Este ensayo practica una hermenéutica a Totalidad e infinitoa partir de cinco epígrafes, abocados todos a explorar los múltiples sentidos de la propuesta levinasianaen torno al fundamentotrascendental de lo ético.El primer apartado busca analizar la relación entre lo que Lévinas designa como lafaz del sery el concepto de totalidad; en el epígrafe siguiente se explicita la diferencia existente, en el interior de la comprensión temporal de lo total, entre lohistóricoy loescatológico; en eltercerepígrafe se analizan los móviles que llevan a Lévinas (...) a sustituir lo metafísico por lo ético, revelando a este segundo saber como filosofíaprimera; y, finalmente, el cuarto y el quinto epígrafe quedan dedicados a entender dos conceptos que, entrelazados, condensan la matriz conceptual desde donde Lévinas acentúa la originalidad de su propuesta: el rostro del Otroy la idea de infinito. (shrink)

From 1912, Alejandro Korn and José Ingenieros began to publish articles that then would be part of their historical works, respectively, Influencias filosóficas en la evolución nacional and La evolución de las ideas argentinas. Therefore, they started to generate some discussion in reference to sections that they knew of each other's work. Being the first major works from a developing philosophical field about the history of Argentine thought, their authors sought to create cultural traditions to affirm their own academic, cultural (...) and political positions. Thus, they based their positions about their academic situation through their interventions in the debate on the evaluation of the various features of the intellectual past of the country and national identity during the academic professionalization of historical studies, and actively participated in discussions on the function of culture and philosophy in a national project. Yet, besides, in order to address their history of ideas, the two most important teachers of the philosophical sphere around 1918 tested very different methodological approaches that worked under different conceptions of philosophical and historical practice and two different ways of thinking the reception and circulation of ideas from Europe. (shrink)

Molinists hold that there are contingently true counterfactuals about what agents would do if put in specific circumstances, that God knows these prior to creation, and that God uses this knowledge in choosing how to create. In this essay we critique Molinism, arguing that if these theses were true, agents would not be free. Consider Eve’s sinning upon being tempted by a serpent. We argue that if Molinism is true, then there is some set of facts that fully explains both (...) Eve’s action and everything else Eve does that influences that action; and that if this is the case, Eve does not act freely. The first premise of this argument follows from the explanatory relations the Molinist is committed to, and the second premise follows from libertarian intuitions about free will. (shrink)

Although expected utility theory has proven a fruitful and elegant theory in the finite realm, attempts to generalize it to infinite values have resulted in many paradoxes. In this paper, we argue that the use of John Conway's surreal numbers shall provide a firm mathematical foundation for transfinite decision theory. To that end, we prove a surreal representation theorem and show that our surreal decision theory respects dominance reasoning even in the case of infinite values. We then bring our theory (...) to bear on one of the more venerable decision problems in the literature: Pascal's Wager. Analyzing the wager showcases our theory's virtues and advantages. To that end, we analyze two objections against the wager: Mixed Strategies and Many Gods. After formulating the two objections in the framework of surreal utilities and probabilities, our theory correctly predicts that (1) the pure Pascalian strategy beats all mixed strategies, and (2) what one should do in a Pascalian decision problem depends on what one's credence function is like. Our analysis therefore suggests that although Pascal's Wager is mathematically coherent, it does not deliver what it purports to, a rationally compelling argument that people should lead a religious life regardless of how confident they are in theism and its alternatives. (shrink)

Abstract: The present text compare the concepts of Spirit and Dialectic in Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit and Kierkegaard's Sikness unto Death respectively. For this, the clarifications made by one author and the other of the concepts to be compared are taken, as a starting point, in order to detect whether or not these concepts have some kind of relationship that serves to bring german and danish closer together. -/- .

Inauguration speech at chair number 18 of the Brasilian Academy of Philosophy.

This article considers distinct ways of understanding the world, referred to in psychology as Functions of Consciousness or as Cognitive Modes, having as the scope of interest epistemology and natural sciences. Inspired by C.G. Jung's Simile of the Spectrum, we consider three basic cognitive modes associated to: (R) embodied instinct, experience, and action; (G) reality perception and learning; and (B) concept abstraction, rational thinking, and language. RGB stand for the primary colors: red, green, and blue. Accordingly, a conceptual map between (...) cognitive modes and primary and secondary colors is built based on the physics and physiology of color perception and epistemological characteristics of the aforementioned cognitive modes, leading to logical relations structured as an Hexagon of Opposition. Finally, this model of cognitive modes is applied to the analysis and interpretation of some important episodes in the historical development of physics and technology. (shrink)

The present text sets out to determine the relationships between the concepts of despair and selfhood in Søren Kierkegaard's Sikness unto Death. For this, a hermeneutic, as exhaustive as possible, is applied to the discernment of the concept itself, to later relate it to what the Danish calls despair. After clarifying the relationship between both concepts, examples of the desperate Kierkegaardian man abound in order to verify the irremediable discordance between the constituent elements of the self-given, his unresolved relationship with (...) God. (shrink)

Comments presented at the 35th International Seminar on the -- New Institutional Economics -- Empirical Methods for the Law; Syracuse, 2018.

This paper has three main objectives: (a) Discuss the formal analogy between some important symmetry-invariance arguments used in physics, probability and statistics. Specifically, we will focus on Noether’s theorem in physics, the maximum entropy principle in probability theory, and de Finetti-type theorems in Bayesian statistics; (b) Discuss the epistemological and ontological implications of these theorems, as they are interpreted in physics and statistics. Specifically, we will focus on the positivist (in physics) or subjective (in statistics) interpretations vs. objective interpretations that (...) are suggested by symmetry and invariance arguments; (c) Introduce the cognitive constructivism epistemological framework as a solution that overcomes the realism-subjectivism dilemma and its pitfalls. The work of the physicist and philosopher Max Born will be particularly important in our discussion. (shrink)

Although logical consistency is desirable in scientific research, standard statistical hypothesis tests are typically logically inconsistent. To address this issue, previous work introduced agnostic hypothesis tests and proved that they can be logically consistent while retaining statistical optimality properties. This article characterizes the credal modalities in agnostic hypothesis tests and uses the hexagon of oppositions to explain the logical relations between these modalities. Geometric solids that are composed of hexagons of oppositions illustrate the conditions for these modalities to be logically (...) consistent. Prisms composed of hexagons of oppositions show how the credal modalities obtained from two agnostic tests vary according to their threshold values. Nested hexagons of oppositions summarize logical relations between the credal modalities in these tests and prove new relations. (shrink)

The main goal of this article is to use the epistemological framework of a specific version of Cognitive Constructivism to address Piaget’s central problem of knowledge construction, namely, the re-equilibration of cognitive structures. The distinctive objective character of this constructivist framework is supported by formal inference methods of Bayesian statistics, and is based on Heinz von Foerster’s fundamental metaphor of objects as tokens for eigen-solutions. This epistemological perspective is illustrated using some episodes in the history of chemistry concerning the definition (...) or identification of chemical elements. Some of von Foerster’s epistemological imperatives provide general guidelines of development and argumentation. (shrink)

El presente artículo busca hacer una revisión del concepto de verdad como fundamento del conocimiento científico: desde el pragmatismo de William James y Jürgen Habermas hasta las nociones pragmáticas de Charles -/- Sanders Peirce, con la intención de mostrar los rasgos pertinentes -/- e insuficiencias de cada postura. De manera complementaria, se -/- buscará dar cuenta de los niveles: pragmático (semiótico-filosófico) -/- y pragmatista (psicológico), en los que funciona dicho concepto -/- dentro de la filosofía peirciana. Finalmente, tal esbozo teórico (...) nos permitirá establecer una -/- definición operativa de verdad como condición trascendental, y -/- que resulte menos problemática para representar el conocimiento -/- científico. (shrink)

We show how the Full Bayesian Significance Test (FBST) can be used as a model selection criterion. The FBST was presented by Pereira and Stern as a coherent Bayesian significance test. Key Words: Bayesian test; Evidence; Global optimization; Information; Model selection; Numerical integration; Posterior density; Precise hypothesis; Regularization. AMS: 62A15; 62F15; 62H15.

This article discusses some continuous limit cases of Susan Haack’s crossword puzzle metaphor for the coherent development and foundation of science. The main objective of this discussion is to build a bridge between Haack’s foundherentism and the epistemological framework of objective cognitive constructivism, including its key metaphor of objects as tokens for eigen-solutions. The historical development of chemical affinity tables is used to illustrate our arguments.

In this paper epistemological, ontological and sociological questions concerning the statistical significance of sharp hypotheses in scientific research are investigated within the framework provided by Cognitive Constructivism and the FBST (Full Bayesian Significance Test). The constructivist framework is contrasted with the traditional epistemological settings for orthodox Bayesian and frequentist statistics provided by Decision Theory and Falsificationism.

This article explores the metaphor of Science as provider of sharp images of our environment, using the epistemological framework of Objective Cognitive Constructivism. These sharp images are conveyed by precise scientific hypotheses that, in turn, are encoded by mathematical equations. Furthermore, this article describes how such knowledge is pro-duced by a cyclic and recursive development, perfection and reinforcement process, leading to the emergence of eigen-solutions characterized by the four essential properties of precision, stability, separability and composability. Finally, this article discusses (...) the role played by ontology and metaphysics in the scientific production process, and in which sense the resulting knowledge can be considered objective. (shrink)

Abstract: In the present work we have made a critical review of the philosophical propo­ sal of Norwood R. Hanson with the aim of exposing the limits of its theoretical approach on the problem of interpretation in science. The first part of this work exposes the hansonian project, looking for evidence of his contributions to the philosophy of science and scientific thinking. In the following two sections we present a critique to his philosophical proposal. We present two exercises of philosophical (...) reflection that constitute two complementary moments of analysis. On one hand, at the level of methodological analysis, we present a discussion about how the “reversible perspective figures” that have been used for the author as arguments to explain his philosophical proposal, are insufficient to the descrip­ tion of the process of observation and interpretation. On the other hand, at the theoretical level, we question his notion of language and categories to show that his theoretical pro­ posed “vision-interpretation” has based on epistemological and analytic notions. From this perspective, it will be shown that the “hermeneutical-interpretative” approach of Hanson is incomplete, since it does not develop towards an ontology of language and observation. (shrink)

In this article, we discuss some issues concerning magical thinking—forms of thought and association mechanisms characteristic of early stages of mental development. We also examine good reasons for having an ambivalent attitude concerning the later permanence in life of these archaic forms of association, and the coexistence of such intuitive but informal thinking with logical and rigorous reasoning. At the one hand, magical thinking seems to serve the creative mind, working as a natural vehicle for new ideas and innovative insights, (...) and giving form to heuristic arguments. At the other hand, it is inherently difficult to control, lacking effective mechanisms needed for rigorous manipulation. Our discussion is illustrated with many examples from the Hebrew Bible, and some final examples from modern science. (shrink)

This article explores some open questions related to the problem of verification of theories in the context of empirical sciences by contrasting three epistemological frameworks. Each of these epistemological frameworks is based on a corresponding central metaphor, namely: (a) Neo-empiricism and the gambling metaphor; (b) Popperian falsificationism and the scientific tribunal metaphor; (c) Cognitive constructivism and the object as eigen-solution metaphor. Each of one of these epistemological frameworks has also historically co-evolved with a certain statistical theory and method for testing (...) scientific hypotheses, respectively: (a) Decision theoretic Bayesian statistics and Bayes factors; (b) Frequentist statistics and p-values; (c) Constructive Bayesian statistics and e-values. This article examines with special care the Zero Probability Paradox (ZPP), related to the verification of sharp or precise hypotheses. Finally, this article makes some remarks on Lakatos’ view of mathematics as a quasi-empirical science. (shrink)

Simultaneous hypothesis tests can fail to provide results that meet logical requirements. For example, if A and B are two statements such that A implies B, there exist tests that, based on the same data, reject B but not A. Such outcomes are generally inconvenient to statisticians (who want to communicate the results to practitioners in a simple fashion) and non-statisticians (confused by conflicting pieces of information). Based on this inconvenience, one might want to use tests that satisfy logical requirements. (...) However, Izbicki and Esteves shows that the only tests that are in accordance with three logical requirements (monotonicity, invertibility and consonance) are trivial tests based on point estimation, which generally lack statistical optimality. As a possible solution to this dilemma, this paper adapts the above logical requirements to agnostic tests, in which one can accept, reject or remain agnostic with respect to a given hypothesis. Each of the logical requirements is characterized in terms of a Bayesian decision theoretic perspective. Contrary to the results obtained for regular hypothesis tests, there exist agnostic tests that satisfy all logical requirements and also perform well statistically. In particular, agnostic tests that fulfill all logical requirements are characterized as region estimator-based tests. Examples of such tests are provided. (shrink)

This paper investigates some classical oppositional categories, like synthetic vs. analytic, posterior vs. prior, imagination vs. grammar, metaphor vs. hermeneutics, metaphysics vs. observation, innovation vs. routine, and image vs. sound, and the role they play in epistemology and philosophy of science. The epistemological framework of objective cognitive constructivism is of special interest in these investigations. Oppositional relations are formally represented using algebraic lattice structures like the cube and the hexagon of opposition, with applications in the contexts of modern color theory, (...) Kantian philosophy, Jungian psychology, and linguistics. (shrink)

Abstract This essay seeks to realize the following question: what is the correspondence between the sign and the thing that names? In reality, what is significant is closely linked with the being, however in this case the sense will be a particular manifestation of an own subjectivity; therefore the determinant relation is limited to the capacity of representation, where the meaning is connected with the socio-cultural sense. In this regard, this work seek realize this problem from the analytical approach of (...) Ludwig Wittgenstein, who is based on the method of philosophical investigation through formal logic. In this first period of development, his speculative work, which in principle leads to the search for logical foundations for mathematics, practised it in direction to the study of the nature of the representation. Subsequently, and as necessary this test delimitation, will expose the confrontation —more not necessarily contradiction— of their approaches in the light of the own Wittgenstein who, in a second reflective period poured into his later work, is obliged to discuss the foundational in his speculative work logical-philosophical topics from a pragmatic point of view. (shrink)

The full Bayesian signi/cance test (FBST) for precise hypotheses is presented, with some illustrative applications. In the FBST we compute the evidence against the precise hypothesis. We discuss some of the theoretical properties of the FBST, and provide an invariant formulation for coordinate transformations, provided a reference density has been established. This evidence is the probability of the highest relative surprise set, “tangential” to the sub-manifold (of the parameter space) that defines the null hypothesis.

Abstract This paper seeks to give an account of the semiotic and interpretive processes involved in the ambiguity of media representations and, in particular, of new and of different forms of construccion-difusion of information. For this reason, it is deemed the massive dissemination of information and journalistic exercis as a semiotic process in the construction of a fictitious reality. In this regard, it i sought to account for the media representation, as the contrast of the uniform character of the mass (...) expression (context of production) and the diversity of interpretations (context of reception). This review examines both component which are the concrete support that allows the individual to mean social conten non-, mid-, and intentional, thereby fostering a strong sense of social belonging. (shrink)

Heinz Von Forester characterizes the objects “known” by an autopoietic system as eigen-solutions, that is, as discrete, separable, stable and composable states of the interaction of the system with its environment. Previous articles have presented the FBST, Full Bayesian Significance Test, as a mathematical formalism specifically designed to access the support for sharp statistical hypotheses, and have shown that these hypotheses correspond, from a constructivist perspective, to systemic eigen-solutions in the practice of science. In this article several issues related to (...) the role played by language in the emergence of eigen-solutions are analyzed. The last sections also explore possible connections with the semiotic theory of Charles Sanders Peirce. (shrink)

El propósito de este ensayo es mostrar un ámbito especulativo, necesario para el investigador social de la comunicación, para el entendimiento e investigación del fenómeno comunicativo en tanto hecho histórico-cultural. En razón de esto, se intenta describir una parte de Filosofía Alemana de la Historia, para exponer la utilidad de su lenguaje, categorías y relaciones, como instrumento teórico en la actividad analítica e interpretativa del comunicólogo, en aras de poder determinar, de manera general e integradora, el proceso histórico de la (...) comunicación, entendida esta última como manifestación semiótica de una cultura, pueblo, nación... (shrink)

In this article, we discuss some issues concerning magical thinking—forms of thought and association mechanisms characteristic of early stages of mental development. We also examine good reasons for having an ambivalent attitude concerning the later permanence in life of these archaic forms of association, and the coexistence of such intuitive but informal thinking with logical and rigorous reasoning. At the one hand, magical thinking seems to serve the creative mind, working as a natural vehicle for new ideas and innovative insights, (...) and giving form to heuristic arguments. At the other hand, it is inherently difficult to control, lacking effective mechanisms needed for rigorous manipulation. Our discussion is illustrated with many examples from the Hebrew Bible, and some final examples from modern science. (shrink)

Decoupling is a general principle that allows us to separate simple components in a complex system. In statistics, decoupling is often expressed as independence, no association, or zero covariance relations. These relations are sharp statistical hypotheses, that can be tested using the FBST - Full Bayesian Significance Test. Decoupling relations can also be introduced by some techniques of Design of Statistical Experiments, DSEs, like randomization. This article discusses the concepts of decoupling, randomization and sparsely connected statistical models in the epistemological (...) framework of cognitive constructivism. (shrink)

This article considers distinct ways of understanding the world, referred to in psychology as functions of consciousness or as cognitive modes, having as the scope of interest epistemology and natural sciences. Inspired by C.G. Jung’s simile of the spectrum, we consider three basic cognitive modes associated to: (R) embodied instinct, experience, and action; (G) reality perception and learning; and (B) concept abstraction, rational thinking, and language. RGB stand for the primary colors: red, green, and blue. Accordingly, a conceptual map between (...) cognitive modes and primary and secondary colors is built based on the physics and physiology of color perception and epistemological characteristics of the aforementioned cognitive modes, leading to logical relations structured as an hexagon of opposition. Finally, this model of cognitive modes is applied to the analysis and interpretation of some important episodes in the historical development of physics and technology. (shrink)

Una primera recomendación para arrancar la lectura de cualquier obra de Byung-Chul Han es saber que no hay ahí, metodológicamente hablando, principio o final alguno. No existe eso de “léete tal libro suyo que de ahí en adelante entenderás todo con mucha más claridad”, o aquel otro consejo de “a partir de tal idea puedes conectar las partes con el todo”. No. En la acaparadora obra de Han no hay nada de eso. Por el contrario, toda su producción intelectual parece (...) estar guiada más por un ánimo apocalíptico de anunciaciones fatalistas que por un sistema lógico de relaciones de ideas. La palabra, como medio para comunicar y enunciar ideas con cierta claridad, es (re)emplazada en su obra por un discurso emotivo donde prima la cicatriz sobre la herida, el moretón sobre el golpe, el efecto sobre la causa. (shrink)

This paper seeks to establish the reflexive fundamentals about the importance of language in initiave-functional college education, with the general objective of finding and developing categories that allow synthesizing schemes of different approaches to language, in order to contribute to the teaching practice with discourse analysis -/- techniques, which favor processes that promote the pupils’operative intellectual habits. To present this, we will show some propositions that underlie didactic strategies we have used, to motivate, stimulate, and provoke participation from the students (...) in the teaching-learning process of the topics raised in the different subjects that integrate the Sciences of Communication course at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). -/- Therefore, the aim of this exposition of causes is to define: 1) our experiential context so to make explicit the limitations and challenges we experiment with and face in this academic exercise to provoke the pupils’ amazement or at least keep their interest; and 2) the theoretical assumptions that underlie our investigation about the relationship between observed language (system) and lived language (act). (shrink)

El presente trabajo se circunscribe al problema de la representación y la referencialidad de la imagen, mismo que, desde la filosofía de la ciencia ha cobrado nuevos matices en el contexto de la relación entre ciencia y arte. Así pues, en esta revisión se buscará establecer tres líneas de desarrollo: en primera instancia, se planteará el problema de la representación del objeto como un campo de interés común en los ámbitos de conocimiento, tanto en la ciencia como en el arte. (...) Luego, en un segundo momento, se abordará el problema filosófico implicado en la referencialidad de la imagen, a partir de las propuestas de Max Black y Rudolph Arnheim. Finalmente, para dar respuesta a la pregunta ¿bajo qué condiciones la imagen como representación establece un objeto de referencia?, se argumentará la función epistemológica de la imagen desde el punto de vista pragmático de la semiótica trascendental. En este sentido, en este trabajo se busca establecer un punto crítico a las posturas filosóficas, tanto de Black como de Arnheim, considerando que la pregunta acerca del objeto de referencia y la imagen están en relación con las condiciones de verdad que fundamentan un sistema de lenguaje. Por ello, a partir de la semiótica pragmática y la semiótica trascendental se postularán criterios diferentes al problema de la referencialidad de la imagen, y en esta dirección, se plantearán las condiciones pragmáticas de verdad que permiten justificar el conocimiento en la imagen derivado de las prácticas epistemológicas tanto en la ciencia como en el arte. (shrink)

This paper introduces pragmatic hypotheses and relates this concept to the spiral of scientific evolution. Previous works determined a characterization of logically consistent statistical hypothesis tests and showed that the modal operators obtained from this test can be represented in the hexagon of oppositions. However, despite the importance of precise hypothesis in science, they cannot be accepted by logically consistent tests. Here, we show that this dilemma can be overcome by the use of pragmatic versions of precise hypotheses. These pragmatic (...) versions allow a level of imprecision in the hypothesis that is small relative to other experimental conditions. The introduction of pragmatic hypotheses allows the evolution of scientific theories based on statistical hypothesis testing to be interpreted using the narratological structure of hexagonal spirals, as defined by Pierre Gallais. (shrink)

Este artículo tiene el objetivo de explorar algunas funciones semióticas que constituyen el espacio urbano. Se revisarán algunas categorías y operaciones semióticas relevantes en la comprensión del espacio para que, desde ahí, se pueda explorar el sentido de la noción Centro Histórico como un concepto fundamental en la construcción del imaginario social en las ciudades de occidente.

The notion “language” seems to be stablished in a problematic and confused way: although certainly it shows an essential reality of man, on the other hand it designates various areas within the same cultural reality. This essay parts from a supposition: only through verbal -/- signs (words) we can reach Knowledge. To demonstrate the previous -/- statement, we will show the approaches of philosophers and specialist, in their own scenario, consider the word as the language, like a -/- distinctive characteristic (...) of the human, that expresses its own rational -/- condition. And by virtue of this, it is aimed at creating a space for -/- reflection about the essential quality in human language, understood -/- not -/- as a repository of knowledge, but as the knowledge itself, the expression of the spirit of a people, loyal to its own image. (shrink)

-/- Este artículo analiza la posible superación teórica de la escisión moderna entre sujeto y objeto, por un lado, y delimita teóricamente la relación entre estas nociones, por el otro. Para tales propósitos, los autores se -/- fundamentan teóricamente en las propuestas de la hermenéutica de Wilhelm Dilthey y del estructuralismo de -/- Michel Foucault, tanto en su semejanzas (en el ámbito -/- de lo vivencial y el análisis de lo vivido, así como en su -/- preocupación por establecer un (...) ámbito de estudio en las -/- ciencias del espíritu) como en sus diferencias (pues el -/- primero propone la síntesis en la vivencia, mientras el -/- otro el análisis de lo vivido). (shrink)

In this paper, the notion of degree of inconsistency is introduced as a tool to evaluate the sensitivity of the Full Bayesian Significance Test (FBST) value of evidence with respect to changes in the prior or reference density. For that, both the definition of the FBST, a possibilistic approach to hypothesis testing based on Bayesian probability procedures, and the use of bilattice structures, as introduced by Ginsberg and Fitting, in paraconsistent logics, are reviewed. The computational and theoretical advantages of using (...) the proposed degree of inconsistency based sensitivity evaluation as an alternative to traditional statistical power analysis is also discussed. (shrink)

This paper presents a central thesis: that humanistic language is the idiomatic context in which the Wes­ tern cultural universe orworld has existence, and, by extension, where the academic world has existence and sense. In this frame, the authors analyze two main topics: a) the way in which meaning units, that name the referent University, articulate and orga­ nize humanistic contents that adjust along to the academic world which men have been postulating throughout history; and b) the evidence of inherited (...) vocabulary of Western thought in the traditional discourse of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. (shrink)

A new Evidence Test is applied to the problem of testing whether two Poisson random variables are dependent. The dependence structure is that of Holgate’s bivariate distribution. These bivariate distribution depends on three parameters, 0 < theta_1, theta_2 < infty, and 0 < theta_3 < min(theta_1, theta_2). The Evidence Test was originally developed as a Bayesian test, but in the present paper it is compared to the best known test of the hypothesis of independence in a frequentist framework. It is (...) shown that the Evidence Test is considerably more powerful when the correlation is not too close to zero, even for small samples. (shrink)

This article presents a simple derivation of optimization models for reaction networks leading to a generalized form of the mass-action law, and compares the formal structure of Minimum Information Divergence, Quadratic Programming and Kirchhoff type network models. These optimization models are used in related articles to develop and illustrate the operation of ontology alignment algorithms and to discuss closely connected issues concerning the epistemological and statistical significance of sharp or precise hypotheses in empirical science.

This paper compares the concepts of “spirit” and “dialectic” in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit and Kierkegaard’s The Sickness unto Death respectively. For this purpose, I delve into the way in which both philosophers understand these two concepts. The aim of this comparison is to detect whether there is some kind of relationship between the two concepts that could bring Hegel and Kierkegaard closer to each other.

Sortition, i.e. random appointment for public duty, has been employed by societies throughout the years as a firewall designated to prevent illegitimate interference between parties in a legal case and agents of the legal system. In judicial systems of modern western countries, random procedures are mainly employed to select the jury, the court and/or the judge in charge of judging a legal case. Therefore, these random procedures play an important role in the course of a case, and should comply with (...) some principles, such as transparency and complete auditability. Nevertheless, these principles are neglected by random procedures in some judicial systems, which are performed in secrecy and are not auditable by the involved parties. The assignment of cases in the Brazilian Supreme Court is an example of such a procedure, for it is performed using procedures unknown to the parties involved in the judicial cases. This article presents a review of how sortition has been historically employed by societies and discusses how Mathematical Statistics may be applied to random procedures of the judicial system, as it has been applied for almost a century on clinical trials, for example. A statistical model for assessing randomness in case assignment is proposed and applied to the Brazilian Supreme Court. As final remarks, guidelines for the development of good randomization procedures are outlined. (shrink)

We review the definition of the Full Bayesian Significance Test (FBST), and summarize its main statistical and epistemological characteristics. We review also the Abstract Belief Calculus (ABC) of Darwiche and Ginsberg, and use it to analyze the FBST’s value of evidence. This analysis helps us understand the FBST properties and interpretation. The definition of value of evidence against a sharp hypothesis, in the FBST setup, was motivated by applications of Bayesian statistical reasoning to legal matters where the sharp hypotheses were (...) defendants statements, to be judged according to the Onus Probandi juridical principle. (shrink)

La presente compilación de artículos es resultado del trabajo en colaboración realizado en el seminario institucional intitulado “Sociosemiótica y Cultura: Principios de Semiótica y Modelos de Análisis”, que durante 2016 se desarrolló en las instalaciones del Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IIS-UNAM). En dicho espacio de intercambio académico se dieron cita diferentes investigadores que —desde sus particulares enfoques— contribuyeron a adoptar una visión holística acerca de los temas y problemas semióticos implicados en la investigación (...) científica. En principio, el objetivo del seminario fue la divulgación; a saber: dar a conocer la vinculación tanto teórico-empírica como teórico-metodológica de las categorías semióticas en la construcción de explicaciones científicas sobre fenómenos sociales y procesos de conocimiento en la ciencia. Para ello, el programa de presentaciones abordó diferentes ámbitos de conocimiento, tanto de las ciencias naturales: física, biología, matemáticas, lógica, como de las ciencias sociales: sociología, antropología, comunicación, al igual que estudios concretos desde las humanidades: filosofía y arte. En este sentido, acercarse a los estudios de semiótica desde diferentes disciplinas científicas (en términos generales, no sólo en ciencias sociales), obligó a reconocer el valor epistemológico de la explicación semiótica. Dicho valor consiste en aceptar que el conocimiento científico se constituye a partir de procesos de significación, donde intervienen relaciones sígnicas en el nivel lingüístico (términos, conceptos, categorías); en el nivel icónico-visual (esquemas, imágenes, diagramas), icónico-lógico (fórmulas, operaciones), entre otros; y que —en conjunto— dichas relaciones de significación dan como resultado “ensamblajes sígnicos”; es decir (a la manera de Javier Echeverría, 1985: 71 y ss.), sistemas de signos que construyen modelos explicativos, cuya validez y sentido están determinados por la coherencia/consistencia interna de dichos sistemas. (shrink)

In this paper, the relationship between the e-value of a complex hypothesis, H, and those of its constituent elementary hypotheses, Hj, j = 1… k, is analyzed, in the independent setup. The e-value of a hypothesis H, ev, is a Bayesian epistemic, credibility or truth value defined under the Full Bayesian Significance Testing mathematical apparatus. The questions addressed concern the important issue of how the truth value of H, and the truth function of the corresponding FBST structure M, relate to (...) the truth values of its elementary constituents, Hj, and to the truth functions of their corresponding FBST structures Mj, respectively. (shrink)

O Fisicalismo tem sido a posição filosófica monista mais aceita no mainstream do debate contemporâneo sobre a natureza do mental. Mas o que significa dizer que tudo o que existe é “físico”? O presente trabalho busca responder à pergunta: Como as teses fisicalistas contemporâneas têm definido o termo ‘físico’ em suas proposições? Para respondê-la foi realizada uma investigação teórico-filosófica baseada em revisão bibliográfica e análise lógica e conceitual. Quatro categorias gerais de definição do termo ‘físico’ foram identificadas numa revisão da (...) literatura. Existem igualmente fortes críticas às propostas de definição em toda a discussão filosófica. Não temos uma definição incontroversa do que seja uma propriedade física, tampouco consenso sobre qual deveria ser a formulação mais adequada da tese fisicalista. Assim, a questão que se coloca é: Por que estamos discutindo o valor de verdade de uma tese que nem mesmo tem conseguido ser formulada de forma adequada? (shrink)

Optimization and Stochastic Processes Applied to Economy and Finance. Textbook for the BM&F-USP (Brazilian Mercantile and Futures Exchange - University of Sao Paulo) Master's degree program in Finance.

This article explores how externalism about reasons for action contributes to understanding the relations between agents and norms. In order to do this, firstly, the distinction between internalism and externalism is presented; secondly, some flaws of internalism regarding the objectivity of duties are analysed; lastly, externalism is defend-ed from the criticism according to which the principle «ought implies can» cannot be explained.

Este ensayo examina críticamente la tesis – defendida por filósofos bioconservadores – que sostiene que el pensamiento transhumanista constituye una amenaza a la dignidad humana. A partir de esta consideración, defenderemos las siguientes tesis: primero, el pensamiento transhumanista nos conduce a replantear la noción de dignidad humana para hacerla más amplia y ofrecer, en su lugar, la noción de dignidad de los seres sintientes; segundo, la principal preocupación no es si llegasen a existir tales seres (los transhumanos), sino si es (...) que tales seres serán lo suficientemente morales para lidiar con grandes poderes tecnológicos. (shrink)