( (mean age of 21 ± 3.39) and (mean age of 68.92 ± 5.72)). The (...) analysis reveals the benefits of training, showing that it lowers cerebral activation while increasing the number of correct responses in the trained reasoning task (). The brain source generators were identified by time-averaging low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) current density images. In both groups, a bilateral overactivation associated with the task and not with age was identified. However, while the profile of bilateral activation in younger adults was symmetrical in anterior areas, in the older ones, the profile was located asymmetrically in anterior and posterior areas. Consequently, bilaterality may be a marker of how the brain adapts to maintain cognitive function in demanding tasks in both age groups. However, the differential bilateral locations across age groups indicate that the tendency to brain modulation is determined by age. (shrink)

We argue that philosophers are competent to facilitate public discussion concerning restrictions on human migration across political borders. We also argue that presenting public audiences with a prima facie case for open borders offers a unique opportunity to elucidate important aspects of philosophical reasoning. Finally, we share resources and a lesson plan for those keen to examine the case for open borders with students, or to facilitate public discussion on these issues.

El presente artículo analiza la asimilación en la obra de Tomás de Aquino de los principios fundamentales del necesitarismo físico aristotélico así como la introducción, desde el punto de vista de la cosmología cristiana, dos tipos de fenómenos ajenos a la filosofía de la naturaleza de Aristóteles: las operaciones ocultas de la naturaleza y los milagros. Se estudia la postura del Aquinate en torno al magnetismo, las mareas, las propiedades terapéuticas de los compuestos y el origen de los poderes de (...) las figuras nigrománticas y reliquias. -/- . (shrink)

Interview with Carmen De Schryver on her work on Paulin Hountondji.

Percentual de retorno do N° após 65 dias (NR) Também é conhecido como taxa de não retorno ao cio; é um bom indicador de eficiência em um programa de inseminação artificial ou de reprodução controlada. Está intimamente ligado à probabilidade de as vacas emprenharem após serem inseminadas ou montadas, assim, o que se registra neste índice é a quantidade de vacas que não retornam no cio, portanto, presume-se que estejam prenhes. Apenas as vacas servidas uma vez são consideradas na taxa (...) de não retorno. Este índice contribui para: ● O diagnóstico dos índices reprodutivos durante parte do período embrionário. ● Permite conhecer a aparente fertilidade do rebanho. ● É um índice fácil de obter. Mas não é muito eficaz, dado que a detecção de cio é fraca nas explorações pecuárias tropicais, afetando fortemente este valor. (shrink)

[ES] El presente artículo estudia el influjo de los tratados físicos de Aristóteles sobre la concepción tomista en torno al lugar del infinito en el cosmos creado. Se analiza la posición sostenida por el Aquinate respecto a cuatro aspectos fundamentales de la teoría aristotélica en torno al infinito: existencia de una sustancia infinita, existencia de un cuerpo infinito, existencia de un infinito en acto y la infinitud del tiempo. Asimismo se expone el empleo de la teoría aristotélica del movimiento y (...) los lugares naturales, por parte del Doctor angélico, para la refutación de toda posición que conciba el acto de creación como una mutación temporalmente sucesiva, así como su caracterización de la divinidad como sustancia perfecta cuya infinitud no puede ser comprendida bajo la noción de cantidad. [EN] This article studies the influence of Aristotle’s physical treatises on the Thomist conception on the place of infinity in the created cosmos. It analizes the position held by Aquinas on four fundamental aspects of the Aristotelian theory about infinity: existence of an infinite substance, existence of an infinite body, existence of an infinite in act and the infinity of time. Is also exposed the use of the Aristotelian theory of motion and natural places by the Angelic Doctor for the refutation of every position that presents the act of creation as a temporally successive mutation and his characterization of divinity as a perfect substance whose infinity can not be understood under the notion of quantity. (shrink)

Abstract Introduction Logically valid deductive arguments are clear examples of abstract recursive computational proce‐ dures on propositions or on probabilities. However, it is not known if the cortical time‐consuming inferential pro‐ cesses in which logical arguments are eventually realized in the brain are in fact physically different from other kinds of inferential processes. Methods In order to determine whether an electrical EEG discernible pattern of logical deduction exists or not, a new experimental paradigm is proposed contrasting logically valid and invalid (...) inferences with exactly the same content (same premises and same relational variables) and distinct logical complexity (propositional truth‐functional operators). Electroencephalographic signals from 19 subjects (24.2 ± 3.3 years) were acquired in a two‐condition para‐ digm (100 trials for each condition). After the initial general analysis, a trial‐by‐trial approach in beta‐2 band allowed to uncover not only evoked but also phase asynchronous activity between trials. Results showed that (i) deductive inferences with the same content evoked the same response pattern in logically valid and invalid conditions, (ii) mean response time in logically valid inferences is 61.54% higher, (iii) logically valid inferences are subjected to an early (400 ms) and a late reprocessing (600 ms) verified by two distinct beta‐2 activa‐ tions (p‐value < 0,01, Wilcoxon signed rank test). Conclusion We found evidence of a subtle but measurable electrical trait of logical validity. Results put forward the hypothesis that some logically valid deductions are recursive or computational cortical events. Keywords Beta‐2 band, Evoked potentials, Induced potentials, Deductive inference, Logical validity, Cortical bases of logical reasoning. (shrink)

Nosotres, biólogues, ecologistas y otres profesionales dedicados a proteger la vida, les escribimos con una solicitud urgente. Les pedimos muy comedidamente que su organización o institución emita un comunicado oficial condenando la crisis en curso y abordando los impactos ambientales y humanitarios en Palestina.

Marta Suria writes *Ella soy yo* as part of her response to the irruption of the memories of the sexual aggressions she had suffered since childhood. She is convinced that the way she narrates her experience will transform and liberate her. How is it at all possible that a certain kind of narrative may transform and li- berate us? In this paper, we will first describe the conception of the relationship between language and experience that lies behind this perplexity and, (...) secondly, we will sketch an alternative conception that will hopefully allow us to account for the transformative power of certain kinds of narratives. This alternative conception will hinge on the idea of expression and on the concept of aspect perception. For this purpose, we will firstly argue that language can be used not only to describe or evaluate our experience, but also to express it; we will, then, defend the view that linguistic or gestural expressions of our experiences not only announce or manifest them, but contribute to shaping and modulating them; finally, we will highlight the transformative, humanizing power of certain expressive uses of language. (shrink)

Hay doble pulsión en el centro de la discusión del razonamiento deductivo. Una conduce aparentemente a la abstracción y dominios arbitrarios, mientras que la otra conduce a la concreción y la dependencia del contenido. El objetivo de esta investigación es diseñar, aplicar y validar un instrumento de evaluación que nos permita corroborar si el razonamiento deductivo maneja reglas lógicas o contenidos. La muestra de estudio se compuso de 80 participantes (edad 18-77 años). El test consta de 60 ítems categorizados en: (...) formalidad, integrabilidad, complejidad y modalidad. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto la fiabilidad del test de razonamiento deductivo con un alpha de Cronbach. 775 y con un índice de validación. 850 para el índice de inteligencia no verbal (INV) del RIAS. Cómo conclusión inferimos que el razonador deductivo no dispone de un cuerpo preciso de reglas generales deductivas, sino que usa colecciones de reglas heurísticas cada vez menos abstractas. (shrink)

The objective of the research is to carry out a review of the literature about suicide risk factors in young university students. The methodology used is quantitative descriptive with a bibliometric approach, under the PRISMA method. The search was carried out in three databases: Clarivate Web of Science, MDPI and Taylor and Francis that had the variables of suicide risk factors. Inclusion criteria were used such as: study variables, years 2019 to 2022, published in Spanish and English,scientific reports research results, (...) research with clinical and non-clinical population. After the application of the Boolean operators, the total sample is (n=10360) and after screening with the PRISMA method (n=45). Results: The United States, followed by China and Bangladesh, are the countries that produce the most on the subject. The most frequent risk factors are: depression, anxiety, stress, academic commitments, lack of opportunities, low income and race. The students with the highest suicide rates are in the health area such as medicine and nursing, in addition, there is more suicide intent in women than in men. (shrink)

The mobility experience is an important life event for international students, and achieving successful psychological and sociocultural adaptation is crucial for this experience to be positive. Through a three-wave longitudinal study among international students enrolled at universities in Spain, Portugal, and Poland (n = 233), we examined the relationships between social media use, social identification, and (sociocultural and psychological) adaptation across time. Results of cross lagged panel modeling (CLPM) showed that social media contact with home nationals predicted greater identification with (...) this group. Social media contact with host country nationals predicted poorer adaptation. Social media contact with other international students did not show any effects, while identification with this group predicted better adaptation. Our results point to the dynamic nature of the adaptation process, showing that the role of social media use and identification targeted at different social groups may play different roles than was previously found in cross-sectional research. (shrink)

Complex human reasoning involves minimal abilities to extract conclusions implied in the available information. These abilities are considered “deductive” because they exemplify certain abstract relations among propositions or probabilities called deductive arguments. However, the electrophysiological dynamics which supports such complex cognitive pro- cesses has not been addressed yet. In this work we consider typically deductive logico- probabilistically valid inferences and aim to verify or refute their electrophysiological functional connectivity differences from invalid inferences with the same content (same relational variables, same (...) stimuli, same relevant and salient features). We recorded the brain electrophysiological activity of 20 participants (age 1⁄4 20.35 ± 3.23) by means of an MEG system during two consecutive reasoning tasks: a search task (invalid condition) without any specific deductive rules to follow, and a logically valid deductive task (valid condition) with explicit deductive rules as instructions. We calculated the functional connectivity (FC) for each condition and conducted a seed-based analysis in a set of cortical regions of interest. Finally, we used a cluster-based permutation test to compare the dif- ferences between logically valid and invalid conditions in terms of FC. As a first novel result we found higher FC for valid condition in beta band between regions of interest and left prefrontal, temporal, parietal, and cingulate structures. FC analysis allows a second novel result which is the definition of a propositional network with operculo-cingular, parietal and medial nodes, specifically including disputed medial deductive “core” areas. The experiment discloses measurable cortical processes which do not depend on content but on truth-functional propositional operators. These experimental novelties may contribute to understand the cortical bases of deductive processes. (shrink)

Este artículo presenta una aproximación lógico-filosófica al problema de las medidas sin interacción (ifm, por sus siglas en inglés) presentes en ciertos experimentos físicos mecánico-cuánticos. Se explicitarán tanto las posibles vías para abordar el estudio de las IFM desde una perspectiva formal, como algunos de los principales retos a la hora de llevar a cabo dicha aproximación.

A linha mestra que orientou as discussões que resultaram neste livro foi a mudança nos padrões da política e do estado, do meio ambiente e das novas tecnologias que implicam conflitos e novos desafios ao Direito, especialmente no direito público, foco principal da obra concebida. Novas perspectivas com grandes repercussões ambientais, sindicais, políticas, tributárias e, por que não, em toda a sociedade mundial. Além da coleção de trabalhos resultantes nesta obra foi lançado, também os anais dos artigos apresentados pelos inscritos (...) nos grupos de trabalhos coordenados pelos professores. (shrink)

Reseña de libroCarmen Silva. De la filosofía natural a la psicología de la moral en el Ensayo sobre el entendimiento humano de John Locke. Ciudad de México: Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México–Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, 2021, 231pp.

El libro que nos ocupa es un texto compuesto por doce capítulos, cada uno escrito por un investigador distinto; todos los capítulos consisten en análisis filosóficos en torno a un tema eje indicado por el título: la dignidad. En esta reseña, realizaré una revisión cronológico-diacrónica del tratamiento de la dignidad por los doce investigadores, para otorgar una idea clara a los posibles lectores de en qué épocas se concentró cada una de las reflexiones. Dignidad: Perspectivas y aportaciones de la filosofía (...) moral y la filosofía política es un texto coordinado y editado por los investigadores Carmen Trueba Atienza y Sergio Pérez Cortés, profesores de la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, poseedores de una amplia trayectoria en la investigación filosófica, en especial en el área de la filosofía griega antigua y en el área de la filosofía política y moral en general. Tal trayectoria les permitió reunir y escoger con esmero y pertinencia a escritos de especialistas provenientes de diversos países de América Latina: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, México y Perú. (shrink)

Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw ends her landmark essay “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color” with a normative claim about coalitions. She suggests that we should reconceptualize identity groups as “in fact coalitions,” or at least as “potential coalitions waiting to be formed.” In this essay, I explore this largely overlooked claim by combining philosophical analysis with archival research I conducted at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Historical Society Archive in San Francisco about Somos Hermanas, (...) the solidarity project of the Alliance Against Women’s Oppression, based in the San Francisco Women’s Building (1984–90). I extend my analysis into the present by drawing on the oral history and published works of Carmen Vázquez, a key organizer in both Somos Hermanas and the Women’s Building. I argue that conceptualizing identities as in fact coalitions—as complex, internally heterogeneous unities constituted by their internal differences and dissonances and by internal as well as external relations of power—enables us to organize effective political coalitions that cross existing identity categories and to pursue a liberatory politics of interconnection. (shrink)

The soaring promises made by personalized genetic medicine advocates are probably loftier than those in any other medical or scientific realm today. Are they justified?

Recently, Yudkowsky and Soares (2018) and Levinstein and Soares (2020) have developed a novel decision theory, Functional Decision Theory (FDT). They claim FDT outperforms both Evidential Decision Theory (EDT) and Causal Decision Theory (CDT). Yet FDT faces several challenges. First, it yields some very counterintuitive results (Schwarz 2018; MacAskill 2019). Second, it requires a theory of counterpossibles, for which even Yudkowsky and Soares (2018) and Levinstein and Soares (2020) admit we lack a “full” or “satisfactory” account. (...) Here, I focus on the latter problem of counterpossibles. My aim is to establish two claims. First, the problem of counterpossibles does not even arise without a fairly strong assumptionone that rarely applies to human agents, but may apply to artificial agents. And second, even given this assumption, the problem is solvable, though how best to solve it remains an open question. (shrink)

Social media use is soaring globally. Existing research of its ethical implications predominantly focuses on the relationships amongst human users online, and their effects. The nature of the software-to-human relationship and its impact on digital well-being, however, has not been sufficiently addressed yet. This paper aims to close the gap. I argue that some intelligent software agents, such as newsfeed curator algorithms in social media, manipulate human users because they do not intend their means of influence to reveal the user’s (...) reasons. I support this claim by defending a novel account of manipulation and by showing that some intelligent software agents are manipulative in this sense. Apart from revealing a priori reason for thinking that some intelligent software agents are manipulative, the paper offers a framework for further empirical investigation of manipulation online. (shrink)

During the last decades, many cognitive architectures (CAs) have been realized adopting different assumptions about the organization and the representation of their knowledge level. Some of them (e.g. SOAR [35]) adopt a classical symbolic approach, some (e.g. LEABRA[ 48]) are based on a purely connectionist model, while others (e.g. CLARION [59]) adopt a hybrid approach combining connectionist and symbolic representational levels. Additionally, some attempts (e.g. biSOAR) trying to extend the representational capacities of CAs by integrating diagrammatical representations and reasoning are (...) also available [34]. In this paper we propose a reflection on the role that Conceptual Spaces, a framework developed by Peter G¨ardenfors [24] more than fifteen years ago, can play in the current development of the Knowledge Level in Cognitive Systems and Architectures. In particular, we claim that Conceptual Spaces offer a lingua franca that allows to unify and generalize many aspects of the symbolic, sub-symbolic and diagrammatic approaches (by overcoming some of their typical problems) and to integrate them on a common ground. In doing so we extend and detail some of the arguments explored by G¨ardenfors [23] for defending the need of a conceptual, intermediate, representation level between the symbolic and the sub-symbolic one. In particular we focus on the advantages offered by Conceptual Spaces (w.r.t. symbolic and sub-symbolic approaches) in dealing with the problem of compositionality of representations based on typicality traits. Additionally, we argue that Conceptual Spaces could offer a unifying framework for interpreting many kinds of diagrammatic and analogical representations. As a consequence, their adoption could also favor the integration of diagrammatical representation and reasoning in CAs. (shrink)

In this paper we propose a computational framework aimed at extending the problem solving capabilities of cognitive artificial agents through the introduction of a novel, goal-directed, dynamic knowledge generation mechanism obtained via a non monotonic reasoning procedure. In particular, the proposed framework relies on the assumption that certain classes of problems cannot be solved by simply learning or injecting new external knowledge in the declarative memory of a cognitive artificial agent but, on the other hand, require a mechanism for the (...) automatic and creative re-framing, or re-formulation, of the available knowledge. We show how such mechanism can be obtained trough a framework of dynamic knowledge generation that is able to tackle the problem of commonsense concept combination. In addition, we show how such a framework can be employed in the field of cognitive architectures in order to overcome situations like the impasse in SOAR by extending the possible options of its subgoaling procedures. (shrink)

As we look beyond our terrestrial boundary to a multi-planetary future for humankind, it becomes paramount to anticipate the challenges of various human factors on the most likely scenario for this future: permanent human settlement of Mars. Even if technical hurdles are circumvented to provide adequate resources for basic physiological and psychological needs, Homo sapiens will not survive on an alien planet if a dysfunctional psyche prohibits the utilization of these resources. No matter how far we soar into the stars, (...) our psychologies for future generations will be forever tethered to the totality of our surroundings. By shaping our environment toward survival and welfare during the voyage to Mars and in a Martian colony, we indirectly shape our psyches and prepare them for a mission of unprecedented alienation and duration. Once on Mars, human factors such as leadership structure, social organization and code of conduct, group size, gender balance, developmental cycle, mobility, length of stay and the ecological settings and type and manner of subsistence, will create a novel Martian culture. The degree that settlers are severed from the Earth will affect how radically foreign this culture will be when compared with cultures on Earth. (shrink)

The Zhuangzi begins with Peng, a soaring bird transformed from a bounded fish, which is the first metaphor that points beyond limited standpoints to a higher point of view. The transformation is one-way and symbolizes that there is a higher viewpoint to attain which affords mental freedom and the clarity and scope of great vision. Under the alternate thesis of constant transformation, values and understandings must ceaselessly transform and collapse. All cyclical transformations must collapse into skeptical relativism and confusion. But (...) Peng does not turn back into a fish, and the awakened sage does not fall into a slumber of ignorance and confusion. It is only the thesis of a one-way transformation that leaves the sage in a state of knowledge. (shrink)

Commonsense reasoning is a crucial human ability employed in everyday tasks. In this talk I provide a knowledge level analysis of the main representational and reasoning problems affecting the cognitive architectures for what concerns this issue. In providing this analysis I will show, by considering some of the main cognitive architectures currently available (e.g. SOAR, ACT-R, CLARION), how one of the main problems of such architectures is represented by the fact that their knowledge representation and processing mechanisms are not sufficiently (...) constrained with insights coming from cognitive science (Lieto 2021; Lieto, Lebiere, Oltramari, 2018). As a possible way out to such knowledge processing issues, I present the main assumptions that have led to the development of the Dual PECCS categorization system (Lieto, Radicioni, Rho 2017) and discuss some of the lessons learned and their possible implications in the design of the knowledge modules and knowledge-processing mechanisms of integrated cognitive architectures. (shrink)

A 3rd person Knowledge Level analysis of cognitive architectures -/- Abstract I provide a knowledge level analysis of the main representational and reasoning problems affecting the cognitive architectures for what concerns this issue. In providing this analysis I will show, by considering some of the main cognitive architectures currently available (e.g. SOAR, ACT-R, CLARION), how one of the main problems of such architectures is represented by the fact that their knowledge representation and processing mechanisms are not sufficiently constrained with “structural (...) insights” (Lieto 2021) coming from cognitive science for dealing with commonsense knowledge and reasoning (Lebiere, Oltramari, 2018). As a possible way out to such knowledge processing issues, I present the main assumptions that have led to the development of the Dual PECCS categorization system (Lieto, Radicioni, Rho 2017) and discuss some of the lessons learned and their possible implications in the design of the knowledge modules and knowledge-processing mechanisms of integrated cognitive architectures. (shrink)

Merleau-Ponty’s appropriation of Gestalt theory in The Structure of Behavior is central to his entire corpus. Yet commentators exhibit little agreement about what lesson is to be learned from his critique, and provide little exegesis of how his argument proceeds. I fill this exegetical gap. I show that the Gestaltist’s fundamental error is to reify forms as transcendent realities, rather than treating them as phenomena of perceptual consciousness. From this, reductivist errors follow. The essay serves not only as a helpful (...) guide through parts of The Structure of Behavior for newcomers, but also offers a corrective to recent trends in philosophy of mind. Such influential commentators as Hubert Dreyfus, Taylor Carmen, and Evan Thompson have, I argue, risked serious misunderstanding of Merleau-Ponty’s view, by mistakenly treating “circular causality” as central to Merleau-Ponty’s own acausal view of forms. -/- [The version archived at Philpapers is closer to the author's preferred format. Formatting requirements in the published version make the section/subsection hierarchy needlessly difficult to follow. There are some changes to content in the published version. Please cite only the published version.]. (shrink)

Abstractabstract:Hegel's end-of-art thesis is arguably the most notorious assertion in aesthetics. I outline traditional interpretive strategies before offering an original alternative to these. I develop a conception of art that facilitates a reading of Hegel on which he is able to embrace three seemingly contradictory theses about art, namely, (i) the end-of-art thesis, (ii) the continued significance of art for its own sake (autonomy thesis), and (iii) the necessity of art for robust knowledge (epistemicnecessity thesis). I argue that Hegel is (...) able to embrace all three theses at once through a conception of the work of art as an internally purposive whole (what I call the "IP View" of art). On the IP View, because of the kind of wholes that artworks are, they (i.a) are valuable for their own sake as ends-in-themselves, (i.b) yield valuable experiences because they are valuable for their own sake, and thereby (i.c) are necessary for robust knowledge. Finally, I suggest that not only does Hegel appear to hold the IP View of art, but also that on such a view, there is a very sensible reason for affirming (one reading of) Hegel's end-of-art thesis as an important means to establishing art's actual significance for robust knowledge against soaring, but unsubstantiable, claims about art's potency with respect to robust knowledge. (shrink)