In this article I assess Georges Canguilhem's historical epistemology with both theoretical and historical questions in mind. From a theoretical point of view, I am concerned with the relation between history and philosophy, and in particular with the philosophical assumptions and external norms that are involved in history writing. Moreover, I am concerned with the role that history can play in the understanding and evaluation of philosophical concepts. From a historical point of view, I regard historical epistemology, as developed by (...) Gaston Bachelard and Georges Canguilhem, as a conception and practice which came out of the project, elaborated in France from the 1920s to the 1940s, of combining history of science and philosophy. I analyse in particular Canguilhem's epistemology in his theory and practice of history of science. What he called 'normative history' is the focus of my analysis. I evaluate the question of the nature and provenience of the norm employed in normative history, and I compare it with the norm as discussed by Canguilhem in Le normal et le pathologique. While I am critical of Canguilhem's treatment of history, I conclude that his philosophical suggestion to analyse the formation of scientific concepts 'from below' represents a useful model for history and philosophy of science, and that it can be very profitably extended to philosophical concepts. (shrink)

In this article, I examine the historiographical ideas of the historian of chemistry Hélène Metzger against the background of the ideas of the members of the groups and institutions in which she worked, including Alexandre Koyré, Gaston Bachelard, Abel Rey, Henri Berr and Lucien Febrve. This article is on two interdependent levels: that of particular institutions and groups in which she worked and the École Pratique des Hautes Études) and that of historiographical ideas. I individuate two particular theoretical aspirations pursued (...) by the historians in Metzger's milieu: the ideal of total history and the study of the human mind. These two objectives were seen by Metzger and many others as implicating each other. Moreover, Metzger and other historians wanted to integrate the practice of commentary of texts in the realisations of those ideals. I argue, however, that these objectives proved very difficult to realise at the same time. One tradition which stemmed out of these discussions, exemplified by Bachelard, Canguilhem and Foucault, focused on the mind and knowledge, and renounced commentary of texts and total history as it was understood by the historians of the Centre de Synthèse. The latter, however, did not really pursue the study of the mind. Moreover, historians like Metzger and Koyré who practised an attentive analysis of texts could not realise total history. (shrink)

In this paper, I discuss Gaston Bachelard’s criticism of Henri Bergson’s employment of intuition as the specific method of philosophy, and as a reliable means of acquiring knowledge. I locate Bachelard’s criticism within the reception of Bergsonian intuition by rationalist philosophers who subscribed to the Third Republic’s ethos. I argue that the reasons of Bachelard’s rejection of Bergsonian intuition were not only epistemological, but also ethical and pedagogical. His view of knowledge as mediated, social, and historical, cannot be separated from (...) his conceptions of society, education, and the human being. (shrink)

Bachelard regarded the scientific changes that took place in the early twentieth century as the beginning of a new era, not only for science, but also for philosophy. For him, the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics had shown that a new philosophical ontology and a new epistemology were required. I show that the type of philosophy with which he was more closely associated, in particular that of Léon Brunschvicg, offered to him a crucial starting point. Brunschvicg never considered scientific (...) objects as independent of the mind, and as a consequence questions such as the existence of particles independently of the mind, theory or apparatus, were absent from his philosophy, which was rather aimed at analyzing the mind critically, and above all historically. Bachelard accepted the fundamental ideas of Brunschvicg’s philosophy; however, his own reading of contemporary science enabled him to go beyond it, as shown by his emphasis on the social production of knowledge, and by his removal of the distinction between ideas and technologically produced objects of knowledge. For him, modern science teaches philosophy that knowledge is not a phenomenology but rather a ‘phenomenotechnique’. I argue that Bachelard’s view that philosophy ‘should follow science’ stems from moral considerations.Keywords: Gaston Bachelard; Léon Brunschvicg; Phenomenotechnique; Chosisme; Theory of relativity; Quantum mechanics. (shrink)

Introduction to the book symposium “THE BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL MODEL OF HEALTH AND DISEASE: NEW PHILOSOPHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENTS BY DEREK BOLTON AND GRANT GILLETT”.

El artículo presenta los resultados de una investigación sobre la violencia política en Perú y su actual incidencia en la crisis de legitimidad de las instituciones políticas democráticas. La metodología empleada supone la revisión documental y el tratamiento de otras fuentes sobre las múltiples maneras como el conflicto armado debilitó la credibilidad en los mecanismos y estamentos democráticos. Se presentan elementos concluyentes sobre la continuidad, durante y después del conflicto, de la desigualdad, la frustración en la búsqueda de la verdad (...) y justicia ante la violación de los derechos humanos como causas de la crisis e inestabilidad política en Perú. El artículo permitirá concluir con la grave crisis de gobernabilidad que atraviesa el país, que se traduce en prácticas corruptas que paralizan su desarrollo económico, marcando el paso de una crisis económica a una crisis política: un puente que une los años 1992 a 2018 y que deja como saldo una pérdida generalizada de confianza en la clase política y en las instituciones del poder público en Perú. (shrink)

In the late 1960s, Georges Canguilhem introduced the concept of ‘scientific ideology’. This concept had not played any role in his previous work, so why introduce it at all? This is the central question of my paper. Although it may seem a rather modest question, its answer in fact uncovers hidden tensions in the tradition of historical epistemology, in particular between its normative and descriptive aspects. The term ideology suggests the influence of Althusser’s and Foucault’s philosophies. However, I show the (...) differences between Canguilhem’s concept of scientific ideology and Althusser’s and Foucault’s respective concepts of ideology. I argue that Canguilhem was in fact attempting to solve long-standing problems in the tradition of historical epistemology, rather than following the lead of his younger colleagues. I argue that Canguilhem’s ‘refurbishment without rejection’ of Bachelard’s epistemology, which the concept of scientific ideology was aimed to implement, was necessary to justify the historical narratives that Canguilhem had constructed in his own work as a historian of concepts. A strict acceptance of Bachelard’s epistemology would have made it impossible to justify them. Canguilhem’s concept of scientific ideology therefore served as a theoretical justification of his practice as a historian. I maintain that the concept of scientific ideology was needed to reconcile Bachelard’s normative epistemology with Canguilhem’s view of the history of science and its aims, which differed from Bachelard’s more than it is generally acknowledged. (shrink)

A disposition or dispositional property is a capacity, ability, or potential to display or exhibit some outcome. Evolvability refers to a disposition to evolve. This chapter discusses why the dispositional nature of evolvability matters—why philosophical distinctions about dispositions can have scientific implications. To that end, we build a conceptual toolkit with vocabulary from prior philosophical analyses using a different disposition: protein foldability. We then apply this toolkit to address several methodological questions related to evolvability. What entities are the bearers of (...) evolvability? What features causally contribute to the disposition of evolvability? How does evolvability manifest? The various possible answers to these questions available from philosophical distinctions suggest key implications for why the concept of evolvability as a disposition is useful in evolutionary research. These include (1) securing scientific virtues (e.g., explanatory depth and generalization, prediction or retrodiction, and control or manipulation) and (2) fostering interdisciplinary collaboration through the coordination of definitional diversity and different types of inquiry. Together these facilitate concentration on a variety of research questions at different levels of organization and on distinct time scales, all of which should be expected for a complex dispositional property such as evolvability. (shrink)

* Doutora em Educação pela Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Professora na Universidade Estadual do Ceará. E-mail: [email protected]. ** Doutor em Sociologia pela Universidade Federal do Ceará. Professor titular da Faculdade de Educação da Universidade Federal do Ceará. Professor-pesquisador do convênio de colaboração entre a l’Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, a linha de pesquisa Marxismo, educação e luta de classes do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação Brasileira da Universidade Federal do Ceará e o Mestrado Acadêmico Intercampi em Educação e Ensino, da Universidade (...) Estadual do Ceará. Professor-pesquisador do Convênio de Colaboração entre o Programa de Mestrado em Antropologia de Iberoamérica da Universidade de Salamanca e Linha de Pesquisa Marxismo, Educação e Luta de Classes do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação Brasileira da Universidade Federal do Ceará. E-mail: [email protected]. Resumo: O texto problematiza a legitimação das Artes como campo de saber nos currículos de cursos de Pedagogia. Reflete, pois, sobre formação inicial de pedagogos e o repertório artístico-cultural desses profissionais para atenderem às demandas escolares referentes ao ensino de Artes. Tomamos como base de fundamentação teórica, principalmente, a noção de campo de Bourdieu e sua idéia de consagração desse campo como um processo constituído relacionalmente. O trabalho traduz um estudo bibliográfico imerso no campo da Educação, guiado, entretanto, por reflexões sustentadas em observações e vivências estético-pedagógicas no âmbito da formação inicial docente, numa universidade pública estadual brasileira. Com o estudo, infere-se que à universidade cabe a responsabilidade estratégica de garantir a ampliação de componentes curriculares que abranjam saberes em Artes.Palavras-chave: Campo de saber. Artes. Formação de pedagogos. The field of artistic knowledge in the training curriculum of pedagogos and its echo in schools: The text problematizes the legitimization of the Arts as a field of knowledge in the curricula of Pedagogy courses. It reflects, therefore, on the initial formation of pedagogues and the artistic-cultural repertoire of these professionals to attend to the school demands related to the teaching of Arts. We take as theoretical basis mainly the notion of Bourdieu's field and his idea of ​​consecration of this field as a process constituted relationally. The work translates a bibliographic study immersed in the field of Education, guided, however, by reflections sustained in observations and aesthetic-pedagogical experiences in the scope of initial teacher training, in a Brazilian state public university. With the study, it is inferred that the university has the strategic responsibility to guarantee the expansion of curricular components that cover knowledge in Arts.Keywords: Field of knowledge. Arts. Formation of pedagogues. El campo de saber artístico en los curriculos de formación de pedagogos y su eco en las escuelas Resumen: El texto problematiza la legitimación de las Artes como campo de saber en los currículos de cursos de Pedagogía. Refleja, pues, sobre formación inicial de pedagogos y el repertorio artístico-cultural de esos profesionales para atender a las demandas escolares referentes a la enseñanza de Artes. Tomamos como base de fundamentación teórica principalmente la noción de campo de Bourdieu y su idea de consagración de ese campo como un proceso constituido relacionalmente. El trabajo traduce un estudio bibliográfico inmerso en el campo de la Educación, guiado, sin embargo, por reflexiones sostenidas en observaciones y vivencias estético-pedagógicas en el ámbito de la formación inicial docente, en una universidad pública estatal brasileña. Con el estudio, se infiere que a la universidad cabe la responsabilidad estratégica de garantizar la ampliación de componentes curriculares que abarquen saberes en Artes.Palabras Clave: Campo de saber. Artes. Formación de pedagogos. Data de registro: 15/02/2019Data de aceite: 23/04/2020. (shrink)

Background: The intensive care unit environment focuses on interventions and support therapies that prolong life. The exercise by nurses of their autonomy impacts on perception of the role they assume in the multidisciplinary team and on their function in the intensive care unit context. There is much international research relating to nurses’ involvement in end-of-life situations; however, there is a paucity of research in this area in Brazil. In the Brazilian medical scenario, life support limitation generated a certain reluctance of (...) a legal nature, which has now become unjustifiable with the publication of a resolution by the Federal Medical Council. In Brazil, the lack of medical commitments to end-of-life care is evident. Objective: To understand the process by which nurses exercise autonomy in making end-of-life decisions in intensive care units. Research design: Symbolic Interactionism and Corbin and Strauss theory methodology were used for this study. Participants and research context: Data were collected through single audio-recorded qualitative interviews with 14 critical care nurses. The comparative analysis of the data has permitted the understanding of the meaning of nurse’s experience in exercising autonomy relating to end-of-life decision-making. Ethical considerations: Institutional ethics approval was obtained for data collection. Participants gave informed consent. All data were anonymized. Findings: The results revealed that nurses experience the need to exercise autonomy in intensive care units on a daily basis. Their experience expressed by the process of increase opportunities to exercise autonomy is conditioned by the pressure of the intensive care unit environment, in which nurses can grow, feel empowered, and exercise their autonomy or else can continuously depend on the decisions made by other professionals. Conclusion: Nurses exercise their autonomy through care. They work to create new spaces at the same time that they acquire new knowledge and make decisions. Because of the complexity of the end-of-life situation, nurses must adopt a proactive attitude that inserts them into the decision-making process. (shrink)

This article deals with some aspects of the study of the mind between the 1920s and 1940s at the University of Paris. Traditionally the domain of philosophy, the study of the mind was encroached upon by other disciplines such as history of science, ethnology, sociology and psychology. These disciplines all had weak institutional status and were struggling to constitute themselves as autonomous. History of science did not as a rule reject its relationship with philosophy, whereas ethnology, sociology and psychology were (...) constructing their identities by breaking away from philosophy. A discussion about Lévy-Bruhl’s La mentalité primitive, hosted by the Société Française de Philosophie in 1923, showed that the positions of philosophers, sociologists and psychologists about the questions posed by the book, namely the fixity and universality of the mind, were strictly linked with their views about the ‘scientificity’ of ethnology. A compromise between fixity and historical transformation of the mind was put forward by Gaston Bachelard, who institutionally represented the discipline of history and philosophy of science. This discipline was institutionally linked to ethnology, psychology and sociology, but, unlike them, had no claim to ‘scientificity’. Bachelard realized this compromise by breaking the unity of the mind and by employing an extra-institutional discipline: psychoanalysis. His freedom of choice corresponded with an increasingly weak institutional position for the discipline of history and philosophy of science. (shrink)

Este artículo explora mi devenir como indagadora narrativa en la educación superior. Se trata de una aproximación íntima a las formas teóricas y metodológicas en las cuales, dentro de mi grupo de investigación en la Facultad de Humanidades de la Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina, hemos recogido relatos sus docentes y estudiantes para estudiar entre otros temas, representaciones sobre el currículo, buenas prácticas de enseñanza, docentes memorables, identidades y experiencias de docentes en ciernes. En el transcurso de este (...) devenir indagador reconocemos, en este orden, estaciones de cruces con diversas metodologías tan narrativas como íntimas: investigación de narrativas; investigación con narrativas; investigación biográfico-narrativa; indagación narrativa; indagación poética; autoetnografía; indagación narrativa visual. Examinamos los vínculos metodológicos y teóricos entre qué investigamos y relatamos, cómo lo hacemos y lo re-presentamos y quiénes devenimos entre los contenidos teóricos y las formas metodológicas. Mediante este trabajo, aspiramos a continuar los diálogos con el variado universo narrativo en el ámbito de la educación universitaria. (shrink)

UMA ANÁLISE DA MODULAÇÃO PRO FUTURO DOS EFEITOS DA DECISÃO COMO INSTRUMENTO DE MANUTENÇÃO DA ORDEM JURÍDICA.

Introduzione Il problema filosofico centrale di Lexical Competence (Marconi 1997 — i riferimenti che faremo sono relativi all’edizione italiana apparsa due anni dopo) è che cosa distingue la comprensione del linguaggio da parte di un agente umano da quella che potrebbe essere attribuita a un sistema artificiale. Nel rispondere a questa domanda Marconi (d’ora in poi, M.) offre una teoria della conoscenza del significato, descrive cioè in che cosa consiste conoscere il significato delle parole...

Fibring is defined as a mechanism for combining logics with a first-order base, at both the semantic and deductive levels. A completeness theorem is established for a wide class of such logics, using a variation of the Henkin method that takes advantage of the presence of equality and inequality in the logic. As a corollary, completeness is shown to be preserved when fibring logics in that class. A modal first-order logic is obtained as a fibring where neither the Barcan formula (...) nor its converse hold. (shrink)

The diagnosis of idiopathic short stature refers to children who are considerably shorter than average without any identified medical reason. The US Food and Drug Administration authorised marketing of recombinant human growth hormone for ISS in 2003, while the European Medicines Agency refused it in 2007. This paper examines the arguments for these decisions as detailed in selected FDA and EMA documents. It combines argumentative analysis with an approach to policy analysis called ‘What’s the problem represented to be’. It argues (...) that the FDA presents its approval as an argument for equity of access to the treatment, describing short stature as a potential disadvantage, and assuming that height normalisation is a clinically meaningful result. The EMA, instead, refuses marketing authorisation with an argument that there is an imbalance of risks and benefits, describing ISS as a healthy condition, and arguing that hGH should provide some psychosocial and/or quality of life benefits to children with ISS other than height gain. This paper then discusses how these arguments could be read through different models of disability, particularly through the medical model of disability and the relational, experiential, and cultural understandings of disability. (shrink)

A peça trágica, Medeia, é uma das maiores criações de Sêneca. É notável que Medeia tivesse empreendido uma luta interna para manter-se fiel ao seu passado de crimes, pois pretendeu exacerbar seu lado criminoso e, por fim, acabou travando uma batalha com sua própria consciência. No decorrer da peça, invocou até mesmo o universo, solicitando vingança à sua dor; entretanto, ela é mãe, revestida, internamente, de um “medo feminino”. Pretende-se apresentar, neste estudo, de que forma Medeia empreende tal luta interna (...) para arrancar do peito esse sentimento e desvencilhar-se do medo feminino a ponto de tornar-se “inumana” e matar os próprios filhos. (shrink)

Georges Canguilhem s’est opposé à la médecine positiviste qui cherche à établir la normalité une fois pour toutes. Il a en revanche mis au centre de la médecine les individus, avec leurs variations et leurs subjectivités. D’un côté, il s’est concentré sur l’individu dans sa globalité, par opposition à ses organes et tissus ; d’un autre côté, il a soutenu qu’un individu n’est normal que par rapport à un milieu donné. Dans cet article, je soutiens que la conception de Canguilhem (...) du normal comme relatif à un individu et à son milieu est toujours d’une grande actualité. En même temps, je soutiens qu’il a négligé de développer certaines questions soulevées par sa propre philosophie. Notamment, il n’a pas pleinement analysé comment les individus en viennent à juger de leur propre normalité ni les conséquences sociales de leurs jugements. De même, il n’a pas considéré que tous les individus et groupes n’ont pas le même pouvoir de façonner leur milieu et le milieu des autres. L’approche holistique de Canguilhem à l’égard des êtres humains et de leur milieu fait que la question des jugements des individus sur leur propre normalité est plus complexe qu’il ne l’a reconnu. (shrink)

A brief theoretical review of the current state of the art of embodiment research in clinical psychology has been expounded in order to highlight the key role that embodied conceptualization has on the understanding and explanation of several mental disorders, such as eating disorders, schizophrenia and depression. Evidence has suggested that mental disorders may be explained as disturbances of embodiment, from the disembodiment to the hyperembodiment. In order to understand how some clinical conditions are affected by cultural models, we propose (...) and define a new framework called Exbodiment, complementary to the Embodiment approach to cognition. Mental disorder is strictly related to the subject-culture interaction that may be explained as a two way process in which embodiment and exbodiment are complementary points of view. In this perspective, embodiment may be seen as the “top-down” process, while exbodiment the “bottom-up” one. The introduction of exbodiment conceptualization highlights how subject is both receiver and interpreter of social influence. Subject is the target of a cultural pressure and, at the same time, enacts its own embodied culture in world. Exbodiment conceptualization may help clinicians to better understand and explain the role of culture in the onset and maintenance of mental disorders. (shrink)

Sijilmassi et al. argue that myths around shared ancestry and history exploit an evolved psychology of interdependence. In contrast, we argue that psychological exploitation is not required. Rather, such myths may be one method, among many, to create a shared understanding of group boundaries, which can be “self-enforcing.” We summarize the game-theoretic basis for this account and some supportive evidence.

O artigo discute a problemática na produção de semijoias e bijuterias em Limeira-SP. A pesquisa descritiva foi realizada com crianças e adolescentes em idade escolar.Foi aplicado um questionário contendo 41 perguntas objetivas que investigaram o perfil do estudante, da família, do trabalho, dos estudos e aspectos da saúde. Entre os principais resultados foi detectado que 569 participantes possuíam idades entre 7 a 13 anos e destes 37,43% informaram que precisam trabalhar para ajudar seus familiares.Quando questionado sobre o tipo de atividade (...) que realizam 28,18% estudantes indicaram que estão envolvidos com a produção de semijoias e bijuterias. (shrink)

Human experience has a symbolic structure. By focusing on the symbolism of human action, this essay considers the reciprocal influences and the essential differences between Paul Ricœur’s hermeneutics and Clifford Geertz’s cultural anthropology. Through reference to Ricœur’s Lectures on Ideology and Utopia, the section on “Ideology, Utopia, and Politics” in From Text to Action, and Geertz’s 1973 book The Interpretation of Cultures, this paper aims at reconstructing the dialogue between these thinkers. I begin with a broad framing of the encounter (...) between Ricœur and Geertz, and then turn to the notion of the symbolic mediation of action, considering it as the shared key concept between these authors. These reflections will lead to an examination of the semiotic conception of culture, opening up the discussion of a nonpejorative dimension of ideology. (shrink)

Reproducción del artículo de Juan Carlos Torre, “Una nueva oposición social”, originalmente publicado en la revista Los Libros. Un mes de publicaciones en América Latina, n° 21, agosto 1971.

El agua, como agente físico de la naturaleza, ha sido utilizada desde la antigüedad con fines higiénicos y terapéuticos. Sin embargo, distintas civilizaciones antiguas le añadían un valor mágico y divino para conseguir la curación. El objetivo de la presente revisión bibliográfica es conocer el valor terapéutico del agua en la cultura fenicia, así como identificar la localización de los centros termales donde se aplicaba. Water, as a physics agent of nature, has been used since ancient times with hygienic and (...) therapeutic aims. However, different ancient civilizations added it a magic and divine value to get faith healing. The objective of this bibliographical review is to know the therapeutic value of water in the Phoenician culture, as well as to identify the location of thermal centers where it was applied. (shrink)

Introduction française au numéro spécial "Ricœur et la question de l'espace".

Paul Ricœur and Jan Patočka are considered among the most important phenomenologists of the 20 th century. As with Ricœur, Patočka ’s philosophy is shaped by an enduring critical confrontation with Husserl’s phenomenology and Heidegger’s phenomenological analyses of Dasein. The present paper aims at analyzing Ricœur ’s and Patočka ’s convergences and mutual inspirations in their perspectives on the topic of history. More precisely, I will take up the question of the meaning of history in Ricœur and Patočka as profoundly (...) influenced by their readings of Husserl’s Krisis. Then, the attention will be turned to Ricœur ’s concept of historicity and Patočka ’s notion of care of the soul as concerns involved in the search for meaning in history as an open-ended mediation. In this context, I will discuss Ricœur ’s and Patočka ’s critical examination of Heidegger’s conception of thrownness and projection, that is, Dasein’s already-being-in-the-world and its disclosedness, as necessary concepts for understanding their own philosophical approaches to history. (shrink)

Introduction to special issue "Ricoeur and the Problem of Space".

A questão da clareza e objetividade dos critérios utilizados na avaliação e interpretação dos testes psicológicos é uma das preocupações dos profissionais da Psicologia que trabalham com a avaliação psicológica. O objetivo deste trabalho consistiu em verificar em que medida os critérios de avaliação..

O objectivo deste artigo é analisar a insígnia profissional e outros símbolos tipográficos usados pelos membros de uma família de impressores de nome António Álvares, que trabalharam em Lisboa nos séculos XVI e XVII. Inicia-se com uma súmula dos dados biográficos e da actividade destes profissionais; segue-se a apresentação da marca tipográfica e de outras gravuras; e conclui-se com uma breve reflexão sobre a importância do estudo das marcas tipográficas para a compreensão do trabalho dos impressores, que inclui a detecção (...) de obras contrafeitas e clandestinas. (shrink)