What should we do when two conflicting ontologies are both fruitful, though their fruitfulness varies by context or location? To achieve reconciliation, it is not enough to advocate pluralism. There are many varieties of pluralism and not all pluralisms will serve equally well; some may be inconsistent, others unhelpful. This essay considers another option: local ontology. For a pair of ontologies, a local ontology consists of two claims: (1) each location enjoys a unique ontology, and (2) neither ontology is most (...) fundamental nor most global. To argue for this view and provide an example, I develop a local ontology for two scientific ontologies: processualism and new mechanism. To further support this ontology, I argue against two varieties of pluralism: first, a pluralism based on directly unifying the assumptions of both ontologies and, second, one of allowing both ontologies to coexist within a discipline. I argue that the first option is inconsistent and the second is unhelpful. I conclude that this local ontology provides us with a consistent and fruitful account that includes elements from both mechanism and processualism. (shrink)

Constructive Neutral Evolution is an evolutionary mechanism that can explain much molecular inter-dependence and organismal complexity without assuming positive selection favoring such dependency or complexity, either directly or as a byproduct of adaptation. It differs from but complements other non-selective explanations for complexity, such as genetic drift and the Zero Force Evolutionary Law, by being ratchet-like in character. With CNE, purifying selection maintains dependencies or complexities that were neutrally evolved. Preliminary treatments use it to explain specific genetic and molecular structures (...) or processes, such as retained gene duplications, the spliceosome, and RNA editing. Here we aim to expand the scope of such explanation beyond the molecular level, integrating CNE with Multi-Level Selection theory, and arguing that several popular higher-level selection scenarios are in fact instances of CNE. Suitably contextualized, CNE occurs at any level in the biological hierarchy at which natural selection as normally construed occurs. As examples, we focus on modularity in protein–protein interaction networks or “interactomes,” the origin of eukaryotic cells and the evolution of co-dependence in microbial communities—a variant of the “Black Queen Hypothesis” which we call the “Gray Queen Hypothesis”. (shrink)

Our aim in this paper is to take quite seriously Heinz Post’s claim that the non-individuality and the indiscernibility of quantum objects should be introduced right at the start, and not made a posteriori by introducing symmetry conditions. Using a different mathematical framework, namely, quasi-set theory, we avoid working within a label-tensor-product-vector-space-formalism, to use Redhead and Teller’s words, and get a more intuitive way of dealing with the formalism of quantum mechanics, although the underlying logic should be modified. We build (...) a vector space with inner product, the Q-space, using the non-classical part of quasi-set theory, to deal with indistinguishable elements. Vectors in Q-space refer only to occupation numbers and permutation operators act as the identity operator on them, reflecting in the formalism the fact of unobservability of permutations. Thus, this paper can be regarded as a tentative to follow and enlarge Heinsenberg’s suggestion that new phenomena require the formation of a new “closed” (that is, axiomatic) theory, coping also with the physical theory’s underlying logic and mathematics. (shrink)

In this article we discuss the contextual character of quantum mechanics in the framework of modal interpretations. We investigate its historical origin and relate contemporary modal interpretations to those proposed by M. Born and W. Heisenberg. We present then a general characterization of what we consider to be a modal interpretation. Following previous papers in which we have introduced modalities in the Kochen-Specker theorem, we investigate the consequences of these theorems in relation to the modal interpretations of quantum mechanics.

El artículo desarrolla una primera propuesta para abordar el tema de la relación universidad-comunidad como un espacio de reconfiguración de lo público, explicitando en primer lugar una posición teórica acerca de los conceptos espacio público, comunidad y universidad, comunidad, para poder avanzar luego en las posibles relaciones entre los mismos. Señala los cambios acontecidos en el siglo XXI en relación a la reconfiguración del espacio público ya no exclusivamente ligado al Estado sino que como espacio de participación ciudadana y comunitaria; (...) proponiendo una modalidad de trabajo de la universidad en sus relaciones con la comunidad, que coloca a los ciudadanos como protagonistas desde la idea de democratización del saber. (shrink)

Philosophical feminism is the only coherent philosophy with universal implications that provides a theoretical alternative to patriarchal thought and sociopolitical structures. I distinguish between a patriarchal logic of power and a feminist logic of pleasure that leads to an enlightened ethical hedonism, a pleasure-centered, feminist ethical framework based on a cooperative rather than authoritarian model of social relations.

O presente estudo acerca das atividades praticadas por rezadeiras no Brasil teve o intuito de identificar as identidades étnicas e as etnociências que compõem a pluralidade dos grupos sociais nos quais elas atuam e qual a sua importância para os meios. O objetivo, portanto foi identificar as diferentes identidades étnicas que influenciam as práticas das rezadeiras. Para isso, foi adotada a metodologia da pesquisa bibliográfica de cunho exploratório descritivo e qualitativa a fim de obter uma visão sistemática do assunto. O (...) estudo se justifica devido a importância em conhecer as identidades éticas bem como a etnociência existente nas práticas das rezadeiras, resgatando conhecimentos históricos e uma riqueza cultural fundamental para boa parte da população brasileira uma vez que estudos na área são escassos. Foram analisados 15 artigos que pautam sobre as práticas das rezadeiras, e os resultados obtidos apontaram que há muitas semelhanças entre as práticas de rezadeiras em diferentes regiões do Brasil e suas diferenças estão relacionadas, provavelmente, às origens que esses povos possuem. Portanto, conclui-se que vieram de matrizes africanas e indígenas principalmente e que possuem ainda mais semelhanças devido ao intercâmbio realizado entre algumas dessas culturas no território brasileiro. (shrink)

The counterfactual and regularity theories are universal accounts of causation. I argue that these should be generalized to produce local accounts of causation. A hallmark of universal accounts of causation is the assumption that apparent variation in causation between locations must be explained by differences in background causal conditions, by features of the causal-nexus or causing-complex. The local account of causation presented here rejects this assumption, allowing for genuine variation in causation to be explained by differences in location. I argue (...) that local accounts of causation are plausible, and have pragmatic, empirical and theoretical advantages over universal accounts. I then report on the use of presheaves as models of local causation. The use of presheaves as models of local variation has precedents in algebraic geometry, category theory and physics; they are here used as models of local causal variation. The paper presents this idea as stemming from an approach using presheaves as models of local truth. Finally, I argue that a proper balance between universal and local causation can be assuaged by moving from presheaves to fully-fledged sheaf models. (shrink)

Recent debates about the biological and evolutionary conditions for sentience have generated a renewed interest in fine-grained functionalism. According to one such account advanced by Peter Godfrey-Smith, sentience depends on the fine-grained activities characteristic of living organisms. Specifically, the scale, context and stochasticity of these fine-grained activities. One implication of this view is that contemporary artificial intelligence is a poor candidate for sentience. Insofar as current AI lacks the ability to engage in such living activities it will lack sentience, no (...) matter what its coarse-grained functions. In this paper, we review the case for fine-grained functionalism and show that there are contemporary machines that fulfil the fine-grained functional criteria identified by Godfrey-Smith, and thus are candidates for sentience. Molecular machines such as Brownian computers are analogous to metabolic activity in their scale, context and stochasticity, and can serve as the basis of AI. Molecular computation is a promising candidate for artificial sentience according to contemporary philosophical accounts of sentience. (shrink)

El Psicoanálisis freudiano, ya se lo considere como un método para la investigación del inconsciente, una psicoterapia o una teoría psicológica, se sustenta en una concepción metafísica y antropológica. Dichos fundamentos filosóficos no fueron asumidos por S. Freud, lo cual no implica, sin embargo, que no estén en la base de esta cosmovisión que revolucionó la cultura del siglo XX. Se analizan sucesivamente: A. La relación personal de S. Freud con la filosofía. Asume un carácter paradójico y conflictivo, ya que (...) a veces ella aparece como su máxima aspiración y, en otras ocasiones, se considera a sí mismo constitucionalmente incapaz de comprenderla. B. Su actitud hacia los filósofos, francamente ambigua, en tanto entabla con ellos una polémica constante y, al mismo tiempo, admira la filosofía de Platón, Nietzsche y Schopenhauer, entre otros. C. La fundamentación psicoanalítica de la filosofía como institución cultural. Al igual que la religión, la moral y el derecho, es producto de la sublimación que sustituye el objeto y el fin del instinto, y logra su satisfacción en una función no sexual y más elevada desde el punto de vista social o ético. La metapsicología será el intento científico de reinterpretar la metafísica que es producto de las fuerzas inconscientes. D. Explicitación de algunas de las ideas filosóficas subyacentes en el Psicoanálisis, limitadas a sus conexiones con A. Schopenhauer. El Psicoanálisis se apoya en una concepción materialista y positivista de lo real y sostiene una antropología pandeterminista en la que afloran las ideas del filósofo de Danzig. A él debe la noción de represión, la valoración de los impulsos sexuales, la idea de inconsciente, el peso del instinto de muerte, el fatalismo y la convicción de que la esencia de las relaciones humanas es el conflicto. A pesar de su cosmovisión reduccionista, Freud sigue siendo cimiento y referencia obligada de todo planteo psicológico, psicopatológico o psicoterapéutico. (shrink)

Political history of Latin America has been marked for its authoritarian regimes. It might be because of the ending of those regimes that democracy is considered to have won in the region. But contemporary democracy faces many problems; this article reflects on the issues of order within democracy a..

Según Chantal Mouffe, las concepciones deliberativas de la democracia desconocen el fenómeno político; esto se pone manifiesto en la pretensión de alcanzar un consenso racional que niega el conflicto, elemento insoslayable de la política. Otro error que les atribuye es privilegiar la razón sobre los componentes pasionales al considerar la motivación de las acciones. Como alternativa propone la democracia radical centrada en las ideas de "hegemonía", en la oposición nosotros-ellos y en la importancia de las pasiones en la política. Este (...) artículo sostiene, primero, que la democracia deliberativa puede afrontar con éxito cada una de estas críticas; segundo, a partir de realizar una reconstrucción de los elementos normativos que contiene el pluralismo agonista, argumenta que fracasa en su intención de ofrecerse como una alternativa al estatus-quo de la democracia liberal ya que disuelve la validez en la facticidad. According to Chantal Mouffe, deliberative conceptions of democracy reject the political phenomenon. This is evident when a rational consensus to deny the conflict -politically unavoidable- is supported. Another error she also underlines is to privilege rational more than emotional elements in order to consider actions motivation. As an alternative she proposes radical democracy centered on the one hand at the idea of "hegemony", according to the opposition us-them and in the other at the passions involved in politics. The author maintains that deliberative democracy can face successfully each one of those critics. After reconstructing the normative elements that radical democracy contains, the argument proves that it fails in the pretention to be an alternative to liberal democracy status-quo since it dissolves validity in facticity. (shrink)

Los trabajos que aquí se comentan fueron confeccionados en diferentes períodos, algunos bastante alejados entre sí. Volver a leerlos para responder a las observaciones que integran este dossier me permitió revisar mi producción y examinarla a la luz de la distancia. Confirmé que siempre me han preocupado los mismos temas: las condiciones de la justicia y las causas de las injusticias, la calidad de la democracia y el compromiso ciudadano. Dividí el artículo en tres secciones, procurando reunir mis respuestas en (...) cierta unidad temática: Democracia deliberativa y razón pública (I), Felicidad, virtud y razón práctica (II) y Algo de neuroética (III). Las observaciones y críticas que realizaron los colegas me posibilitó mejorar algunos argumentos y aclarar ciertos puntos oscuros; confío en haberlo logrado. (shrink)

Cette monumentale etude d'Olivier Brunet reste assurement la reference majeure concernant la philosophie esthetique de David Hume (1711-1776). Les questions et les problemes relatifs au "beau", au "jugement de gout" ne se presentent pas, dans l'oeuvre du penseur ecossais, de maniere detachee, isolee du reste de sa philosophie. C'est l'un des merites d'Olivier Brunet d'avoir montre que les reflexions de Hume sur l'esthetique sont inseparables de ses concepts essentiels. Ainsi, lorsque l'on recherche les racines conceptuelles de la definition (...) du "jugement de gout" chez Hume, on retrouve les memes jalons qui structurent son ethique. En morale comme en esthetique, les "passions" jouent un role central et sont liees - chacune a leur facon - a l'"utile"; celui-ci participe a la cause du "plaisir esthetique" qui est lui-meme etroitement lie a la fameuse "sympathie", sentiment desinteresse reglant le comportement moral tel que definit par Hume. La boucle est-elle bouclee? Loin de la, car l'esthetique humienne serait encore impossible a saisir, sans y considerer l'usage que le fondateur de l'empirisme moderne fait de ses concepts-phares : la croyance, le scepticisme, l'experience, l'habitude. Olivier Brunet, enfin, ne borne pas son etude a la philosophie esthetique de Hume. De tres belles pages sont consacrees a la relation personnelle que ce dernier entretenait avec l'art, ainsi qu'aux vertus sociales, psychologiques et morales que l'auteur du Traite de la nature humaine deduisait de la contemplation du Beau. (shrink)

We argue that artificial networks are explainable and offer a novel theory of interpretability. Two sets of conceptual questions are prominent in theoretical engagements with artificial neural networks, especially in the context of medical artificial intelligence: Are networks explainable, and if so, what does it mean to explain the output of a network? And what does it mean for a network to be interpretable? We argue that accounts of “explanation” tailored specifically to neural networks have ineffectively reinvented the wheel. In (...) response to, we show how four familiar accounts of explanation apply to neural networks as they would to any scientific phenomenon. We diagnose the confusion about explaining neural networks within the machine learning literature as an equivocation on “explainability,” “understandability” and “interpretability.” To remedy this, we distinguish between these notions, and answer by offering a theory and typology of interpretation in machine learning. Interpretation is something one does to an explanation with the aim of producing another, more understandable, explanation. As with explanation, there are various concepts and methods involved in interpretation: Total or Partial, Global or Local, and Approximative or Isomorphic. Our account of “interpretability” is consistent with uses in the machine learning literature, in keeping with the philosophy of explanation and understanding, and pays special attention to medical artificial intelligence systems. (shrink)

The concept of individuality in quantum mechanics shows radical differences from the concept of individuality in classical physics, as E. Schrödinger pointed out in the early steps of the theory. Regarding this fact, some authors suggested that quantum mechanics does not possess its own language, and therefore, quantum indistinguishability is not incorporated in the theory from the beginning. Nevertheless, it is possible to represent the idea of quantum indistinguishability with a first-order language using quasiset theory (Q). In this work, we (...) show that Q cannot capture one of the most important features of quantum non-individuality, which is the fact that there are quantum systems for which particle number is not well defined. An axiomatic variant of Q, in which quasicardinal is not a primitive concept (for a kind of quasisets called finite quasisets), is also given. This result encourages the searching of theories in which the quasicardinal, being a secondary concept, stands undefined for some quasisets, besides showing explicitly that in a set theory about collections of truly indistinguishable entities, the quasicardinal needs not necessarily be a primitive concept. (shrink)

Νέα ανάγνωση των επιγραφών που αφορούν τις ιερές αγροικίες του Απόλλωνα στη Δήλο και τη Ρήνεια. Α. Το είδος των επιγραφών επιβάλλει περιορισμούς στην ερμηνεία τους : δεν μπορούν να μας πληροφορήσουν ούτε για τη θέση των αγροικιών αλλά ούτε και για τη μορφή τους. Το γεγονός ότι υπάρχουν δεν πρέπει να μας κάνει να υποτιμήσουμε την σπουδαιότητα των ιδιωτικών αγροκτημάτων για τα οποία δεν διαθέτουμε κανένα παρόμοιο αρχείο. Β. Το έδαφος της Δήλου δεν ήταν λιγότερο πλούσιο από αυτό της (...) Ρήνειας και δεν είχε αποκλειστικό προορισμό την κτηνοτροφία : η αποκατάσταση της ID 452, 16-32 σε σχέση με την ID 467 βεβαιώνει την ύπαρξη ενός αμπελώνα στα Επισθένεια. Η έλλειψη μυλώνα στις αγροικίες της Δήλου δεν αποδεικνύει με κανένα τρόπο την απουσία καλλιέργειας δημητριακών αλλά πρέπει να συσχετισθεί με τον αριθμό των ατόμων που ζούσαν στις αγροικίες. Ενα μικρό ομοιογενές σύνολο κιστοφόρων τετραδράχμων της εποχής των Ατταλιδών είχε αποδοθεί, σε ένα πρόσφατα δημοσιευμένο corpus, στις Σάρδεις και τα Σύνναδα. Προσπαθούμε να αποδείξουμε ότι θα έπρεπε να ακολουθήσουμε ένα διαφορετικό συλλογισμό και τα νομίσματα αυτά να αποδοθούν σε τέσσερεις διαφορετικές πόλεις. Οι πόλεις αυτές θα μπορούσαν να είναι η Διονυσούπολις, η Βλαύνδος, η Λυσιάς ή τα Συννάδα και μία τέταρτη της οποίας η ταυτότητα παραμένει αβέβαιη. Βρισκόμαστε στη Φρυγία και προβληματιζόμαστε για τους λόγους ύπαρξης αυτών των σύντομων νομισματοκοπών. (shrink)

In what way do the corporatist and authoritarian legacies that modelled some Latin American labor institutions influence the opportunities for and restrictions on organizing workers in a new context? To what extent did institutional designs, together with other economic and political factors, influence the characteristics that currently distinguish the union organizations in the countries of the region? Taking into consideration the existence of a broader debate about the consequences of globalization and political democratization for unions, the contribution of historical institutionalism (...) and previous research, in this Article I compare the institutional and organizational dynamics of unions in four countries with authoritarian legacies and corporatist traditions. The Article argues that in spite of these shared traditions, the differences in the institutional designs — which have scarcely been considered in the specialized literature — have historically imposed distinctive features on the associational power of workers and unions. These features not only persist to the present day, but also translate into dissimilar trajectories of the labor movement and opportunities for organizing workers in the last decade. (shrink)

En dépit de la littérature relativement abondante à son sujet, quelle que soit la langue dans laquelle on pratique la théorie du droit , le réalisme scandinave reste assez mal connu. On n’en retient bien souvent que quelques bribes : lutte contre la métaphysique, empirisme, démystification, idéologie des juges, faits, fictions, prédictions… On ne manque pas non plus de rappeler quelques critiques, plus ou moins sévè..

Les travaux de Jean Piaget sur le développement cognitif ont largement mis en relief ce que comporte de génétique toute acquisition de connaissance sensible ou intellectuelle. Bien plus: le pere de la psychologie dite justement genetique voit dans la genése, entendue au sens de processus selon lequel le sujet connaissant construit l'objet, ce qui definit essentiellement toute connaissance. On sait que cette these piagetienne s'oppose á l'enseignement d'Aristote, qui conçoit la connaissance comme adaptation sui generis d'une faculte a un objet (...) donne independamment du sujet et voit l'essence du connaitre dans une simple copie des choses, dans un acte ou l'intelligence devient l'objet. Ne serait-ce qu'en raison de cette opposition, on n'aura pas tort de qualifier d'anti-genetique la psychologie de la connaissance d'Aristote. D'autant plus que la psychologie aristotelicienne n'est pas une psychologie scientifique au sens moderne du terme, de sorte qu'on y chercherait en vain des concepts a caractere operationnel tel le concept piagetien de genese. Pourtant, comme cet article tachera de le mettre en evidence, Aristote est loin d'avoir neglige l'aspect genese que comporte la connaissance sensible et intellectuelle. Conjointement a ses prises de position sur la nature de la connaissance, on trouve chez Aristote une description des activites sensibles et intellectuelles qui laisse au sujet bien plus d'initiative et s'avere bien plus « genetique » qu'on ne le suppose habituellement. (shrink)

Sustainable Geography recalls the system and laws of geographical space production, tackles the hardcore of geography and presents models and organizations through a regional analysis and the dynamics of territorial structures and methods. The book also describes the general idea of discontinuities, trenches, the anti-dialectical and redivision-uniformity in the globalization and addresses the Transnational Urban Systems and Urban Network in Europe.

Los trabajos de Pierre Bourdieu han llegado a ocupar en los últimos tiempos un lugar considerable en los ámbitos académicos de las ciencias sociales, al punto de que muchos consideran a Bourdieu uno de los más importantes teóricos de la sociología actual. Los aspectos de su obra que aquí nos interesan son la discusión acerca del concepto de clase social y la crítica al enfoque marxista de las clases, inspirados uno y otro en su teoría de los campos sociales. La (...) pregunta a la que intentaremos dar respuesta es ¿constituyen crítica y propuesta formulaciones realmente originales?Pierre Bourdieu's works have managed to occupy in the last times a considerable place in the academic areas of the social sciences, to the point of which many consider Bourdieu to be one of the most important theoretical of the current sociology. The aspects of his work in that here we are interested are the discussion it brings over from the concept of social class and the critique to the Marxist approach of the classes, inspired one and other one in his theory of the social fields. The question to which we will try to give response is: do they constitute critique and offer really original formulations? (shrink)

This article argues that evolutionary models based on selection validate, under appropriate conditions, the relevance of optimality as an explanatory mechanism in rational choice theory. The reason is that these frameworks share the mechanism that drives the results, namely, optimization, even if they situate it at different levels. The consequences of our argument are twofold. First, it resolves the tension between those predictions of rational choice theory that are accurate and the evidence showing that individuals seldom optimize. Second, it relativizes (...) the explanatory import of rationality without diminishing the role of optimization as a mechanism. (shrink)