A common view of nonhuman animals is that they lack rights because they lack conscious control over themselves. Two thoughts put pressure on this view. First, we recognize the rights of radically cognitively limited humans even though they lack conscious control over themselves. So it would seem mere prejudice to deny rights to nonhuman mammals on the grounds that animals lack autonomy. Tom Regan has been the most eloquent, powerful, and resolute defender of this thought. Second, evidence is growing that (...) healthy adults exercise non-conscious control over themselves most of the time. To deny rights to animals on the grounds that they can only exercise non-conscious control over themselves while affirming the rights of humans who similarly exercise non-conscious control over themselves most of the time also seems prejudicial. Notice that whereas the first thought compares animals to neurally diverse, cognitively challenged humans the second thought compares animals to typically developing, normal humans. In this paper I argue that accumulating empirical data lend increasing support to the second thought. (shrink)

A chapter on the specifically 'medical' Epicureanism of La Mettrie, connecting his materialist approach to mind-body issues and his hedonistic ethics.

The materialist approach to the body is often, if not always understood in ‘mechanistic’ terms, as the view in which the properties unique to organic, living embodied agents are reduced to or described in terms of properties that characterize matter as a whole, which allow of mechanistic explanation. Indeed, from Hobbes and Descartes in the 17th century to the popularity of automata such as Vaucanson’s in the 18th century, this vision of things would seem to be correct. In this paper (...) I aim to correct this inaccurate vision of materialism. On the contrary, the materialist project on closer consideration reveals itself to be, significantly if not exclusively, (a) a body of theories specifically focused on the contribution that ‘biology’ or rather ‘natural history’ and physiology make to metaphysical debates, (b) much more intimately connected to what we now call ‘vitalism’ (a case in point is the presence of Théophile de Bordeu, a prominent Montpellier physician and theorist of vitalism, as a fictional character and spokesman of materialism, in Diderot’s novel D’Alembert’s Dream), and ultimately (c) an anti-mechanistic doctrine which focuses on the unique properties of organic beings. To establish this revised vision of materialism I examine philosophical texts such as La Mettrie’s Man a Machine and Diderot’s D’Alembert’s Dream; medical entries in the Encyclopédie by physicians such as Ménuret and Fouquet; and clandestine combinations of all such sources (Fontenelle, Gaultier and others). (shrink)

From Hegel to Engels, Sartre and Ruyer (Ruyer, 1933), to name only a few, materialism is viewed as a necropolis, or the metaphysics befitting such an abode; many speak of matter’s crudeness, bruteness, coldness or stupidity. Science or scientism, on this view, reduces the living world to ‘dead matter’, ‘brutish’, ‘mechanical, lifeless matter’, thereby also stripping it of its freedom (Crocker, 1959). Materialism is often wrongly presented as ‘mechanistic materialism’ – with ‘Death of Nature’ echoes of de-humanization and hostility to (...) the Scientific Revolution (which knew nothing of materialism!), also a powerful Christian theme in Cudworth, Clarke and beyond (Overhoff, 2000). Here I challenge this view, building on some aspects of Israel’s Radical Enlightenment concept (Israel, 2001), which has been controversial but for my purposes is a useful claim about the dissemination of a home-grown Spinozism, sometimes reformulated as an ontology of the life sciences, an aspect Israel does not address (compare Secrétan et al., eds., 2007; Citton, 2006). First, I examine some ‘moments’ of radical Enlightenment materialism such as La Mettrie and Diderot (including his Encyclopédie entry “Spinosiste”), but also anonymous, clandestine texts such as L’Âme Matérielle, to emphasize their distinctive focus on the specific existence of organic beings. Second, I show how this ‘embodied’, non-mechanistic character of Enlightenment ‘vital materialism’ makes it different from other episodes, and perhaps more of an ethics than is usually thought (also via the figure of the materialist as ‘laughing philosopher’). Third, I reflect on what this implies for our image of the Enlightenment – no longer a Frankfurt School and/or Foucaldian vision of ‘discipline’, regimentation and order (as in Mayr, 1986) – but ‘vital’, without, conversely, being a kind of holist vitalism “at odds with the universalizing discourse of Encyclopedist materialism, with its insistence on the uniformity of nature and the universality of physical laws” (Williams, 2003): vital materialism is still materialism. Its ethics tends towards hedonism, but its most radical proponents (Diderot, La Mettrie and later Sade) disagree as to what this means. (shrink)

A common and enduring early modern intuition is that materialists reduce organisms in general and human beings in particular to automata. Wasn’t a famous book of the time entitled L’Homme-Machine? In fact, the machine is employed as an analogy, and there was a specifically materialist form of embodiment, in which the body is not reduced to an inanimate machine, but is conceived as an affective, flesh-and-blood entity. We discuss how mechanist and vitalist models of organism exist in a more complementary (...) relation than hitherto imagined, with conceptions of embodiment resulting from experimental physiology. From La Mettrie to Bernard, mechanism, body and embodiment are constantly overlapping, modifying and overdetermining one another; embodiment came to be scientifically addressed under the successive figures of vie organique and then milieu intérieur, thereby overcoming the often lamented divide between scientific image and living experience. (shrink)

In reflecting on the relation between early empiricist conceptions of the mind and more experimentally motivated materialist philosophies of mind in the mid-eighteenth century, I suggest that we take seriously the existence of what I shall call ‘phantom philosophical projects’. A canonical empiricist like Locke goes out of his way to state that their project to investigate and articulate the ‘logic of ideas’ is not a scientific project: “I shall not at present meddle with the Physical consideration of the Mind” (...) (Essay, I.i.2). An equally prominent thinker, Immanuel Kant, seems to make an elementary mistake, given such a clear statement, when he claims that Locke’s project was a “physiology of the understanding,” in the Preface to the A edition of the first Critique). A first question, then, would be: what is this physiology of the understanding, if it was not Locke’s project? Did anyone undertake such a project? If not, what would it have resembled? My second and related case comes out of a remark the Hieronymus Gaub makes in a letter to Charles Bonnet of 1761: criticizing materialist accounts of mind and mind-body relations such as La Mettrie’s, Gaub suggests that what is needed is a thorough study of the “mechanics of the soul,” and that Bonnet could write such a study. What is the mechanics of the soul, especially given that it is presented as a non-materialist project? To what extent does it resemble the purported “physiology of the understanding”? And more generally, what do both of these phantom projects have to do with a process we might describe as a ‘naturalization of the soul’? (shrink)

Psychology has been considered to have an autonomy from the other sciences (especially physical science) in at least two ways: in its subject-matter and in its methods. To say that the subject-matter of psychology is autonomous is to say that psychology deals with entities—properties, relations, states—which are not dealt with or not wholly explicable in terms of physical (or any other) science. Contrasted with this is the idea that psychology employs a characteristic method of explanation, which is not shared by (...) the other sciences. I shall label the two senses of autonomy ‘metaphysical autonomy’ and ‘explanatory autonomy’ The question of whether psychology as a science is autonomous in either sense is one of the philosophical questions surrounding the (somewhat vague) doctrine of ‘naturalism’: questions concerning the extent to which the human mind can be brought under the aegis of natural science. In their contemporary form, these questions had their origin in the ‘new science’ of the 17th century. Early materialists like Hobbes (1651) and La Mettrie (1748) rejected both explanatory and metaphysical autonomy: mind is matter in motion, and the mind can be studied by the mathematical methods of the new science just as any matter can. But while materialism (and therefore the denial of metaphysical autonomy) had to wait until the 19th century before starting to become widely accepted, the denial of explanatory autonomy remained a strong force in empiricist philosophy. Hume described his Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40) as an ‘attempt to introduce the experimental method of reasoning into moral subjects’—where ‘moral’ signifies ‘human’. And subsequent criticism of Hume’s views, notably by Kant and Reid, ensured that the question of naturalism—whether there can be a ‘science of man’—was one of the central questions of 19th century philosophy, and a question which hovered over the emergence of psychology as an independent discipline (see Reed 1994). In the 20th century, much of the philosophical discussion of the autonomy of psychology has been inspired by the Logical Positivists’ discussions of the UNITY OF.... (shrink)

This article discusses Du Châtelet’s challenging claim that entertaining illusions, especially illusions of being esteemed by posterity, is conducive to happiness. It does so by taking a contextualizing approach, contrasting her views with some Epicurean aspects of the views on illusions and happiness in Bernard de Fontenelle and Julien Offray de La Mettrie. I will argue for three claims: (1) Du Châtelet’s comparison between self-related illusions and illusions in the theater is vulnerable to objections deriving from some distinctions that (...) Fontenelle’s poetics draws between the role of illusions in the theater and the role of illusions in real life. (2) Examining Fontenelle’s analysis of the detrimental effects of self-related illusions indicates several respects in which Du Châtelet has underestimated the ambivalent nature of illusions. (3) Du Châtelet’s view that illusions are akin to sensations that are favorable to us problematically generalizes La Mettrie’s insight that some acts of the imagination have a quasi-perceptual nature. (shrink)

This article discusses Du Châtelet’s challenging claim that entertaining illusions, especially illusions of being esteemed by posterity, is conducive to happiness. It does so by taking a contextualizing approach, contrasting her views with some Epicurean aspects of the views on illusions and happiness in Bernard de Fontenelle and Julien Offray de La Mettrie. I will argue for three claims: (1) Du Châtelet’s comparison between self-related illusions and illusions in the theater is vulnerable to objections deriving from some distinctions that (...) Fontenelle’s poetics draws between the role of illusions in the theater and the role of illusions in real life. (2) Examining Fontenelle’s analysis of the detrimental effects of self-related illusions indicates several respects in which Du Châtelet has underestimated the ambivalent nature of illusions. (3) Du Châtelet’s view that illusions are akin to sensations that are favorable to us problematically generalizes La Mettrie’s insight that some acts of the imagination have a quasi-perceptual nature. (shrink)

Early modern automata, understood as efforts to ‘model’ life, to grasp its singular properties and/or to unveil and demystify its seeming inaccessibility and mystery, are not just fascinating liminal, boundary, hybrid, crossover or go-between objects, while they are all of those of course. They also pose a direct challenge to some of our common conceptions about mechanism and embodiment. They challenge the simplicity of the distinction between a purported ‘mechanistic’ worldpicture, its ontology and its goals, and on the other hand (...) an attempt to understand ourselves and animals more broadly as flesh-and-blood, affective entities (that is, not just breathing and perspiring, but also desiring and ‘sanguine’ machines, as La Mettrie might have put it). In what follows I reflect on the complexity of early modern mechanism faced with the (living) body, and its mirror image, contemporary theories of embodiment. At times, embodiment theory seems to be governed by a fascination with what the Artificial Life researcher Ezequiel Di Paolo has called ‘biochauvinism’ (Di Paolo, “Extended Life”): an unquestioned belief that ‘living bodies are special’. Yet how does the theorist define this special status? The question is apparently a simple one, or at least promptly yields an aporia which appears simple: to borrow a provocative phrase from Terry Eagleton, embodiment theory is obsessed by the body but terrified of biology. Yet at the same time, at least since Hubert Dreyfus and Andy Clark’s groundbreaking works, embodiment has been a legit part of cognitive science, yielding the even more recently emerged field of ‘embodied cognition’ (see the work of Larry Shapiro), which seeks to depart from traditional cognitive science, especially the latter’s understanding of cognition as computational, in order to instead underscore “the significance of an organism’s body in how and what the organism thinks,” in Shapiro’s words. (shrink)

We look at some interesting and important episodes in the life of early modern Epicureanism, focusing on natural philosophy. We begin with two early moderns who had a great deal to say about ancient Epicureanism: Pierre Gassendi and Ralph Cudworth. Looking at how Gassendi and Cudworth conceived of Epicureanism gives us a sense of what the early moderns considered important in the ancient tradition. It also points us towards three main themes of early modern Epicureanism in natural philosophy, which we (...) then discuss at greater length: atomism, materialism about the mind or soul, and the denial of providence, which was often accompanied by deflationary explanations of religious belief. (shrink)

La, V. P., & Vuong, Q. H. (2019). bayesvl: Visually learning the graphical structure of Bayesian networks and performing MCMC with ‘Stan’. The Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN).

Climate change has become one of the most pressing problems that can threaten the existence and development of humans around the globe. Almost all climate scientists have agreed that climate change is happening and is caused mainly by greenhouse gas emissions induced by anthropogenic activities. However, some groups still deny this fact or do not believe that climate change results from human activities. This article examines climate change denialism and its skeptical arguments, as well as the roles of scientists and (...) science communication in addressing the issues. Through this article, we call for the active participation of scientists in science communication activities with the public, the initiation of new science communication sectors specified for climate change, and more attention to social sciences and humanities in addressing climate change issues. (shrink)

Resumen: Husserl propone una teoría sobre la intersubjetividad que parte de la conciencia trascendental como inserta en el mundo de la vida donde están los otros y donde la comunidad se construye bajo una estructura de esencias que garantiza la comunalidad. El mundo de la vida es dado y compartido por todas las conciencias intencionales y trascendentales, es condición para intuiciones empíricas y eidéticas, la epoché y las reducciones eidética y trascendental. Cada momento del método fenomenológico se basa en la (...) existencia de un mundo de la vida independiente de la subjetividad. En este mundo, hay objetos reales y, entre estos, los otros, reconocidos por analogía a través de la empatía. Desde una perspectiva metodológico-epistemológico, el yo es anterior al mundo y a los otros yos. El yo constituye, en sentido fenomenológico, la realidad. La conciencia es el lugar de evidenciación de la realidad. No obstante, en la perspectiva ontológica, es lo contrario. El mundo de la vida es anterior a la conciencia individual. El mundo de la vida está ahí, disponible, existente, independiente del sujeto, funcionando con su propio orden, con sus leyes y reglas. Es el yo el que esta insertado en el mundo de la vida y que se esfuerza por desvendarlo. La realidad se impone y el yo es, sobre todo, miembro de una comunidad de otros yos. Aun así, ¿cómo compartir las experiencias? Las vivencias pueden ser diferentes, pero hay un límite en las variaciones, un límite dado por la esencia del objeto vivido y por las leyes que rigen las relaciones de tal objeto. Así, la constitución del mundo y de sus objetos está permanentemente en progreso. Es posible donarles nuevos sentidos, en los límites de su esencia. Para Husserl, la constitución comunal del mundo es la condición de posibilidad para la existencia de sujetos separados unos de los otros, y este entendimiento recíproco solo es posible a través de la constitución trascendental de la objetividad. Así, no hay una separación entre la intersubjetividad y la constitución del mundo, es la comunidad de yos la que dona sentidos a las objetividades. En el mundo de la vida con los otros en comunidad. -/- Abstract: Husserl proposes a theory on intersubjectivity that starts from transcendental consciousness as inserted in the lifeworld where the others and where the community are built under a structure of essences that guarantees communality. The lifeworld is given and shared by all intentional and transcendental consciousnesses, it is a condition for empirical and eidetic intuitions, the epoché and the eidetic and transcendental reductions. Every moment of the phenomenological method is based on the existence of a lifeworld independent of subjectivity. In this world, there are real objects and, among these, the others, recognized by analogy through empathy. From a methodologicalepistemological perspective, the self is prior to the world and the other selves. The self constitutes, in a phenomenological sense, reality. Consciousness is the locus of evidence of reality. However, from the ontological perspective, it is the opposite. The lifeworld is prior to individual consciousness. The lifeworld is there, available, existing, independent of subjectivity, functioning with its own order, with its laws and rules. It is the self that is inserted in the lifeworld and that strives to unveil it. Reality prevails and the self is, above all, a member of a community of other selves. Even so, how to share the experiences? The experiences can be different, but there is a limit in variations, a limit given by the essence of the lived object and by the laws that govern the relation of the object. Thus, the constitution of the world and its objects is permanently in progress. It is possible to give them new meanings, within the limits of their essence. For Husserl, the communal constitution of the world is the condition of possibility for the existence of subjects separated from each other, and this reciprocal understanding is only possible through the transcendental constitution of objectivity. therefore, there is no separation between intersubjectivity and the constitution of the world, it is the community of selves that gives meaning to objectivities. (shrink)

La multiplicación de las dimensiones de la realidad acarrea consigo una serie de posibilidades que han permitido reproducir dinámicas humanas del mundo físico en ámbitos no contemplados con anterioridad. La realidad virtual se configura como el nivel de más significación actual para replantearse lo que es el ser humano, lo cual hace que esta funja como una potencialidad ontológica sin parangón. Sin embargo, su amplitud trae consigo una amplia serie de dificultades, que cuestionan las bases ontológicas de la constitución del (...) ser humano y la manera cómo sea dado a lo largo de la historia la interacción entre los individuos. Estas potencialidades recrean amenazas que patentizan la fragilidad del sujeto. Es por ello necesario reflexionar sobre estas dificultades, analizando las características que la virtualidad recrea y cómo funciona en la construcción de la identidad personal y la autoconcepción del individuo. Aceptar que lo virtual constituye también una dimensión de la realidad humana que extiende sus características y que influye severamente en la transformación de su ontología permitirá descubrir nuevos caminos de reflexión y análisis que alejen las amenazas que buscan socavar lo humano y, ante su fragilidad, se presenten como herramientas para continuar trabajando en la igualdad y la dignidad de cada individuo. (shrink)

Climate change and biodiversity loss are interconnected crises that demand integrated solutions. While mitigation strategies such as reforestation and afforestation, renewable energy development, and Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) are essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, they also pose risks to ecosystems, specifically biodiversity. This review examines the biodiversity impacts of these key mitigation strategies, identifying potential trade-offs and opportunities for synergy. Large-scale forest plantations can sequester carbon but often reduce biodiversity when implemented as monocultures. Renewable energy expansion, (...) particularly wind and solar farms, contributes to decarbonization but can disrupt habitats and wildlife migration. BECCS, though promoted for negative emissions, requires extensive land conversion, threatening biodiversity and food security. To balance climate action with ecological integrity, this study advocates for an eco-surplus culture, where mitigation strategies not only minimize harm but actively enhance biodiversity. Nature-based solutions, such as restoring native forests and integrating biodiversity-conscious renewable energy planning, offer pathways to maximize co-benefits. Policy frameworks must prioritize biodiversity safeguards, promote sustainable land use, and ensure community participation. Addressing climate and biodiversity goals together through holistic, long-term planning is essential for fostering environmental resilience and achieving genuinely sustainable climate solutions. (shrink)

A reflection on the philosophical traditions at the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon and in the city of Monterrey.

In this article I present the phenomenological tradition as a new grounding for human rights as universal rights. The hypothesis defended is to conciliate Husserl’s phenomenological method and Reinach’s a priori law in order to offer a new grounding to human rights. In order to combine Husserl and Reinach’s ideas, I propose to expand the comprehension of a priori. It would be present as eidos of each object and I name it as material a priori; it also be present in (...) the eidetic relations and I name it as formal a priori. Yet the object would have an essence, a necessary content, a material a priori, and necessary states of affairs, necessary relations and connections, a formal a priori. Reinach, in The A priori Foundations of the Civil Law, describes eidetic relations, such as, the relation between promise, claim and obligation. I propose three eidetic universalities to ground law, these are what I will call human rights. I also face a few difficulties presented by DuBois and De Vecchi derived from the amoral approach of a priori laws. Then, I highlight the difference between this proposition and Albert’s. Finally, I defend the proposition that a priori laws are beyond natural and positive laws. (shrink)

El contenido de la obra se halla dividido en dos partes, una primera teórica y otra segunda práctica. En la primera parte se realiza una explicación analítica del ciberactivismo mientras que la segunda se centra en reflexiones sobre aspectos concretos que pudieran ser útiles para quien desee planificar alguna acción.

Trong quá trình phát triển của phong trào bảo vệ môi trường, đã xuất hiện nhiều học thuyết và trường phái khác nhau. Một trong số này thuộc về các học thuyết bảo vệ môi trường lạ đời (đôi khi mang sắc thái cực đoan), thể hiện sự tận tụy và độc đáo trong việc bảo vệ môi trường với mọi biện pháp. Vì họ đặt môi trường lên hàng đầu, nên những quan điểm này thường phản ánh quan điểm (...) cấp tiến và đôi khi khá khác biệt về quan hệ giữa con người và môi trường. Vì vậy, chúng thường không được chấp nhận rộng rãi hoặc không thực tế. Tuy nhiên, dưới góc nhìn tập trung vào bảo vệ môi trường, những học thuyết này cũng đem đến cho chúng ta nhận thức về những xung đột lợi ích mà nhiều nhà hoạt động môi trường thường bỏ qua. Chúng cũng làm nổi bật mục tiêu quan trọng của việc hài hòa lợi ích của con người và thiên nhiên. Bài viết này sẽ tập trung phân tích một số học thuyết bảo vệ môi trường lạ đời phổ biến nhất, để mang đến một cái nhìn đa chiều về vấn đề môi trường. (shrink)

Estamos necesitados de una buena política, de virtudes cívicas, de la prudencia y la participación para perseguir el bien común. El actual contexto político mundial, nos urge a reflexionar sobre el peligro de los nacionalismos y los populismos exacerbados que engendran guerras y miseria. Se está gobernando desde el enfrentamiento, fragmentando las sociedades y comunidades desde su interior más profundo. Cada vez más polarizados, vivimos una política de ganadores y perdedores, de gobierno y oposición. Los proyectos comunes se tornan casi (...) utópicos en estos tiempos de fragmentación y de incremento de las desigualdades. El individualismo extremo hace imposible que nos percibamos compartiendo un mismo destino, una misma tradición y unas mismas responsabilidades compartidas. Está desapareciendo el sentimiento de pertenencia que requiere toda comunidad. -/- No podemos dejar lo político en manos de minorías, ni podemos pensar que los Estados y mercados son neutrales pues están dejando fuera a millones de personas. Más allá del individualismo y los totalitarismos de Estado, estamos llamados a valorar y fortalecer las asociaciones intermedias como instrumento de libertad, para poner límites a los despotismos y adquirir virtudes políticas. -/- Siguiendo las huellas de MacIntyre, en este libro un grupo internacional de especialistas ofrecemos una reflexión sobre el valor de la deliberación, la participación, las estructuras intermedias, los bienes comunes, las virtudes políticas, los proyectos compartidos y la visión del ser humano como animal racional, político y dependiente. Esperamos que estas reflexiones aporten intuiciones y luces para una buena política, para una política del bien común. (shrink)

The issue of climate change poses an important problem that requires immediate collaboration from everyone, including individuals, governments, and businesses. While consumption culture constitutes a significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, most of these emissions are caused by the consumption of the wealthiest. In this article, we will explore the challenges that consumer culture has exacerbated regarding climate change and propose that transitioning to a simpler and more sustainable lifestyle could be an effective solution in the fight against climate change. (...) Such transitions can be leveraged through the inspiration of celebrities (e.g., Keanu Reeves, Chow Yun-fat, Kristen Bell, Leonardo DiCaprio) that pursue simple, non-glamorous lifestyles that do not promote excessive consumerism. (shrink)

Trong quá trình phát triển của phong trào bảo vệ môi trường, đã xuất hiện nhiều học thuyết và trường phái khác nhau. Một trong số này thuộc về các học thuyết bảo vệ môi trường lạ đời (đôi khi mang sắc thái cực đoan), thể hiện sự tận tụy và độc đáo trong việc bảo vệ môi trường với mọi biện pháp.

Climate change, primarily driven by human activities, is becoming one of the most urgent global challenges of our time. Despite lingering doubts about climate change in some research documents, strong consensus within the scientific community still affirms that global surface temperatures have risen in recent decades. Over the past decade, significant efforts have been made by humans to address the climate change crisis, resulting in certain impacts in combating climate change and raising awareness about its consequences. However, the question remains: (...) Are we heading in the right direction to effectively address this crisis, or do we need to reconsider our approach? This essay will examine some of major achievements in the fight against climate change, the increasing awareness of its impacts, the escalating severity of the climate crisis, and whether our actions are on the right track or require reevaluation. (shrink)

Vietnam, with a geographical proximity and a high volume of trade with China, was the first country to record an outbreak of the new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 or SARS-CoV-2. While the country was expected to have a high risk of transmission, as of April 4, 2020—in comparison to attempts to contain the disease around the world—responses from Vietnam are being seen as prompt and effective in protecting the interests of its citizens, (...) with 239 confirmed cases and no fatalities. This study analyzes the situation in terms of Vietnam’s policy response, social media and science journalism. A self-made web crawl engine was used to scan and collect official media news related to COVID-19 between the beginning of January and April 4, yielding a comprehensive dataset of 14,952 news items. The findings shed light on how Vietnam—despite being under-resourced—has demonstrated political readiness to combat the emerging pandemic since the earliest days. Timely communication on any developments of the outbreak from the government and the media, combined with up-to-date research on the new virus by the Vietnamese science community, have altogether provided reliable sources of information. By emphasizing the need for immediate and genuine cooperation between government, civil society and private individuals, the case study offers valuable lessons for other nations concerning not only the concurrent fight against the COVID-19 pandemic but also the overall responses to a public health crisis. (shrink)

The major global challenges of our time, like climate and environmental crises, rising inequality, the emergence of disruptive technologies, etc., demand interdisciplinary research for effective solutions. A clear understanding of value is essential for guiding socio-cultural and economic transitions to address these issues. Despite numerous attempts to define value, existing approaches remain inconsistent across disciplines and lack a comprehensive framework. This paper introduces a novel perspective on value through the lens of granular interaction thinking theory, proposing an informational entropy-based notion (...) of value. Grounded on quantum mechanics, Shannon’s information theory, and the mindsponge theory, this framework integrates both subjective and objective considerations and is highly compatible with interdisciplinary research. The informational entropy-based notion of value effectively bridges diverse concepts of value, including use and exchange value in economics, personal values in psychology, and cultural, moral, ethical, and aesthetic values in society. By offering a unifying perspective, granular interaction thinking theory provides a valuable framework for translating insights from quantum mechanics into socio-cultural, economic, and psychological contexts, enriching theoretical discourse and enhancing analytical effectiveness. (shrink)

In this paper, I argue that we face a challenge in understanding the relationship between the ‘value-oriented’ and ‘other-oriented’ dimensions of shame. On the one hand, an emphasis on shame's value-oriented dimension leads naturally to ‘The Self-Evaluation View’, an account which faces a challenge in explaining shame's other-oriented dimension. This is liable to push us towards ‘The Social Evaluation View’. However The Social Evaluation View faces the opposite challenge of convincingly accommodating shame's ‘value-oriented’ dimension. After rejecting one attempt to chart (...) a middle course between these extremes, I argue that progress can be made if we reject the widespread assumption that the other-oriented dimension of shame is best understood primarily terms of our concern with the way we appear to others. Instead, I outline an account which treats shame as manifesting our desire primarily for interpersonal connection and which elucidates the property of shamefulness in terms of merited avoidance. (shrink)

The reproducibility crisis in social sciences has revealed significant weaknesses in conventional research practices, including selective publication, questionable statistical methods, and opaque peer review processes. This paper introduces Granular Interaction Thinking Theory (GITT) as a novel framework for understanding the plausibility of scientific findings, conceptualizing knowledge validation as a structured entropy-reduction process. Within this framework, open science practices—such as open data, open review, and open dialogue—initially increase informational entropy by exposing inconsistencies. However, through iterative refinement, they ultimately enhance the robustness (...) and plausibility of scientific knowledge. To systematically assess a study’s plausibility, we propose the Scientific Plausibility Index (SPI)—an entropy-based metric that integrates data and method transparency, replication success rates, and community engagement. Additionally, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP), a dynamic plausibility-tracking system could be developed to detect unreliable claims early and accelerate scientific self-correction. This shift—from closed, one-time assessments to continuous, community-driven evaluation models—ensures that scientific knowledge remains rigorously tested and updated. We advocate for shifting from closed, one-time assessments to continuous, community-driven evaluation models, ensuring that scientific knowledge remains rigorously tested and updated. Ultimately, aligning incentives with entropy-reducing mechanisms—such as rewarding replication efforts and fostering open discourse—can cultivate a research culture that prioritizes robustness, transparency, and cumulative knowledge-building. (shrink)

The importance of addressing the existential threat to humanity, climate change, has grown remarkedly in recent years while conflicting views and interests in societies exist. Therefore, climate change agendas have been weaponized to varying degrees, ranging from the international level between countries to the domestic level among political parties. In such contexts, climate change agendas are predominantly driven by political or economic ambitions, sometimes unconnected to concerns for environmental sustainability. Consequently, it can result in an environment that fosters antagonism and (...) disputes over power and position and increases the risk of prolonged confrontations, hindering the collective global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Through the current discourse, we aim to provide a preliminary definition of the weaponization of climate change and environmental sustainability and examine its risks and consequences on international relations, political dynamics, public perception, and the comprehensive integrity of climate action. We also recommend embracing a globally coordinated, scientifically substantiated approach to circumvent climate change by building an eco-surplus cultural value system. (shrink)

With the advancement of information technology and publishing systems, the number of authors writing books and the abundance of advice for them have proliferated across the writing community and various forums. However, advice is mostly subjective and based primarily on personal experience. To the best of our knowledge, data-driven, quantitative analyses offering actionable insights remain scarce. Therefore, this study can be considered one of the first attempts to address this question using a quantitative approach. -/- The Amazon book reviews of (...) Wild Wise Weird were used as the data source for our analysis. Wild Wise Weird is a collection of 42 fables that blends traditional storytelling with modern sensibilities, weaving together life lessons, humor, and social commentary. (shrink)

Một trong những thách thức lớn, mà thị trường carbon phải đối mặt là sự tồn tại của nhiều tiêu chuẩn và đôi khi xung đột với nhau. (Tạp chí Kinh tế & Dự báo; ngày 2-10-2023).

Humankind is currently confronted with a critical challenge that determines its very existence, not only on an individual, racial, or national level but as a whole species: the fight against climate change and environmental degradation. To win this battle, humanity needs innovations and non-linear thinking. Nature has long been a substantial information source for unthinkable discoveries that save human lives. This Commentary suggests that by understanding the nature, emergence, and mechanism of serendipity, the survival skill of humans, humanity can capitalize (...) on it to learn from nature and generate nature-based innovations that can address the climate and environmental degradation crises. Building an eco-surplus culture that incorporates core values pertaining to nature and sees environmental sustainability as the conscience of the times is essential to direct and leverage the power of serendipity in climate and sustainability science. In the era of artificial intelligence (AI) proliferation, AI will be a vital tool that provides navigational and useful information that aids the encounters and attainments of serendipity. However, given the tremendous power of AI, especially when combined with humans’ serendipity capability, its development and use must be approached with caution and ethical considerations to avoid adverse effects on environmental sustainability. Investment in other scientific areas beyond environmental research is also crucial, as it expands humanity’s knowledge base – an essential foundation for serendipitous discoveries through inter- and transdisciplinary interactions. (shrink)

The contribution of the data paper publishing paradigm to the knowledge generation and validation processes is becoming substantial and pivotal. In this paper, through the information-processing perspective of Mindsponge Theory, we discuss how the data article publishing system serves as a filtering mechanism for quality control of the increasingly chaotic datasphere. The overemphasis on machine-actionality and technical standards presents some shortcomings and limitations of the data article publishing system, such as the lack of consideration of humanistic values, radical race for (...) big data, and inadequate use of expertise in data evaluation. Without addressing the shortcomings and limitations, the reusability of data will be hindered, and scientific investment to facilitate data sharing will be wasted. Thus, we suggest that the current data paper publishing paradigm needs to be updated with a new philosophy of data. (shrink)

Earth Hour is one of the most popular environmental events in Vietnam. However, looking at the rise in electricity consumption in the country, it is impossible to feel its impact.

This article aims to carry out a review and analysis of the relationship and influence of sophist thought and epistemology in modern Brief strategic psychotherapy, Nardone model. The particular interest of this research revolves around the epistemological aspects and the questioning of objective reality and how this may have influenced the praxis of brief therapy. The epistemological, theoretical, and philosophical contributions of the sophists promoted a cultural change in the Hellenic world their legacy continues to this day, greatly influencing various (...) fields of knowledge, from philosophy to psychotherapy. A review of the preliminary evidence published in the philosophical and psychological literature is presented, examining sophist epistemology and its influence on brief strategic therapy, analyzing its epistemological approach related to relativism and skepticism, at the same time showing a philosophy that continues to this day that influences contemporary thinking and modern psychotherapy, especially Brief Strategic Therapy. From the review and analysis, is evidenced the influence of the sophists thinking on epistemology, the questioning of objective reality, and the clinical practice of brief strategic therapy. (shrink)

Vấn đề môi trường là trọng tâm của các cuộc thảo luận chính trị trong những năm gần đây, với việc các nhà lãnh đạo trên toàn thế giới thực hiện các biện pháp chống biến đổi khí hậu và giảm phát thải khí nhà kính. Để theo đuổi mục tiêu bảo vệ môi trường và giảm thiểu biến đổi khí hậu, Tổng thống Joe Biden đã thực hiện một loạt hành động nhằm giảm phát thải khí nhà kính và (...) hạn chế sự phụ thuộc của chúng ta vào nhiên liệu hóa thạch. Trong số các sáng kiến này, quyết định của Tổng thống Biden về việc đóng cửa Đường ống Keystone XL, hạn chế hoạt động khoan dầu ở một số khu vực nhất định và cấm cấp phép khai thác dầu khí mới trên các vùng đất và vùng biển công cộng là một động thái quan trọng. Tuy nhiên, những chính sách này đã gây ra cả sự ủng hộ lẫn tranh cãi. Trong bài viết này, chúng tôi đi sâu vào sự phức tạp trong các chính sách môi trường của Tổng thống Biden, đặc biệt tập trung vào lệnh cấm cấp phép khai thác dầu khí mới trên các vùng đất và vùng biển công cộng. (shrink)

Resumo: A Logoterapia proposta por Viktor Frankl está fundamentada na teoria dos valores e antropologia de Max Scheler. Frankl constrói seu pensamento psicológico baseado em conceitos-chave do pensamento scheleriano como (i) o valor e os bens, (ii) o querer e os sentimentos, (iii) a hierarquia de valores e (iv) a ideia de pessoa. É com eles que desenvolve suas teses originais da (i) motivação espiritual da ação humana, (ii) busca de sentido e (iii) inconsciente espiritual. Ao fazê-lo, ofereceu não só (...) uma psicoterapia dos valores, mas também uma nova teoria da motivação humana positiva, não concebida como fruto de deficiência ou necessidade, mas do espírito livre direcionado a valores objetivos. A busca humana por sentido na vida só é possível ser bem-sucedida com a vivência e realização de valores superiores, no sentido hierárquico proposto por Scheler. (shrink)

Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy is based on Max Scheler’s theory of values and anthropology. Frankl builds his psychological thinking based on critical concepts of Schelerian thinking such as (i) value and goods, (ii) will and feelings, (iii) the hierarchy of values, and (iv) the idea of person. It is with them that he develops his original theses of (i) the spiritual motivation of human action, (ii) the search for meaning and (iii) the spiritual unconscious. In doing so, he offered not only (...) a psychotherapy of values, but also a new theory of positive human motivation, not conceived as a result of deficiency or need, but as a result of the free spirit toward objective values. The human search for meaning in life can only be successful by living and realizing superior values, in the hierarchical sense proposed by Scheler. (shrink)

In this paper, I present the difficulty in the phenomenology of explaining the constitution of objectivities in consciousness. In the context of phenomenological reduction, constitution has to be understood as unveiling the universal and necessary essences. Recognized by Husserl in Ideas I and named as functional problems, the constitution of objectivities refers at first to individual consciousness, and then to an intersubjective one. In Ideas II, the phenomenologist explains how the constitution of nature, psyche, and spirit occurs. This process begins (...) by assuming three premises: the ontological realism, the regularity of nature, and the transcendental idealism. In this process, the ego, apart from constituting objects (the body, the psyche, and the others), constitutes itself. The objects of material reality are constituted through aesthetic synthesis which unifies singularities and contextualizes the lived experience. The body, as a perceptive organ, perceives the exterior, and the location of the sensory stimulus is the soul. The soul is a real and transcendent object, which is linked to physical things that are constituted in a solipsistic way or intersubjectively. Empathy allows the subject to recognize the consciousness of the alter ego as capable of spontaneous movements and actions, a co-presence sharing the same horizons. Thus, through the theoretical attitude, the physical world is perceived, and through the spiritual attitude the spiritual world is perceived, a living world shared by free intelligent beings. For this, intersubjectivity fulfills a fundamental role, because only in the relationship with the other does the identity of the objects, of the other, and of the self become evident. (shrink)

Biến đổi khí hậu, thường được gọi là sự nóng lên toàn cầu, hiện đang ngày càng trở thành thách thức nghiêm trọng nhất đối với hành tinh của chúng ta. Vấn đề này vô cùng phức tạp, chủ yếu bởi việc con người liên tục thải ra khí nhà kính vào khí quyển, gây ra những hậu quả đáng kể và ảnh hưởng khắp mọi khía cạnh của môi trường, xã hội và kinh tế toàn cầu.

In this paper, I discuss the possibility of reading the description of promise presented by Reinach in The Apriori Foundations of the Civil Law under the light of Husserl’s Ideas I. In order to present my argument, first, I briefly present the phenomenological method proposed by Husserl in Ideas I highlighting eidetic reduction. Second, I present the Reinachian description of social acts emphasizing the act of promising. Third, and finally, I try to demonstrate that the Reinachian description of the social (...) act of promising is the description of a universal and necessary relation, a synthetic and a priori statement and corresponds to the idea of promise. (shrink)

My aim in this paper is to show that the natural idea that humiliation is harmful calls explanation and to argue that the most straightforward ways of responding to this explanatory demand fall short in important ways. I end by considering a line of response which I take to be promising, which appeals to our need, as social animals, for interpersonal connection.

This paper delves into the contrasting educational philosophies of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, two prominent figures who grappled with the question of Black progress in a society scarred by racial inequality. Washington, advocating for vocational training, championed economic self-sufficiency as the key to navigating a system rigged against Black success. Du Bois, conversely, championed a liberal arts education, emphasizing critical thinking and social critique as necessary tools for dismantling systemic barriers. This paper argues that while (...) Washington’s pragmatism held a certain appeal, its inherent acceptance of the existing social order risked perpetuating the very systems it aimed to overcome. Du Bois, through his more radical vision, recognized that true liberation necessitated not only economic agency but also the intellectual capacity to challenge and dismantle oppressive structures. By analyzing the nuances and complexities of their arguments, this paper highlights the enduring relevance of this historical debate for contemporary discussions on educational equity. It underscores the need for a multifaceted approach to education, one that recognizes the interconnectedness of economic opportunity, intellectual development, and social justice, ultimately advocating for an educational landscape that empowers all individuals to reach their full potential and contribute to a more just and equitable society. Through embracing the strengths and acknowledging the limitations of both perspectives, we can create an educational system that empowers individuals to navigate societal barriers while also equipping them with the critical thinking skills necessary to challenge and dismantle oppressive structures, fostering a more just and equitable society. (shrink)

European Journal of Philosophy, Volume 30, Issue 2, Page 709-724, June 2022.

Quá trình chuyển đổi từ phương tiện chạy bằng nhiên liệu hóa thạch (xăng, dầu) sang phương tiện chạy bằng điện (EV) đại diện cho một thời kỳ mới, rất quan trọng trong lịch sử vận tải. Vào lúc này, khi thế giới vật lộn với những thách thức về biến đổi khí hậu, ô nhiễm không khí và trữ lượng nhiên liệu hóa thạch ngày càng cạn kiệt, việc chuyển đổi sang xe điện được coi là một bước quan (...) trọng hướng tới một tương lai bền vững hơn. (shrink)

Max Scheler apresentou sua formulação sobre o problema do livre arbítrio no opúsculo Phänomenologie und Metaphysik der Freiheit, de 1912- 1914, publicado em Gesammelte Werke, Band X. No presente capítulo, esta compreensão é apresentada de maneira resumida e, em seguida, apreciada à luz do debate contemporâneo entre o compatibilismo e o incompatibilismo. Ao fim, se pretende justificar a hipótese de que a posição scheleriana neste debate seria em favor do incompatibilismo libertarianista.

The aim of this investigation is to discuss the concept of realism and idealism applied to Husserlian phenomenology, distinguishing the ontological and the epistemological dimensions. Therefore, I propose questions that will help to mark this distinction. The answers will be given with reference to Husserl's texts and commentators.

As global warming is gradually pushing the Earth to the climate tipping point, the reduction of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has become more urgent than ever. Many high-tech methods, such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies, have been proposed as crucial tools in the fight against climate change. However, this paper argues that the expensiveness and uncertainty of CCS technologies make them not feasibly deployed. Persistent investment in these technologies also reinforces the outdated eco-deficit mindset that prioritizes monetary (...) over environmental values. In contrast, the recent flood in the Sahara desert turned barren areas green, reminding us that nature, when given the opportunity, can have an astonishing capacity to heal itself. Investing billions of dollars in deploying costly and uncertain high-tech solutions while limiting funds for local communities to take care of reliable natural carbon sinks risks depleting humanity's resources to tackle climate change, especially when the tipping points are closed. (shrink)