Short, critical review of John Foster's book *The Divine Lawmaker*.

Loneliness in medicine is a serious problem not just for patients, for whom illness is intrinsically isolating, but also for physicians in the contemporary condition of medicine. We explore this problem by investigating the ideal physician-patient relationship, whose analogy with friendship has held enduring normative appeal. Drawing from Talbot Brewer and Nir Ben-Moshe, we argue that this appeal lies in a dynamic form of companionship incompatible with static models of friendship-like physician-patient relationships: a mutual refinement of embodied virtue that draws (...) both persons together. The ideal physician-patient relationship has a dialectical character that fosters each member's improvement of phenomenologically recognizing and embodying moral virtues. A key component of this dynamic is a commitment to the common goal of the patient's health, realized through joint interactivities and conversations over time. The physician's presence to the patient's suffering—understood best as an alienating phenomenological condition for the patient—orients and discloses possibilities for virtuous caregiving by structuring the meanings of the goals, conversations, and joint narrative constitutive of their relationship. Presence to suffering, paradoxically, is perhaps an important prerequisite for this dynamic partnership. These activities dialectically build an interpretive horizon of understanding through which moral goods and character refinement—in and for the other—may become revealed for both persons in their shared being-in-the-world. This analysis of suffering, mood, and revealing of (possible) moral goods has implications for addressing the modern problem of loneliness for patients and physicians, who are increasingly inhibited from building flourishing relationships with each other. (shrink)

The increasing standardization, specialisation and monetarization of academic publishing is designed to foster quality in research and expression. But these tendencies also pose serious challenges to the expression of cultural difference, particularly with regard to philosophy and religious studies. Scholars from various cultural backgrounds outside of mainstream universities often find themselves marginalised when the quality of their work is judged through the metrics of mainstream academic publishing. Smaller journals which give a forum to local research are gradually disappearing or (...) becoming irrelevant. The corporate control of publishing limits the access and distribution of information making it difficult for smaller regional universities to access and conduct research. But these challenges to the expression of cultural difference also reflect the deeper tendencies of the information age. To approach this problem, we need to consider the conflict between culture and spirit on the one hand, with the flows of information and capital on the other. I will introduce this problem through an idea of hermeneutics presented by George McLean. I will then discuss the approaches to this problem by such writers as Michel Serres, Jean Francois Lyotard, Giorgio Agamben and Jacques Derrida. I will show that these latter writers devise strategies to reach something outside of the cybernetic flows of information in the media age, but that their solutions are incomplete because they rely on intellectual concepts of redemption and ignore the concrete practices of spiritual redemption. The issue that cross-cultural journals must consider is how to emphasize something beyond the merely intellectual; how to amplify practice within its expression. I will address this issue in the spirit of a poem by Emily Dickinson entitled “Publication – is the Auction” which supplies the title of this essay. (shrink)

This article argues that access to meaningful sexual experience should be included within the set of the goods that are subject to principles of distributive justice. It argues that some people are currently unjustly excluded from meaningful sexual experience and it is not implausible to suggest that they might thereby have certain claim rights to sexual inclusion. This does not entail that anyone has a right to sex with another person, but it does entail that duties may be imposed on (...) society to foster greater sexual inclusion. This is a controversial thesis and this article addresses this controversy by engaging with four major objections to it: the misogyny objection; the impossibility objection; the stigmatisation objection; and the unjust social engineering objection. (shrink)

Some of the most forceful objections to William Wollaston's moral theory come from his early critics, namely, Thomas Bott (1688-1754), Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746), and John Clarke of Hull (1687-1734). These objections are little known, while the inferior objections of Hume, Bentham, and later prominent critics are familiar. This fact is regrettable. For instance, it impedes a robust understanding of eighteenth-century British ethics; also, it fosters a questionable view as to why Wollaston's theory, although at first well received, soon faded (...) in esteem among philosophers. This paper gives Wollaston's early critics some of the attention they deserve. It reconstructs some of their objections to Wollaston's philosophy, addresses replies to those objections, and shows that despite some minor flaws, the objections succeed. A fact that becomes clear is that Wollaston's philosophy had suffered devastating criticism years before Hume wrote anything against it. (shrink)

This essay takes logic and ethics in broad senses: logic as the science of evidence; ethics as the science justice. One of its main conclusions is that neither science can be fruitfully pursued without the virtues fostered by the other: logic is pointless without fairness and compassion; ethics is pointless without rigor and objectivity. The logician urging us to be dispassionate is in resonance and harmony with the ethicist urging us to be compassionate.

Cosmic Justice Hypotheses. -/- This applied-logic lecture builds on [1] arguing that character traits fostered by logic serve clarity and understanding in ethics, confirming hopeful views of Alfred Tarski [2, Preface, and personal communication]. Hypotheses in one strict usage are propositions not known to be true and not known to be false or—more loosely—propositions so considered for discussion purposes [1, p. 38]. Logic studies hypotheses by determining their implications (propositions they imply) and their implicants (propositions that imply them). Logic also (...) studies hypotheses by seeing how variations affect implications and implicants. People versed in logical methods are more inclined to enjoy working with hypotheses and less inclined to dismiss them or to accept them without sufficient evidence. Cosmic Justice Hypotheses (CJHs), such as “in the fullness of time every act will be rewarded or punished in exact proportion to its goodness or badness”, have been entertained by intelligent thinkers. Absolute CJHs, ACHJs, imply that it is pointless to make sacrifices, make pilgrimages, or ask divine forgiveness: once acts are done, doers must ready themselves for the inevitable payback, since the cosmos works inexorably toward justice. Ceteris Paribus CJHs, CPCJHs, on the other hand, such as “in the fullness of time every act will be rewarded or punished in exact proportion to its goodness or badness—other things being equal”, leave room for exceptions. For example, some people subscribing to Ceteris Paribus CJHs think that certain bad acts can be performed with impunity as long as certain procedures are carried out previous to, or simultaneous with, or even after the acts. Belief Ceteris Paribus CJHs has been exploited by unscrupulous “spiritual leaders” who claim to have power to grant exceptions. In opposition to belief in CPCJHs are CJHs that hold belief in CPCJHs to be inherently wrong and subject to punishment. Other variants of CJHs are Cumulative Cosmic Justice Hypotheses, such as “in the fullness of time every person will be rewarded or punished in exact proportion to the net goodness or badness of their acts”. Still other variants include the Hereditary Cumulative Cosmic Justice Hypotheses, such as “in the fullness of time every person will be rewarded or punished in exact proportion to the net goodness or badness of their ancestors’ acts”. [1] JOHN CORCORAN, Inseparability of Logic and Ethics, Free Inquiry, S. 1989, pp. 37–40. [2] ALFRED TARSKI, Introduction to Logic, Dover, 1995. (shrink)

Although successive generations of digital technology have become increasingly powerful in the past 20 years, digital democracy has yet to realize its potential for deliberative transformation. The undemocratic exploitation of massive social media systems continued this trend, but it only worsened an existing problem of modern democracies, which were already struggling to develop deliberative infrastructure independent of digital technologies. There have been many creative conceptions of civic tech, but implementation has lagged behind innovation. This article argues for implementing one such (...) vision of digital democracy through the establishment of a public corporation. Modeled on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the United States, this entity would foster the creation of new digital technology by providing a stable source of funding to nonprofit technologists, interest groups, civic organizations, government, researchers, private companies, and the public. Funded entities would produce and maintain software infrastructure for public benefit. The concluding sections identify what circumstances might create and sustain such an entity. (shrink)

A Inseparabilidade entre Lógica e a Ética. Philósophos. 18 (2013) 245–259. Portuguese translation by Décio Krause and Pedro Merlussi: The Inseparability of Logic and Ethics, Free Inquiry, Spring 1989, 37–40. This essay takes logic and ethics in broad senses: logic as the science of evidence; ethics as the science of justice. One of its main conclusions is that neither science can be fruitfully pursued without the virtues fostered by the other: logic is pointless without fairness and compassion; ethics is pointless (...) without rigor and objectivity. The logician’s advice to be dispassionate is in resonance and harmony with the ethicist’s advice to be compassionate. (shrink)

In this article, the self-infliction argument will be introduced; I contend that because U.S. neoliberal essentialism pervades social conventions and is negatively related to the deterioration of private-sector union density, it is likely that neoliberal essentialism pervades the organizational standards set forth by U.S. private-sector unions, exacerbating density deterioration in the process. In particular, Antonio Gramsci’s concepts of hegemony and common sense inform the frame of reference from which neoliberal essentialism is expressed as a traditionally inherited and reflexively accepted social (...) perspective of the world, assuming the inevitability and equity of neoliberalism. To further substantiate the self-infliction argument, statistical analyses will be conducted to determine whether U.S. public support for labor unions and big business positively correspond to declining trends in union density during the neoliberal era. If sound, the self-infliction argument underscores the urgency of U.S. private-sector labor unions to transcend neoliberal thinking and foster a collective vision for a post neoliberal, labor-centric hegemony. (shrink)

In the closing chapter of his recent bestseller The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker attributes what he dislikes in modern literature to the influence of poor empiricist psychology. The modernist ‘denial of human nature’ resulted, Pinker informs us sadly, in the replacement of ‘omniscient narration, structured plots, the orderly introduction of characters, and general readability’ by ‘a stream of consciousness, events presented out of order, baffling characters and causal sequences, subjective and disjointed narration, and difficult prose’ (p.410). And, worse still, ‘in (...) postmodernist literature, authors comment on what they are writing while they are writing it’ (p.411). Pinker doesn’t mention the intense pleasure which rather large numbers of readers find in the novels of Thomas Pynchon or Paul Auster, for example: but I suspect this would be ascribed to a disavowed hunger for status fostered by pretentious and unintelligible critics (compare pp.412-6). (shrink)

It can seem puzzling that there is such a thing as the philosophy of sense-perception. Psychology and the neurosciences study the mechanisms by which our senses receive information about the environment. So conceived, perception is a psychological and physiological process, whose underlying nature will be discovered empirically. Since few philosophers these days would presume to interfere with the empirical products of these sciences, the question arises as to the nature of philosophy’s distinctive role in the study of perception. There is (...) not a philosophy of digestion as there is a philosophy of perception; so what is it, exactly, that the philosophy of perception is supposed to do? (shrink)

Interoperability across data sets is a key challenge for quantitative histopathological imaging. There is a need for an ontology that can support effective merging of pathological image data with associated clinical and demographic data. To foster organized, cross-disciplinary, information-driven collaborations in the pathological imaging field, we propose to develop an ontology to represent imaging data and methods used in pathological imaging and analysis, and call it Quantitative Histopathological Imaging Ontology – QHIO. We apply QHIO to breast cancer hot-spot detection (...) with the goal of enhancing reliability of detection by promoting the sharing of data between image analysts. (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)

This study delves into the feasibility of introducing a market in Barangay Tanagan, Calatagan, Batangas, with a primary focus on assessing its viability and potential impact on local economic development. Utilizing survey questionnaires and employing statistical analysis techniques, the research gathered data from a carefully selected sample of 366 residents out of the total population of 4,224. The study evaluates both the potential benefits and challenges associated with establishing the proposed market. Findings, subjected to thorough analysis through methods such as (...) frequency counts and weighted mean calculations, provide valuable insights into discernible patterns, emerging trends, and relevant correlations. This analytical approach contributes to a pragmatic perspective that informs and guides future studies in the field. The study reveals an interest among respondents in the establishment of public markets in their vicinity, recognizing its potential to bolster the barangay and attract diverse opportunities. The anticipated positive impact extends to fostering economic growth and enhancing local commerce in Barangay Tanagan. Consequently, based on these compelling findings, the researchers advocate for a proposal outlining the establishment of a public market in Barangay Tanagan as a means of addressing the identified needs and aspirations of the community. (shrink)

The objective of Working Group 4 of the COST Action NET4Age-Friendly is to examine existing policies, advocacy, and funding opportunities and to build up relations with policy makers and funding organisations. Also, to synthesize and improve existing knowledge and models to develop from effective business and evaluation models, as well as to guarantee quality and education, proper dissemination and ensure the future of the Action. The Working Group further aims to enable capacity building to improve interdisciplinary participation, to promote knowledge (...) exchange and to foster a cross-European interdisciplinary research capacity, to improve cooperation and co-creation with cross-sectors stakeholders and to introduce and educate students SHAFE implementation and sustainability. To enable the achievement of the objectives of Working Group 4, the Leader of the Working Group, the Chair and Vice-Chair, in close cooperation with the Science Communication Coordinator, developed a template to map the current state of SHAFE policies, funding opportunities and networking in the COST member countries of the Action. On invitation, the Working Group lead received contributions from 37 countries, in a total of 85 Action members. The contributions provide an overview of the diversity of SHAFE policies and opportunities in Europe and beyond. These were not edited or revised and are a result of the main areas of expertise and knowledge of the contributors; thus, gaps in areas or content are possible and these shall be further explored in the following works and reports of this WG. But this preliminary mapping is of huge importance to proceed with the WG activities. In the following chapters, an introduction on the need of SHAFE policies is presented, followed by a summary of the main approaches to be pursued for the next period of work. The deliverable finishes with the opportunities of capacity building, networking and funding that will be relevant to undertake within the frame of Working Group 4 and the total COST Action. The total of country contributions is presented in the annex of this deliverable. (shrink)

The world of entrepreneurship has historically been linked with taking risks and the potential for significant rewards. However, there persists a notable gender imbalance in the entrepreneurial landscape, wherein women entrepreneurs remain a minority. Women navigating the entrepreneurial path encounter distinct challenges, setting their experiences apart from their male counterparts. In Balayan, Batangas, despite strides towards gender equality, women entrepreneurs continue to face challenges in the entrepreneurial landscape. This qualitative study delves into the experiences of 10 successful female entrepreneurs who (...) met specific criteria. Accordingly, semi-structured interviews are conducted, exploring various aspects of participants' experiences and revealing their motivations, achievements, challenges, and strategies. Thematic analysis reveals the connection between familial, community-driven, and personal motivations that drive these entrepreneurs forward. Despite facing obstacles such as financial constraints and gender biases, they prioritize financial gains and personal growth. With resilience, innovation, and dedication, these women overcome challenges and achieve success, utilizing support networks and online marketing strategies to their advantage. Recommendations include empowering women in entrepreneurship, strengthening support networks, introducing tailored financial literacy programs, and advocating against gender biases. Implement skill development initiatives and provide specialized education in online marketing. Engage in policy advocacy, celebrate success stories, and continuously research challenges and successes. Foster collaborative partnerships between businesses, educational institutions, and communities, and advocate for increased funding opportunities for sustainable growth. This research emphasizes the strength and capabilities of women entrepreneurs in Balayan, Batangas, affirming that "pink doesn't mean weak.". (shrink)

Owing to the nearly tangible result in the quest toward inclusive development in Africa, there has been the clamour that perhaps the Social Sciences, charged with the responsibility of providing solace for the menace are no longer adequate. This is the axiomatic basis upon which this essay builds its argument as it aims to blaze a trail that is usually taken for granted in the discourse on development – pedagogy. Hence, via the methods of comparison and analysis, this essay discloses (...) the nexus between John Dewey’s reconstructionism and Julius Nyerere’s educational model of self-reliance as a basis to structure development from the arena of education. For Dewey, through education, society can develop and reform its purposes and can move in different directions. For Nyerere, education for self-reliance has to foster communal goals of living together and working together for the common good. Both Dewey and Nyerere stated that education should make the individual realize that he is a member of the society and learn to participate in social learning. A critical examination of the ideas of these minds reveals that in the face of the discrepancies or differences motivations between their educational philosophies, the aggregate factor is suggestive of a worthy platform upon which a self-reliant education that will usher in the era of social development may be erected. This study admits the undeniable Western presence and the indigenous approach which makes it to initiate a blend of them. The parenthood can serve as a platform that will nurture minds that will consequently inform national development, also ideology plays a very crucial role. The present educational system of contemporary Africa has waned consequent to the circumvention of proper assessment of knowledge. The educational framework is therefore the onus and recommendation of this intellectual inquiry. (shrink)

In this paper I reconstruct David Foster Wallace’s argument against fatalism in his undergraduate honors thesis, “Richard Taylor’s ‘Fatalism’ and the Semantics of Physical Modality”. My goal is to present the argument in a clear and concise way, so that it is easy to see its main line of reasoning and potential power. A secondary goal is to offer clarificatory and critical notes on some of the issues at stake. The reconstruction reveals interesting connections between Wallace’s argument and (...) class='Hi'>John MacFarlane’s recent work on relative truth. (shrink)

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, based on Science and Technology Studies (STS) and the prophet Trotsky’s forecast, critique of his visions of science, technology and environment have emerged. The article revisits four approaches: the green socioliberal of Sandy Irvine, the neo-luddite of Paul R. Josephson, the ecosocialist of Daniel Tanuro, John Foster and Enzo Traverso. Finally, the collapsologist by Miguel Fuentes Muñoz. At the end, a Marxist reply to their prophet's views is made with four hypotheses (...) and a conclusion about the contemporary STS heritage of Trotsky's historical materialism. Keywords Leon Trotsky – STS – environmental critique – historical materialism – prophet controversy – heritage. (shrink)

Berkeley doesn't use the Time-Gap Argument, as Leibniz does, to prove either that we immediately see only ideas or that we see physical objects mediately. It may be doubted whether he was even aware of the time-gap problem that gives rise to the argument. But certain passages in the Three Dialogues and elsewhere suggest that Berkeley would have had cogent answers to anyone who claimed that this argument, construed as being in aid of the conclusion that we only perceive ideas, (...) is unsound. Discussing points made by Bertil Belfrage, Len Carrier, John Foster, A. C. Grayling, Howard Robinson, A. D. Smith, Tom Stoneham, and Colin Turbayne, I try to show that the Time-Gap Argument can be expanded into a strong argument for Berkeleian Idealism. I also idnicate how the latter provides a solution to J. J. Valberg's "puzzle of experience" and disarms James Cornman's argument in Perception, Common Sense, and Science that Berkeley, too, faces a time-gap problem. (shrink)

This article presents a critique of the contemporary realist political theory developed as an anti–thesis to the Rawlsian normative political philosophy. John Rawls’s A Theory of Justice (1971) fosters a colossal influence on the current Anglo–American political thought which defends that political philosophy ought to be an applied moral philosophy. It offers a normative standpoint. Political realists, on the other hand, argue that political philosophy should be independent of moral philosophy. It offers a realist standpoint. The core contention between (...) these two standpoints is that whether political philosophy is (in)dependent to moral philosophy. The normative standpoint places ethics at the centre of politics while the realist standpoint places sociology and history at the centre of politics. In this paper, I examine the central contours of political realism to understand whether it can be consistent with political moralism. I conclude that reverence as a moral and political ideal could be a common foundation for political realism and moralism. (shrink)

Subtractive schooling is a type of pedagogy that subtracts from the student aspects of her identity in order to assimilate and reshape her identity to fit the American mainstream. Here, I question the value of assimilation as it takes place in our public school systems. Currently, immigrant children are often made to feel inadequate for being culturally different. This is detrimental to their development as students given that at their young age they do not yet have the emotional maturity to (...) know that their experience, language and culture are legitimate and valuable. My goal is to shift the focus of subtractive schooling to one that fosters the growth of students through recognition. I suggest that John Dewey’s and Paulo Freire’s pedagogy of recognition is a helpful approach to this problem. Both Dewey and Freire’s pedagogy emphasize recognition as central to their pedagogy. (shrink)

During the century following the Council of Trent, two trends within Catholic religious orders matured: the first consisted in unifying and strengthening the Order’s culture by focussing on one author of reference; the other in elaborating a new way of presenting that author’s doctrines. In the case of the Friars Minor Conventuals, these trends were fostered in the second decade of the seventeenth century by the minister general of the Order, Giacomo Montanari, who promoted the idea that providing the Order (...) with new works featuring innovative didactic characteristics and a renewed defence of the doctrines of John Duns Scotus was a prime way to lead an authentic religious life. Bartolomeo Mastri and Bonaventura Belluto’s “philosophiae cursus ad mentem Scoti” was probably the major result of this impulse. This essay examines the ways in which this process occurred and the outcomes to which it led. (shrink)

On the first page of 1984, Winston Smith is confronted with several posters featuring the face of Big Brother and the famous sentence, “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.” This may not seem like a promising way to seduce someone, but the seduction of Winston Smith by Big Brother in 1984 is a most unusual love story. I call it a seduction because Winston’s mind and heart are slowly won over in the aptly-named Ministry of Love. Moreover, in the final scene (...) of the novel, Winston gazes, with tears in his eyes, up at Big Brother on the telescreen. The last sentence of the book states, simply, “He loved Big Brother.” How does Big Brother seduce Winston Smith? He certainly does not employ stereotypical methods. Big Brother is not particularly sexy, and his incessant angry shouting does not seem calculated to foster adoration. On top of that, Winston never meets Big Brother in person. His only access is through media: posters, stories, and the telescreen. We all know that it’s hard to maintain a long-distance relationship. Long-distance seduction is even more challenging. So how does Big Brother manage it? To answer this question, I use the theory of seduction first articulated by the philosopher John Forrester (1990, p. 42), who argues that “the first step in a seductive maneuver could be summed up as, ‘I know what you’re thinking.’”. (shrink)

This chapter critically examines the dominant tradition in formal education as an indirect driver of biocultural homogenization while revealing that there is an alternative tradition that fosters biocultural conservation. The dominant tradition, originating in the Seventeenth Century scientific revolution effected by René Descartes, Thomas Hobbes, Isaac Newton, John Locke and allied thinkers, privileges science, seen as facilitating the technological domination of the world in the service of economic growth, as the only genuine knowledge. This is at the foundation of (...) a globalized, homogenizing culture that reduces everything and everyone to instruments of the globalized economy. The alternative, now recognized as the Radical Enlightenment, has its roots in the Renaissance. Represented by thinkers such as Giordano Bruno, Giambattista Vico, Gottfried Herder and Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling, it challenges such dogmatic scientism and upholds the value of diverse cultures, past and present. It offers an alternative tradition and model of education fostering imagination, understanding and appreciation of diversity in the quest for wisdom. It is a model of education which engenders respect for and appreciation of the value of different cultures, including indigenous wisdom with very different attitudes to nature, thereby developing the capacity to reflect on, question, criticize and overcome the homogenizing imperialism of mainstream modernist culture. (shrink)

The bi-polar confrontation between the Soviet Union and the USA involved many leading game theorists from both sides of the Iron Curtain: Oskar Morgenstern, John von Neumann, Michael Intriligator, John Nash, Thomas Schelling and Steven Brams from the United States and Nikolay Vorob’ev, Leon A. Petrosyan, Elena B. Yanovskaya and Olga N. Bondareva from the Soviet Union. The formalization of game theory took place prior to the Cold War but the geopolitical confrontation hastened and shaped its evolution. In (...) our article we outline four similarities and differences between Western GT and Soviet GT: 1) the Iron Curtain resulted in a lagged evolution of GT in the Soviet Union; 2) Soviet GT focused more on operations research and issues of centralized planning; 3) the contemporary Western view on Soviet GT was biased and Soviet contributions, including works on dynamic stability, non-emptiness of the core and many refinements, suggest that Soviet GT was able to catch up to the Western level relatively fast; 4) international conferences, including Vilnius, 1971, fostered interaction between Soviet game theorists and their Western colleagues. In general, we consider the Cold War to be a positive environment for GT in the West and in the Soviet Union. (shrink)

Modern money theory is a conjecture concerning fiscal spending and the nature of money. I show that modern money theory provides two interesting insights into distributive justice that have not been addressed in the recent Anglo-American distributive justice literature: (i) that the nature of a sovereign fiat currency allows for some distributive conflicts to be avoided; and (ii) that recent Anglo- American distributive justice theories assume that the economy is at capacity. Based on this, I consider if the policy results (...) of modern money theory can help foster a sense of justice. (shrink)

Contemporary politics is often said to lack utopias. For prevailing understandings of the practical force of political theory, this looks like cause for celebration. As blueprints to apply to political practice, utopias invariably seem too strong or too weak. Through an immanent critique of political realism, I argue that utopian thought, and political theory generally, is better conceived as supplying an orientation to politics. Realists including Bernard Williams and Raymond Geuss explain how utopian programs like universal human rights poorly orient (...) their adherents to politics, but the realists wrongly conclude that utopias and other ideal theories necessarily disorient us. As I show through an analysis of utopian claims made by Michel Foucault, Malcolm X, and John Rawls, utopias today can effectively disrupt entrenched forms of legitimation, foster new forms of political identity, and reveal new possibilities within existing institutions. Utopias are needed to understand the political choices we face today. (shrink)

Is the family subject to principles of justice? In "A Theory of Justice", John Rawls includes the (monogamous) family along with the market and the government as among the, "basic institutions of society", to which principles of justice apply. Justice, he famously insists, is primary in politics as truth is in science: the only excuse for tolerating injustice is that no lesser injustice is possible. The point of the present paper is that Rawls doesn't actually mean this. When it (...) comes to the family, and in particular its impact on fair equal opportunity, (the first part of the Difference Principle, Rawls' second principle of justice), he abandons the priority of justice. I also argue that he is right to do so. -/- The central argument is simple. As Rawls admits, what family one is raised by profoundly affects one's life chances: a child raised by a family has far greater life chances on every dimension than one raised in a poorer family that may lack books, education, and time to give the child attention. But the prevailing family arrangements in the industrialized West, assigning children to be raised by their biological parents, is guaranteed to perpetuate this injustice. While Rawls says an unjust institution in the basic structure of society, in which he includes the family, must be, "reformed or abolished," he refrains from calling for the reform or abolition of the family. We must simply work around it to compensate for the injustices he admits it involves. And this despite the fact that alternative arrangements involving communal child-rearing (Plato) or assigning children to those best qualified to raise them (Rousseau) are common in the philosophical literature. Moreover, the practice of having children raised by their biological parents is a relatively recent one, at least in the West, where, before the late 18th century, fostering-out or apprenticeship arrangements were normal and expected for both rich and poor for centuries. -/- Much of the paper is devoted to fine-grained textual analysis of Rawls' attempts to avoid the devastating implications of this argument for his theory of justice -- much of which are stated only in the original edition of "A Theory of Justice" and simply deleted, without substitution by anything better, in the second edition. In the end, Rawls has no way out. He cannot keep the priority of justice, fair equality of opportunity, and the monogamous family in which children are raised by their biological parents. As he admits, these are mutually inconsistent. -/- In the final part of the paper, I argue that Rawls should give up on the priority of justice. While child-rearing by the biological parents is a historical anomaly, in the real modern world it would be politically unfeasible to institute Platonic, Rousseauean, or similar legislation that purportedly assigned children to those best able to raise them, regardless of biological relationship. Since Rawls is committed to principles of political stability and feasibility, as he should be, and since ought implies can, such proposals are off the table. I concur with Rawls that we must work around this injustice, even those there are more just arrangements available in principle. But the cost of this -- less high than Rawls suggests -- is abandoning the principle of the priority of justice. Justice is one of a number of considerations that we must or may balance in deciding on the best attainable social relations. It is not a trump. However, this comes a great cost for Rawls: he must also abandon the lexical ordering of principles of justice or, in general, right or good principles of social order, in favor of the messy intuitionist balancing that his theory is designed to avoid. -/- One feature of the paper that is worth independent attention is a discussion of Marx's rejection of justice in the Critique of the Gotha Program, which I explicate, and urge, without adopting it, that it has a great deal more force than is widely understood. (shrink)

This paper introduces a new, expanded range of relevant cognitive psychological research on collaborative recall and social memory to the philosophical debate on extended and distributed cognition. We start by examining the case for extended cognition based on the complementarity of inner and outer resources, by which neural, bodily, social, and environmental resources with disparate but complementary properties are integrated into hybrid cognitive systems, transforming or augmenting the nature of remembering or decision-making. Adams and Aizawa, noting this distinctive complementarity argument, (...) say that they agree with it completely: but they describe it as “a non-revolutionary approach” which leaves “the cognitive psychology of memory as the study of processes that take place, essentially without exception, within nervous systems.” In response, we carve out, on distinct conceptual and empirical grounds, a rich middle ground between internalist forms of cognitivism and radical anti-cognitivism. Drawing both on extended cognition literature and on Sterelny’s account of the “scaffolded mind” (this issue), we develop a multidimensional framework for understanding varying relations between agents and external resources, both technological and social. On this basis we argue that, independent of any more “revolutionary” metaphysical claims about the partial constitution of cognitive processes by external resources, a thesis of scaffolded or distributed cognition can substantially influence or transform explanatory practice in cognitive science. Critics also cite various empirical results as evidence against the idea that remembering can extend beyond skull and skin. We respond with a more principled, representative survey of the scientific psychology of memory, focussing in particular on robust recent empirical traditions for the study of collaborative recall and transactive social memory. We describe our own empirical research on socially distributed remembering, aimed at identifying conditions for mnemonic emergence in collaborative groups. Philosophical debates about extended, embedded, and distributed cognition can thus make richer, mutually beneficial contact with independently motivated research programs in the cognitive psychology of memory. (shrink)

With An Answer to the Question: What Is Enlightenment? (1784) and What Does It Mean to Orient Oneself in Thinking? (1786), Kant presents the concept of public use of reason and defines its requirements, scope, and function. In outline, the public use of reason consists in sharing one’s thoughts with “the entire public of the world of readers” (8:37). As for its requirements, to the extent that someone communicates in their own person, i.e. not in the exercise of their function (...) as a public official, and bases their reasoning on universalizable grounds, their use of reason qualifies as public and shall be free from state censorship. Therefore, Kant’s concept of public use reason aims to establish a public debate that is free and includes in its scope, both as subjects and recipients, potentially all adult men. The ultimate function of the public use of reason is to foster moral progress and, with it, the reform of the political community according to the republican ideal. However, it is commonly held that Kant, with his 1798 essay The Conflict of the Faculties, deprives his notion of public use of reason of its progressive core and adjusts it to the absolutist conception of speech and civil service. Characterizations of state officials as “not free to make public use of their learning” (7:18) and “bound to uphold whatever […] the crown sanctions for them to expound publicly” (7:8), as well as the depiction of laypeople as “incompetent” (7:18) and “resigned to understanding nothing about [the sciences]” (7:34), have led influential interpreters to read Kant as redefining his notion of public use of reason by restricting its subjects to university professors and its recipients to government members (e.g. John Christian Laursen 1986, rpt. 1992 and 1996; Kevin Davis 1992; Steven Lestition 1993; Jay Franzel 2013). On my reading, with The Conflict of the Faculties, Kant does indeed redefine the concept of public use of reason making concessions to the absolutist notion of speech and civil service. However, a close reading of the text reveals that the public use of reason ends up being reaffirmed in its progressive core and extended in its scope. To substantiate my interpretation, I will systematically analyse and classify each of the 68 occurrences of the adjective ‘public’ in The Conflict of the Faculties and show how Kant employs the absolutist vocabulary to convey the progressive project of his previous writings. Accordingly, I argue that Kant holds on to the free public use of reason as a means to reform politics according to the republican ideal and that the employment of the absolutist vocabulary is motivated by a pragmatic attitude and a provocative stance. (shrink)

From a moral point of view we think of ourselves as capable of responsible actions. From a scientific point of view we think of ourselves as animals whose behaviour, however highly evolved, conforms to natural scientific laws. Natural Agency argues that these different perspectives can be reconciled, despite the scepticism of many philosophers who have argued that 'free will' is impossible under 'scientific determinism'. This scepticism is best overcome, according to the author, by defending a causal theory of action, that (...) is by establishing that actions are constituted by behavourial events with the appropriate kind of mental causal history. He sets out a rich and subtle argument for such a theory and defends it against its critics. Thus the book demonstrates the importance of philosophical work in action theory for the central metaphysical task of understanding our place in nature. (shrink)

Many scholars of organizations see social enterprise as a promising approach to advancing social justice but neglect to scrutinize the normative foundations and limitations of this optimism. This article draws on Rawlsian political philosophy to investigate whether and how social enterprises can support social justice. We propose that this perspective assigns organizations a duty to foster institutional capacity, a concept we define and elaborate. We investigate how this duty might apply specifically to social enterprises, given their characteristic features. We (...) theorize six different mechanisms through which social enterprises might successfully discharge this duty. These results affirm the value of conversation between organizational studies and political philosophy and shed new light on debates regarding social enterprise, institutional theory, and several other topics. (shrink)

Miranda Fricker's original presentation of Hermeneutical Injustice left open theoretical choice points leading to criticisms and subsequent clarifications with the resulting dialectic appearing largely verbal. The absence of perspicuous exposition of hallmarks of Hermeneutical Injustice might suggest scenarios exhibiting some – but not all – such hallmarks are within its purview when they are not. The lack of clear hallmarks of Hermeneutical Injustice, moreover, obscures both the extent to which Fricker's proposed remedy Hermeneutical Justice – roughly, virtuous communicative practices – (...) adequately addresses the injustice, and the accuracy of criticisms suggesting that Hermeneutical Justice is insufficient to the task. In what follows, after briefly defending necessary and sufficient conditions for what I take to be the best candidate interpretation of Hermeneutical Injustice, I build on recent work on moral responsibility to construct and defend a rigorous explication of Hermeneutical Justice. (shrink)

This chapter explores some features of pragmatic pluralism as an ethical perspective on climate change. It is inspired in part by Andrew Light’s work on climate diplomacy as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs, and by Bryan Norton’s environmental pragmatism, while drawing more explicitly than Light or Norton from classical pragmatist sources such as John Dewey. The primary aim of the chapter is to characterize, differentiate, and advance a general pragmatist approach to climate ethics. The main line (...) of argument is that we are suffering culturally from a sort of “moral jetlag” due in part to “moral fundamentalist” habits, and that a critical focus on pragmatic pluralism—in moral theory generally and climate ethics particularly—would be salutary for our recovery if philosophers are to speak more effectively to “wicked problems” in a way that aids public deliberation and social learning. Moral fundamentalist habits, and the monistic one-way assumption that unintentionally—but not blamelessly—exercises and unduly reinforces them, are obstacles to fostering habits of moral and political inquiry better suited to dealing with predicaments rapidly transforming our warming planet. (shrink)

Some have argued for a division of epistemic labor in which mathematicians supply truths and philosophers supply their necessity. We argue that this is wrong: mathematics is committed to its own necessity. Counterfactuals play a starring role.

[Edited from Conclusion section:] We have looked at various challenging issues to do with getting connectionism to cope with high-level cognitive activities such a reasoning and natural language understanding. The issues are to do with various facets of generalization that are not commonly noted. We have been concerned in particular with the special forms these issues take in the arena of propositional attitude processing. The main problems we have looked at are: (1) The need to construct explicit representations of generalizations, (...) not just generalize correctly to individual cases; (2) The need to be able to match two or more complex short-term information structures, to enable rapid generalization from recent examples rather than from long-term memories; (3) The need to represent and reason with anomalous combinations of concepts; (4) The need to perform embedded reasoning. This presents special problems for systems using non-concatenative representations (as in mainstream connectionist approaches). We also touched on vague quantification in attitude report complements. Neither this topic nor that of analogies between short-term structures (point 2) has been adequately addressed in the symbolic framework, let alone in connectionism. -/- The opportunities and problems covered are put forward as things worth being optimistic about or pessimistic about, respectively. They are not put forward as decisive arguments for or against connectionism. The hope is that this chapter contributes to a greater understanding of the connectionist/symbolist gap by presenting some unusual issues and by throwing new light on some well known ones. (shrink)

In order to determine whether current (or future) machines have a welfare that we as agents ought to take into account in our moral deliberations, we must determine which capacities give rise to interests and whether current machines have those capacities. After developing an account of moral patiency, I argue that current machines should be treated as mere machines. That is, current machines should be treated as if they lack those capacities that would give rise to psychological interests. Therefore, they (...) are moral patients only if they have non-psychological interests. I then provide an account of what I call teleo interests that constitute the most plausible type of non-psychological interest that a being might have. I then argue that even if current machines have teleo interests, they are such that agents need not concern themselves with these interests. Therefore, for all intents and purposes, current machines are not moral patients. (shrink)

The consequence argument purports to show that determinism is true only if no one has free will. Judgments about whether the argument is sound depend on how one understands locutions of the form 'p and no one can render p false'. The main interpretation on offer appeals to counterfactual sufficiency: s can render p false just in case there is something s can do such that, were s to do it, p would be false; otherwise, s cannot render p false. (...) Here I show that, in the context of the consequence argument, this interpretation conflicts with widely endorsed principles governing the logic of counterfactuals. (shrink)

Drawing on unpublished and published sources from 1926-1932, this chapter builds on John Dewey’s naturalistic pragmatic pluralism in ethical theory. A primary focus is “Three Independent Factors in Morals,” which analyzes good, duty, and virtue as distinct categories that in many cases express different experiential origins. The chapter suggests that a vital role for contemporary theorizing is to lay bare and analyze the sorts of conflicts that constantly underlie moral and political action. Instead of reinforcing moral fundamentalism via an (...) outdated quest for the central and basic source of normative justification, we should foster theories with a range of idioms and emphases which, while accommodating monistic insights, better inform decision-making by opening communication across diverse elements of moral and political life, placing these elements in a wider context in which norms gain practical traction in non-ideal conditions, and expanding prospects for social inquiry and convergence on policy and action. (shrink)

Almost everyone believes that testimony can transmit knowledge from speaker to hearer. What some philosophers mean by this is ordinary and pedestrian-- they mean only that, in at least some cases, a speaker S knows that p, S testifies that p to a hearer H, and H comes to know that p as a result of believing S's testimony. There is disagreement about how this occurs, but that it does occur is sufficient for the transmission of knowledge in the intended (...) sense. On this understanding of transmission, the natural questions are these: (1) What conditions, in addition to speaker knowledge and speaker testimony, are sufficient for the hearer to gain testimonial knowledge?; and (2) Is speaker knowledge always necessary for testimonial knowledge? That is: Is all testimonial knowledge transmitted knowledge? (shrink)

This paper addresses the foundations of Teleological Individualism, the view that organisms, even non-sentient organisms, are goal-oriented systems while biological collectives, such as ecosystems or conspecific groups, are mere assemblages of organisms. Typical defenses of Teleological Individualism ground the teleological organization of organisms in the workings of natural selection. This paper shows that grounding teleological organization in natural selection is antithetical to Teleological Individualism because such views assume a view about the units of selection on which it is only individual (...) organisms that are units of selection. However, none of the Conventionalist, Reductionist, or Multi-Level Realist theories serve to justify such an assumption. Thus, Teleological Individualism cannot be grounded in natural selection. (shrink)

OBJETIVO -/- O estudante de Zootecnia e de Veterinária, quando se depara com a produção animal, um dos pilares importantes é a reprodução, uma vez que é a perpetuação da espécie, seja para gerar filhas de uma vaca campeã em produção leiteira e de um touro com rusticidade e com aptidão produtiva de corte, ou mesmo para reposição de um plantel, o mesmo deve estar consciente de que esse ramo é de extrema responsabilidade, já que estará intimamente lidando com a (...) vida e com um investimento que pode gerar lucros em demasia para a propriedade ou, se mal feito o manejo da reprodução, trazer sérios transtornos para a mesma. -/- Nesse trabalho, o estudante revisará os sucessos da puberdade e estacionalidade reprodutiva relacionando-os com os processos endócrinos e os fatores que afetam sua manifestação como os nutricionais, para compreender a maneira ao qual podem ser manipuladas. -/- -/- • _____INTRODUÇÃO -/- A puberdade marca o início da vida reprodutiva do animal, permitindo integrar o indivíduo ao seu ciclo produtivo. A estacionalidade é uma característica de adaptação que algumas espécies desenvolveram para fazer garantir a eficiência da reprodução e a sobrevivência dos filhotes. -/- -/- • _____PUBERDADE -/- A puberdade é atingida quando o animal é capaz de produzir e liberar gametas viáveis e funcionais (férteis). Na fêmea esse fato ocorre na primeira ovulação, que geralmente coincide com a manifestação do comportamento do cio; e nos machos durante a primeira ejaculação com espermatozoides viáveis. -/- Do ponto de vista da produção animal, puberdade prematura ou precoce, é importante para poder permitir a incorporação dos animais ao ciclo produtivo o mais rapidamente possível. No caso de touros holandeses, por exemplo, é desejável que produzam sêmen precocemente para incorporá-los a prova de progênie; nas fêmeas, entretanto, deve-se considerar que nem sempre é conveniente usar o primeiro ciclo ou cio para reprodução. É o caso das marrãs (porcas primíparas), onde é benéfico esperar até o segundo ou terceiro estro para aumentar o tamanho da ninhada. Também pode ser vantajoso esperar que o indivíduo alcance sua maturidade sexual, que ocorre quando a fêmea consegue se reproduzir sem sofrer efeitos adversos. A ovelha nascida na primavera, por exemplo, pode engravidar no outono seguinte e dar à luz no primeiro ano de vida, mas seu crescimento pode ser afetado; o mesmo ocorre com a novilha, em que o acasalamento precoce pode promover distorcia por falta de desenvolvimento pélvico. -/- A puberdade é um processo gradual e está intimamente relacionada à taxa de crescimento e ao metabolismo energético. O recém-nascido usa energia para funções vitais, principalmente termorregulação; esse feito se deve ao fato de os jovens possuírem uma superfície corporal muito elevada em relação ao seu volume. Durante o desenvolvi-mento subsequente dos tecidos também há prioridade no uso de nutrientes, que inicialmente favorecem o desenvolvimento do tecido ósseo e muscular, e uma vez que estes atingem determinado tamanho de acordo com as condições genéticas do indivíduo, inicia-se o desenvolvimento do tecido adiposo, que é indicativa de um reservatório de energia. É importante ressaltar que existe uma interação entre a genética e o meio ambiente, de forma que o potencial genético só será expresso se o meio ambiente for favorável. -/- Para que a ovulação ocorra, é necessário considerar o funcionamento do eixo hipotálamo-hipófise-gonodal. O aumento da frequência pulsátil do GnRH hipotalâmico e em consequência do LH hipofisário provoca a maturação do folículo em nível gonodal, o que aumenta a produção de estrógenos. O aumento dos estrogênios causa, por feedback positivo no hipotálamo, a liberação do pico pré-ovulatório de LH e, consequentemente, a ovulação. Na fase pré-púbere, a frequência dos pulsos de GnRH e LH é muito baixa e insuficiente para provocar a maturação folicular, pois o hipotálamo é inibido e, portanto, não ocorre ovulação. -/- A geração pulsátil de GnRH no momento reprodutivo adequado para desencadear o início da puberdade depende de uma rede neural complexa que, além dos neurônios GnRH, inclui outros neurônios e células da glia; ele também integra vários sinais internos e externos para o corpo. A morfologia dos neurônios GnRH também é única, uma vez que seus dendritos também podem funcionar como axônios, dando-lhes uma função distinta. A geração de pulsos também indica a necessidade de sincronização entre subpopulações de neurônios GnRH, que, acima de tudo, parece ser extrínseca a esses neurônios e envolve múltiplos hormônios e neurotransmissores -/- Se dois níveis de conexões aferentes são considerados, estima-se que cada neurônio de GnRH pode ser conectado a cerca de cinco milhões de outros neurônios; milhares de genes, então, podem estar envolvidos no processo da puberdade. A importância funcional e hierárquica de cada um desses genes no controle dos neurônios GnRH, juntamente com outros fatores neuronais e gliais, pode diferir entre as espécies. Existem, no entanto, componentes fundamentais que parecem ser comuns a todos os mamíferos e que se situam nos níveis hierárquicos mais elevados, ajudando a compreender a progressão do processo puberal. Assim, todas as espécies de mamíferos estudadas, por exemplo, têm aglomerados de neurônios kisspeptinérgicos (que secretam kisspeptina), envolvidos na regulação da secreção tônica e secreção cíclica de GnRH, que também se classifica como o elemento mais alto na hierarquia desse complexo neuronal após considerar os neurônios GnRH. -/- Sabe-se que o eixo hipotálamo-hipofisário-gonodal está ativo desde as primeiras fases da vida do indivíduo, mesmo antes do nascimento em certas espécies. A secreção de GnRH, no entanto, é suprimida mais tarde no desenvolvimento e permanece dessa forma até o período pré-púbere, quando será reativada gradualmente. -/- Por várias décadas, a supressão e reinicialização dos pulsos de GnRH foi atribuída a uma hipótese conhecida como teoria gonadostat que afirma que o centro tônico do hipotálamo é inibido devido à sua sensibilidade ao mecanismo de feedback negativo dos esteroides gonodais, é aumentado; portanto, o GnRH e a consequente secreção de gonadotrofinas (FSH e LH) são insuficientes para a ocorrência da maturação folicular e espermatogênese. Essa sensibilidade diminui progressivamente à medida que a puberdade se aproxima. -/- Sabe-se agora que existem fatores não gonodais que agem em paralelo com os esteroides para mediar mudanças no feedback negativo que também são específicos da espécie. -/- Na fêmea, o centro gerador de pulso cíclico também deve ser considerado, o qual é responsável por iniciar a primeira ovulação. O centro cíclico é composto por uma segunda subpopulação de neurônios GnRH que é reativada por meio de uma complexa interação entre vários sistemas neuronais inibitórios (que devem reduzir progressiva-mente sua influência) e outros sistemas excitatórios, que, por sua vez, operam por meio de diferentes neurotransmissores, como o ácido γ-amino-butírico (GABA) e seus receptores, glutamato, óxido nítrico e neuropeptídio Y (NPY). Esses fatores, juntamente com as alterações morfológicas observadas nos neurônios do GnRH à medida que a puberdade se aproxima, e com as interações e sinais aferentes das células gliais, levam a um padrão de progressão linear que culminará na reativação do centro cíclico. Esse processo era conhecido anteriormente como teoria da maturação central e faz parte das mudanças que configuram o processo para chegar à puberdade. A elevação nas concen-trações de estradiol subsequente à reativação gradual do centro gerador de pulso tônico GnRH provavelmente permitirá a maturação final do centro cíclico. -/- A forma como cada organismo estabelece o momento certo para iniciar as mudanças que levam à puberdade é conhecido; a existência de algum mecanismo neurobiológico que constitui um relógio interno pode ser considerada. No entanto, esse mecanismo afetaria principalmente o desenvolvimento neuronal no nível central; também seria difícil compará-lo com a maneira pela qual fatores externos ao indivíduo afetam o início da puberdade. Nessa perspectiva, um sistema que permita receber informações completas sobre o crescimento e desenvolvimento do indivíduo poderia ser mais prático. Os mediadores desse sistema incluem o hormônio do crescimento, IGF-I, leptina e outros substratos metabólicos. A leptina em particular, que sinaliza as reservas de tecido adiposo, é um dos elementos mais importantes e, embora não determine quando começa a puberdade, se atua como fator permissivo para que o processo progrida, uma vez que excede um nível limite. A consideração do estágio de desenvolvimento do animal para o início da puberdade era anteriormente conhecida como o peso corporal crítico ou teoria do lipostato. É importante considerar que as três teorias mencionadas não são exclusivas. -/- O mecanismo da puberdade nos machos é semelhante ao já descrito; entretanto, deve-se lembrar que no macho o centro cíclico não está ativo. À medida que a puberdade se aproxima, o crescimento testicular é desencadeado e, em ruminantes e suínos, o pênis que estava preso à mucosa prepucial é gradualmente liberado. -/- -/- • _____FATORES QUE INFLUENCIAM A PUBERDADE -/- Os animais podem manifestar a puberdade de três formas diferentes. Pode ser tardia e o animal demorar para estar apto a reprodução; precoce e o animal entrar na vida reprodutiva antes do esperado ou pode ser normal e o animal estar com boa conformação e idade. Para tanto, alguns fatores podem interferir à manifestação da puberdade pelos animais como a genética, idade e peso, nutrição, fotoperíodo e o próprio manejo adotado. -/- -/- Genética -/- O genótipo afeta a idade da puberdade, pois algumas raças são anteriores a outras. Nos bovinos, as raças europeias atingem a puberdade antes dos zebuínos, isto é, uma novilha ou novilho da raça holandesa atinge a puberdade primeiro que os animais da mesma idade e do mesmo peso da raça nelore, por exemplo. -/- Da mesma forma, as porcas da raça chinesa Meishan atingem a puberdade por volta dos 115 dias de idade, metade da idade das raças brancas. As ovelhas de raças de corte, da mesma forma, são mais precoces que os produtores de lã. As raças pequenas, da mesma forma, são geralmente mais precoces, pelo menos em bovinos (jersey x guzerá) e em caninos. Os híbridos, por outro lado, apresentam puberdade mais precoce que os puros, devido ao efeito da heterose. Por este motivo, em certas espécies são utilizadas linhas híbridas. -/- -/- Idade e peso -/- A tabela 1 mostra a idade média de início da puberdade em espécies domésticas. O peso vivo (PV) adulto é mais relevante para a idade na puberdade nos ruminantes, enquanto em suínos é menos decisivo. A tabela também apresenta a porcentagem de peso corporal necessária para a puberdade ocorrer de forma natural. -/- -/- Tabela 1: Idade e peso a puberdade das espécies domésticas -/- Espécie -/- Fêmea (meses) -/- Macho (meses) -/- PV adulto (%) -/- Gado holandês -/- 11 (8-15) -/- 11 (7-18) -/- 30-40 -/- Gado brahman -/- 19 -/- 17 -/- 45-60 -/- Caprinos e ovinos -/- 7 (4-14) -/- 7 (6-9) -/- 40-60 -/- Suínos -/- 6 (5-7) -/- 7 (5-8) -/- 75 -/- Equinos -/- 18 (12-19) -/- 14 (10-24) -/- - -/- Caninos -/- 12 (6-24) -/- 9 (5-12) -/- - -/- Felinos -/- 8 (4-12) -/- 9 (8-10) -/- - -/- Fonte: VALENCIA, 2018. -/- Nutrição -/- Como a puberdade está relacionada à taxa de crescimento, os animais que recebem uma nutrição adequada e balanceada apresentarão puberdade em uma idade mais jovem, ou seja, mais precocemente; ao contrário, a puberdade será tardia nos animais que sofreram restrição alimentar, que estão desnutridos ou que tiveram seu crescimento afetado por doenças infecciosas ou parasitárias. A superalimentação também não é recomendada, pois pode alterar tanto os sinais que são recebidos pelo hipotálamo quanto sua resposta a eles. -/- Logo, o manejo alimentar adotado deve estar de acordo com as normas estabeleci-das pelos especialistas na área, principalmente no tocante as exigências nutricionais que devem servir de regra na propriedade. Sendo assim, os animais entrarão em puberdade com as taxas de alta qualidade o que afetará positivamente na prole futura e dará retorno lucrativo ao proprietário. -/- -/- Época do ano (Fotoperíodo) -/- Em fêmeas de espécies sazonais, como ovelhas e cabras, existem certos requisitos de fotoperíodo que devem ser atendidos para que a puberdade ocorra. Nessas espécies, um período de exposição a dias longos é necessário, seguido por outro de exposição a dias curtos. Na verdade, os cordeiros e cabritos nascidos fora da estação, mesmo que tenham atingido o peso necessário, terão que esperar até o outono seguinte (a estação reprodutiva) para atingir a puberdade. Os machos, por outro lado, não estão sujeitos a essas limitações nos requisitos fotoperiódicos para apresentar a puberdade. -/- Em novilhas nascidas no outono, por outro lado, a puberdade ocorre antes de um ano de idade, no verão seguinte ou no início do outono, mais cedo do que nas nascidas na primavera, devido à exposição a longos dias durante os primeiros seis meses do ano após seu nascimento aceleram seu crescimento. Em gatos, o aumento do fotoperíodo também acelera o início da puberdade. -/- Em ovelhas e novilhas, a primeira ovulação que ocorre ao entrar na puberdade é silenciosa; ou seja, não é acompanhada de sinais comportamentais de cio como a micção frequente, inchamento da vulva, uma montando a outra e deixando-se montar etc., pois para que esse comportamento se manifeste, o sistema nervoso necessita de uma pré-sensibilização com progesterona que não estará presente até o próximo ciclo, após o desenvolvimento do corpo lúteo vindo desta primeira ovulação. -/- -/- Sociossexual -/- A interação de indivíduos da mesma espécie ou a presença ou ausência de sinais de bioestimulação, como feromônios, pode afetar o período de puberdade. A puberdade, por exemplo, é atrasada em porcas criadas individualmente em comparação com porcas criadas em grupo. Além disso, na porca, ovelha e cabra, a exposição ao macho estimula as fêmeas e a puberdade aparece mais precocemente. -/- -/- Manejo -/- Certas práticas de manejo podem acelerar a puberdade, especialmente no período pré-púbere. Em porcas próximas à puberdade, por exemplo, o estresse causado por procedimentos, como o transporte de um local para outro ou a exposição ao macho, faz com que apareça o estro em torno de sete dias após a realização do manejo mencionado. -/- -/- • _____ESTACIONALIDADE REPRODUTIVA -/- A estacionalidade ou sazonalidade reprodutiva é uma estratégia evolutiva que se desenvolveu em algumas espécies; tende a tornar a reprodução mais eficiente. Nos países de latitudes distantes do equador, o objetivo é que as crias nasçam na primavera, época do ano mais favorável, graças à abundância de alimentos e às amenas condições climáticas. No caso da ovelha, cuja gestação dura cinco meses, para que os partos ocorram na primavera, ela deve engravidar no outono (figura 1), quando os dias são curtos; enquanto a égua, tendo uma gestação de aproximadamente 11 meses, deve conceber na primavera, quando os dias são longos; assim, o parto ocorrerá na primavera do ano seguinte (figura 2). -/- -/- Figura 1: Esquema ilustrativo da estacionalidade reprodutiva na espécie ovina. Fonte: PIRES et al., 2011. -/- -/- Esta característica evolutiva desenvolvida pela seleção natural na maioria das espécies silvestres e ainda é conservado por algumas espécies domésticas, como ovelhas, cabras, cavalos e gatos. Em bovinos e suínos, ao contrário, a domesticação levou à perda quase total da estacionalidade reprodutiva. -/- A estacionalidade reprodutiva é codificada nos genes; significa então que a seleção natural favoreceu a propagação de genes que permitiam acoplar a hora do nascimento com a melhor época do ano, por isso passou a ser considerada um método anticoncepcional natural. -/- -/- Figura 2: ciclo reprodutivo anual em espécies estacionais; onde são apresentados os períodos de gestação e a forma como se agrupam os nascimentos, independentemente da época reprodutiva da espécie, em vermelho as fêmeas estão apresentando estro ou cio. Fonte: VALENCIA, 2018. -/- -/- Fotoperíodo -/- Para sincronizar o período fértil com a época mais favorável do ano, a maioria das espécies sazonais usa o fotoperíodo (quantidade de luz diária ao longo do ano). -/- Este sinal ambiental é seguro, confiável e se repete a cada ano. Ovinos e caprinos se reproduzem na época do ano em que os dias são curtos e os equinos quando são longos. O grau de sazonalidade depende da origem da raça. As raças nativas de países localizados em latitudes elevadas (> 50°,ovelhas: soay, blackface, suffolk; cabras: saanen, alpino francês, toggenburg; equinos: puro-sangue, hanoveriano) terão uma estacionalidade mais acentuada do que as latitudes menores ou mediterrâneas (ovelhas: merino; cabras: murciana granadina; equinos: quarto de milha). Também existem raças de latitudes próximas ao Equador cuja estacionalidade é baixa ou nula (ovelhas: raças de pelo, crioulas; cabras: raças africanas e asiáticas) (tabela 2). -/- Para a maioria das raças de ovinos e caprinos, a estação reprodutiva começa no final do verão e início do outono; caracteriza-se pela apresentação de ciclos estrais sucessivos, e termina no final do inverno, quando se inicia o anestro, que se caracteriza pela ausência de ovulação. Nos equinos, ocorre o contrário, uma vez que a estação reprodutiva ocorre na primavera e no verão. -/- -/- Tabela 2: Relação entre a origem da raça e o grau de estacionalidade ou sazonalidade -/- Espécie -/- Alta -/- Média -/- Baixa -/- Ovinos -/- Suffolk, raças britânicas de lã e corte -/- Merino -/- Pelibuey, crioulas -/- Caprinos -/- Saanen, alpino, toggenburg -/- Murciana granadina -/- Crioula -/- Equinos -/- Puro-sangue, hanoveriano, quarto de milha -/- - -/- Crioula, burros -/- Fonte: VALENCIA, 2018. -/- -/- Mecanismo neuroendócrino da estacionalidade -/- Durante o período de anestro, o fotoperíodo exerce efeito inibitório sobre o centro tônico do GnRH no hipotálamo, diminuindo a frequência de pulso. Consequentemente, a pulsatilidade do LH também diminui, que agora é incapaz de induzir a maturação folicular, o aumento dos estrogênios, o pico pré-ovulatório de LH e, portanto, a ovulação. -/- Isso ocorre porque durante o anestro a sensibilidade do hipotálamo ao mecanismo de feedback negativo dos estrogênios e de outros fatores de origem não gonodal é aumentada. Ao aproximar-se da estação reprodutiva, a sensibilidade hipotalâmica diminui e o aumento da pulsatilidade do GnRH causa as mudanças que culminam na ovulação. Portanto, o mecanismo endócrino do anestro estacional é semelhante ao do anestro pré-púbere e de alguns outros tipos de anestro. -/- A estacionalidade é um bom exemplo da interação entre o meio ambiente e o sistema neuroendócrino, pois o organismo é capaz de traduzir um sinal externo ambiental, como o fotoperíodo, em um sinal hormonal interno, que neste caso é a melatonina. -/- A glândula pineal secreta melatonina durante as horas de escuridão. Os animais sazonais apresentam um ritmo reprodutivo endógeno, que é regulado por janelas de fotossensibilidade, determinadas por mudanças na duração do dia. O sinal luminoso é captado pela retina e conduzido, via nervo, pelo trato retino-hipotalâmico até o núcleo supraquiasmático, que funciona como o relógio biológico do corpo. Daí o sinal viaja para o núcleo para-ventricular, depois para o gânglio cervical e, finalmente, para a glândula pineal, que responde secretando melatonina (figura 3). -/- Nas ovelhas, a estação reprodutiva começa quando a duração do dia diminui e, naturalmente, a noite aumenta; na égua, ocorre quando os dias se alongam. -/- A primavera não é necessariamente a melhor época do ano em todas as regiões do globo. Nas latitudes tropicais, a primavera coincide com a seca e não com a abundância de forragem, aspecto a ser levado em consideração ao programar a reprodução. -/- Outro ponto importante a considerar é que as raças europeias sazonais mantêm sua estacionalidade no Brasil. -/- -/- Figura 3: Mecanismo do fotoperíodo em ovinos e a melatonina. Fonte: HAFEZ, 2004. -/- -/- Estacionalidade no macho -/- O macho é menos afetado que a fêmea pelas mudanças típicas de cada época do ano, já que sua função reprodutiva não é necessariamente interrompida durante o anestro ou repouso sexual, embora a produção de hormônios reprodutivos, tamanho e tônus testicular, a libido, as características qualitativas e quantitativas do ejaculado e a fertilidade do esperma podem ser diminuídas. O nível de afetação depende do grau de sazonalidade da raça e da latitude. Por fim, os efeitos do fotoperíodo devem ser separados dos nutricionais, que também variam com a época do ano. -/- -/- REFERÊNCIAS BIBLIOGRÁFICAS -/- -/- BEARDEN, Henry Joe et al. Reproducción animal aplicada. México: Manual Moderno, 1982. -/- BROOKS, P. H.; COLE, D. J. A. The effect of the presence of a boar on the attainment of puberty in gilts. Reproduction, v. 23, n. 3, p. 435-440, 1970. -/- CARDOSO, Daniel; DE PAULA NOGUEIRA, Guilherme. Mecanismos neuroendócrinos envolvidos na puberdade de novilhas. Arquivos de Ciências Veterinárias e Zoologia da Unipar, v. 10, n. 1, 2007. -/- CHEMINEAU, P. et al. Induction and persistence of pituitary and ovarian activity in the out-of-season lactating dairy goat after a treatment combining a skeleton photoperiod, melatonin and the male effect. Reproduction, v. 78, n. 2, p. 497-504, 1986. -/- CLARKE, Iain J. et al. Kisspeptin and seasonality in sheep. Peptides, v. 30, n. 1, p. 154-163, 2009. -/- CORTEEL, J. M. Production, storage and insemination of goat semen. In: Management and Reproduction in Sheep and Goats Symposium, Madison, Wis. (USA), 1977. University of Wisconsin, 1977. -/- CUNNINGHAM, James. Tratado de fisiologia veterinária. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2011. -/- CUPPS, Perry T. (Ed.). Reproduction in domestic animals. Elsevier, 1991. -/- DUKES, Henry Hugh; SWENSON, Melvin J.; REECE, William O. Dukes fisiologia dos animais domésticos. Editora Guanabara Koogan, 1996. -/- DÝRMUNDSSON, Ó. R.; LEES, J. L. Effect of rams on the onset of breeding activity in Clun Forest ewe lambs. The Journal of Agricultural Science, v. 79, n. 2, p. 269-271, 1972. -/- EBLING, F. J. P.; FOSTER, D. L. Photoperiod requirements for puberty differ from those for the onset of the adult breeding season in female sheep. Reproduction, v. 84, n. 1, p. 283-293, 1988. -/- FIELDS, Michael J.; SAND, Robert S.; YELICH, Joel V. (Ed.). Factors affecting calf crop: Biotechnology of reproduction. CRC Press, 2001. -/- HAFEZ, Elsayed Saad Eldin; HAFEZ, Bahaa. Reprodução animal. São Paulo: Manole, 2004. -/- HUGHES, P. E.; PHILIP, G.; SISWADI, R. The effects of contact frequency and transport on the efficacy of the boar effect. Animal Reproduction Science, v. 46, n. 1-2, p. 159-165, 1997. -/- KARSCH, FRED J. et al. Neuroendocrine basis of seasonal reproduction. In: Proceedings of the 1983 Laurentian Hormone Conference. Academic Press, 1984. p. 185-232. -/- LINCOLN, G. A.; SHORT, R. V. Seasonal breeding: nature's contraceptive. In: Proceedings of the 1979 Laurentian Hormone Conference. Academic Press, 1980. p. 1-52. -/- MELLO, Raquel Rodrigues Costa. Puberdade e maturidade sexual em touros bovinos. Agropecuária Científica no Semiárido, v. 10, n. 3, p. 11-28, 2015. -/- MEZA‐HERRERA, C. A. et al. Neuroendocrine, metabolic and genomic cues signalling the onset of puberty in females. Reproduction in Domestic Animals, v. 45, n. 6, p. e495-e502, 2010. -/- MONTEIRO, Claudia Dias; BICUDO, Sony Dimas; TOMA, Hugo Shisei. Puberdade em fêmeas ovinas. Pubvet, v. 4, p. Art. 850-857, 2010. -/- OLIVEIRA, Daniel de Jesus Cardoso de. Mecanismos neuroendócrinos envolvidos na puberdade de novilhas da raça Nelore. 2006. Tese de Doutorado em Medicina Veterinária. Universidade de São Paulo. -/- OLSTER, DEBORAH H.; FOSTER, DOUGLAS L. Control of gonadotropin secretion in the male during puberty: a decrease in response to steroid inhibitory feedback in the absence of an increase in steroid-independent drive in the sheep. Endocrinology, v. 118, n. 6, p. 2225-2234, 1986. -/- PIRES, Bruno Carlos et al. Métodos para elevar o ritmo reprodutivo dos ovinos. PUBVET, Londrina, V. 5, N. 11, Ed. 158, Art. 1071, 2011. -/- PLANT, Tony M.; ZELEZNIK, Anthony J. (Ed.). Knobil and Neill's physiology of reproduction. New York: Academic Press, 2014. -/- RAMIREZ, Domingo V.; MCCANN, S. M. Comparison of the regulation of luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in immature and adult rats. Endocrinology, v. 72, n. 3, p. 452-464, 1963. -/- ROSER, JANET F.; HUGHES, JOHN P. Seasonal effects on seminal quality, plasma hormone concentrations, and GnRH‐induced LH response in fertile and subfertile stallions. Journal of andrology, v. 13, n. 3, p. 214-223, 1992. -/- SALOMONI, Eduardo et al. Idade e peso à puberdade em fêmeas de corte puras e cruzas em campo natural. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, v. 23, n. 10, p. 1171-1179, 1988. -/- SMITH, Jeremy T.; CLARKE, Iain J. Seasonal breeding as a neuroendocrine model for puberty in sheep. Molecular and cellular endocrinology, v. 324, n. 1-2, p. 102-109, 2010. -/- VALENCIA, J. Pubertad y estacionalidad reproductiva. In. PORTA, L. R.; MEDRANO, J. H. H. Fisiología reproductiva de los animales domésticos. Cidade do México: FMVZ-UNAM, 2018. -/- WHITTEMORE, Colin et al. The science and practice of pig production. Blackwell Science Ltd, 1998. -/- -/- -/- FIXAÇÃO DO ASSUNTO -/- -/- 1. Defina o que é puberdade e como ela manifesta-se no corpo. -/- -/- -/- 2. Diferencie puberdade de maturidade sexual. -/- -/- -/- 3. Quais são os fenômenos que devem ser observados em fêmeas que estão entrando na puberdade? -/- -/- -/- 4. Qual o papel do GnRH e do IGF-I sobre a puberdade? -/- 5. Um produtor possui duas ovelhas e um carneiro reprodutor, as ovelhas possuem idade e peso, mas não manifestaram seu primeiro cio, quais elementos que você recomenda ao produtor para induzir a ciclicidade dessas fêmeas? -/- -/- -/- 6. De forma geral, quais os fatores que podem afetar a entrada na puberdade dos animais? -/- -/- -/- 7. Defina estacionalidade reprodutiva. -/- -/- -/- 8. O que é fotoperíodo e qual sua importância para a reprodução dos animais domésticos? -/- -/- -/- 9. Defina as relações existentes entre a origem da raça e o grau de estacionalidade e como tais teorias se aplicam ao rebanho brasileiro. -/- -/- -/- 10. Qual o papel da glândula pineal para a estacionalidade reprodutiva? -/- -/- -/- 11. Por que os machos são menos afetados pela sazonalidade reprodutiva do que as fêmeas? -/- -/- -/- 12. Sabendo-se sobre os termos de puberdade e estacionalidade e as características de ambos nas espécies domésticas, pede-se: um criador deseja obter 5 novas crias ovinas e 5 caprinas em seu plantel até o final do ano, para tanto ele ainda possui um ano e está na estação do verão, sabendo-se sobre a estacionalidade dessas espécies elabore um projeto reprodutivo de modo que essas 10 fêmeas possam gerar uma cria cada até a primavera. -/- -/- Dados: 10 fêmeas gerando 10 crias. 1 macho ovino e 1 caprino. Fêmeas com 1 ano de idade (2º cio) e peso corporal = 55% do peso adulto. Verão de 2020 para parir na primavera de 2020. (shrink)

Moderate scientism is the view that empirical science can help answer questions in nonscientific disciplines. In this paper, we evaluate moderate scientism in philosophy. We review several ways that science has contributed to research in epistemology, action theory, ethics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind. We also review several ways that science has contributed to our understanding of how philosophers make judgments and decisions. Based on this research, we conclude that the case for moderate philosophical scientism is strong: scientific (...) practice has promoted significant progress in philosophy and its further development should be welcomed and encouraged. (shrink)

Robust technological enhancement of core cognitive capacities is now a realistic possibility. From the perspective of neutralism, the view that justifications for public policy should be neutral between reasonable conceptions of the good, only members of a subset of the ethical concerns serve as legitimate justifications for public policy regarding robust technological enhancement. This paper provides a framework for the legitimate use of ethical concerns in justifying public policy decisions regarding these enhancement technologies by evaluating the ethical concerns that arise (...) in the context of testing such technologies on nonhuman animals. Traditional issues in bioethics, as well as novel concerns such as the possibility of moral status enhancement, are evaluated from the perspective of neutralism. (shrink)