At least since Kuhn’s Structure, philosophers have studied the influence of social factors in science’s pursuit of truth and knowledge. More recently, formal models and computer simulations have allowed philosophers of science and social epistemologists to dig deeper into the detailed dynamics of scientific research and experimentation, and to develop very seemingly realistic models of the social organization of science. These models purport to be predictive of the optimal allocations of factors, such as diversity of methods used in science, size (...) of groups, and communication channels among researchers. In this paper we argue that the current research faces an empirical challenge. The challenge is to connect simulation models with data. We present possible scenarios about how the challenge may unfold. (shrink)

In this text, we propose to examine the ways in which Nancy’s thought of catastrophe, indebted to Heidegger’s questioning of ontology and its history, embarks on a reading of the contemporary world marked by the passage of the “with” (Mitdasein) from the existential plane to the plainly categorial one. Thus, the ontological constitution of the existing slides into pure juxtaposition, as this appears in his analysis of the “proliferation of ends” and their incessant transformation into means.We also dedicate our attention (...) to the ruin, saturation and rupture of the “construction” model. It is in the infinitization of each and every action, through the unpredictable technical architecture in the base of its design, that the catastrophic penetrates the world with its constitutive multiplicity and the state of “suspension” that defines it. The life of waste in its dispersion is exemplary in this context: the catastrophe thus unfolds in lapses thrown into the environment and the psyche of the subjects, something that can be seen as the introjection of the temporality of struction.The anomie that today shelters the catastrophes that intertwine before our eyes, apparently “scandalous” in a paradigm of action, takes place in a «present that never fulfills itself as presence» (Nancy) and that finds itself in the impossibility of expressing the meaning of the world. The disorder of struction, which characterizes what some inappropriately call the Anthropocene, does not happen as a reversal or a destruction of an order, but rather as a disconnection of the imperative character of the order. From this question, a discussion opens on the meaning of the community that is on the verge of catastrophe. (shrink)

Ludwig Boltzmann is one of the foremost responsible for the development of modern atomism in thermodynamics. His proposition was revolutionary not only because it brought a new vision for Thermodynamics, merging a statistical approach with Newtonian physics, but also because he produced an entirely new perspective on the way of thinking about and describing physical phenomena. Boltzmann dared to flirt with constructivism and realism simultaneously, by hypothesizing the reality of atoms and claiming an inherent probabilistic nature related to many particles (...) systems. Boltzmann faced criticism from the positivists, who rejected the hypothesis of the atom as a matter of principle, and also from physicists, who rejected the idea of a classical bounded system that does not follow deterministic mechanical laws. We consider that Boltzmann thermodynamics has emerged as a systemic theory that deals with macroscopic bodies using collective variables; it was reformulated to a kinetic theory of gases, and subsequently to statistical mechanics. From the theoretical physical point of view, Boltzmann advocates an approach to thermodynamics based on mechanics and was one of the founders of statistical mechanics, together with ideas by Maxwell, Clausius and Gibbs. Subsequently, statistical mechanics has also influenced the development of quantum mechanics and information theory. Using an evolutionary epistemological perspective as a metaphor to describe the physical entities claimed in Boltzmann propositions, we interpret his work as a selected theory that gained attributes of reality and “survived” during a scientific-contextual competition to be more adapted, in the sense that it was able to better explain physical phenomena, and also generated “descendants”. (shrink)

In 2016, the theme chosen for the Ecumenical Fraternity Campaign was: "Common House, our responsibility." Organized by the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil, CFE has the overall objective of ensuring the right to sanitation for all people and commit ourselves in the light of faith, public politics and responsible attitudes to ensure the integrity and the future of our common home. The book of the prophet Amos, who inspired the motto of this campaign, "I want to see the (...) right sprout as the source and run the justice which stream that does not dry out.", is a revelation that also at that time had already acute social crises based on economic progress did not translate into equality and justice for all. In this line of thought, also include the thought of Pope Francis contained in his Encyclical Letter: Laudato Si ', therefore, its content covers the same reasoning Text-Base CFE/2016. To prevent such a relevant subject is forgotten, it is proposed, the objective of this Article, the constant resumption of the reading of the documents referenced herein, whose reflections can contribute to awaken in us a consciousness that materializes in responsible attitudes towards the preservation of our Common Home. (shrink)

O presente artigo objetiva refletir sobre a dimensão da preparação da Festa da Eucaristia através da Catequese. Sabendo-se - de acordo com o Catecismo da Igreja Católica e alguns documentos do Magistério da Igreja, tais como a Sacrosanctum Concilium e a Sacamentum Caritatis - que a Eucaristia é “fonte e ápice de toda a vida cristã”, pois esse sacramento “contém todo o bem espiritual da Igreja, a saber, o próprio Cristo, nossa Páscoa.” Com efeito, a Eucaristia é por excelência o (...) mistério da nossa fé e possui uma riqueza inesgotável: é a ceia do Senhor, a fração do Pão, comunhão, assembleia eucarística, Memorial da Paixão e Ressurreição do Senhor, divina Liturgia e santa Missa¹. Por tudo isso, é relevante considerar que a catequese é o momento privilegiado para apresentar toda a beleza desse Sacramento, permitindo que as crianças e jovens possam conhecer, amar e comungar Jesus Cristo Eucarístico, antecipando aqui na terra a eterna Festa do Céu. (shrink)

En este trabajo se analiza el recurso a la escatología y al universo profético-apocalíptico de orientación antiliberal durante la consumación de la independencia de México, en 1821. Las diversas fuentes impresas utilizadas revelan la importancia que adquirieron los discursos sibilinos en la transición del virreinato al Imperio, así como su potencial movilizador. Se argumenta que estos sirvieron para denunciar el liberalismo revolucionario, fomentar la alternativa emancipadora y proponer lecturas mesiánicas renovadas. A través de esos tres aspectos se exploran las posibilidades (...) del pensamiento escatológico y del marco profético a la hora de comprender los cambios político-religiosos del periodo de las independencias iberoamericanas. (shrink)

O objetivo principal deste artigo é apresentar a evolução que a relação entre o método e a ordem da natureza humana percorreu nas primeiras orações de Vico, a qual resultará em uma crítica à reivindicação moderna por uma universalidade metodológica. Assim, desde a Primeira Oração, é possível perceber que a atenção de Vico à ordem das coisas resulta na proposta de adequação entre método e objeto, evitando um método único diante da pluralidade de dificuldades epistêmicas. Dessa maneira, sua proposta de (...) um método de estudos, claramente oposto àquele de Port Royal, será o ápice do desenvolvimento de uma reprodução sintética ou artificial de uma ordem natural, que ao longo das primeiras orações foi desdobrado a partir da compreensão de uma natureza racional consoante ao seu entendimento sobre as etapas do desenvolvimento da mente humana e o compromisso ético e político do sábio. (shrink)

An extensive literature has been accumulating, in recent years, on face-processing in sheep and on the relevance of faces for social interaction in this species. In spite of this, spontaneous preferences for face or non-face stimuli in lambs have not been reported. In this study we tested the spontaneous preference of 8-day-old lambs (N = 9) for three pairs of stimuli. In each pair, one stimulus was a face-like display, whereas the other presented the same inner features displaced in unnatural (...) positions. One pair of stimuli was obtained from photographic images of ewes’ faces, the other two pairs were schematic face-like stimuli. Lambs could differentiate the two stimuli obtained by photos of conspecifics, looking longer at the non-face stimulus (p < 0.05). We interpret this as a novelty preference, proving that few day-old lambs have already encoded the structural properties that define a face and recognize violations of those general properties. (shrink)

This article analyses the contributions of the sociologies or theories of the South to the contemporary debates on the production of theory in the social sciences. Starting with the assumption that these projects adopt a critical view of how sociology has privileged certain objects over others in a colonial way, it proposes an analysis that makes use of certain aspects of the actor-network theory. This approach, it is suggested, will help the sociologies of the South to focus on the production (...) of ontoforms as their specific object, ontoforms which expand and at times challenge the established hegemonic notions of the social and of agency in this area of knowledge. (shrink)

Providing quality education means to respond to the diversity in the classroom. The teacher is a key figure in responding to the various educational needs presented by students. Specifically, special education professionals are of great importance as they are the ones who lend their support to regular classroom teachers and offer specialized educational assistance to students who require it. Therefore, special education is different from what takes place in the regular classroom, demanding greater commitment by the teacher. There are certain (...) behaviors, considered good teaching practices, which teachers have always been connected with to achieve good teaching and good learning. To ensure that these teachers are carrying out their educational work properly it is necessary to evaluate. This means having appropriate instruments. The Observational Protocol for Teaching Functions in Primary School and Special Education (PROFUNDO-EPE, v.3., in Spanish) allows to capture behaviors from these professionals and behavioral patterns that correspond to good teaching practices. In this study the behavior of two special education teachers who carry out their educational work in different contexts is evaluated. It reveals that teachers who were analyzed adapt their behavior depending on the context in which they carry out their educational work, providing the most appropriate response to the needs presented by students and showing good teaching practices. (shrink)

Although trust and reciprocity are ubiquitous in social exchange, their neurobiological substrate remains largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC)—a brain region critical for valuing social information—on individuals’ decisions in a trust game and in a risk game. In the trust game, one player, the investor, is endowed with a sum of money, which she can keep or invest. The amount she decides to invest is tripled and sent to the other player, (...) the trustee, who then decides what fraction to return to the investor. In separate runs, ten patients with focal bilateral damage to the vmPFC and control participants made decision while playing in the role of either investor or trustee with different anonymous counterparts in each run. A risk game was also included in which the investor faced exactly the same decisions as in the trust game, but a random device (i.e., a computer), not another player, determined the final payoffs. Results showed that vmPFC patients’ investments were not modulated by the type of opponent player (e.g., human vs. computer) present in the environment. Thus, vmPFC patients showed comparable risk-taking preferences both in social (trust game) and nonsocial (risk game) contexts. In stark contrast, control participants were less willing to take risk and invest when they believed that they were interacting with people than a computer. Furthermore, when acted as trustee, vmPFC patients made lower back transfers toward investors, thereby showing less reciprocity behavior. Taken together, these results indicate that social valuation and emotion subserved by vmPFC have a critical role in trusting and reciprocity decisions. The present findings support the hypothesis that vmPFC damage may impair affective systems specifically designed for mediating social transaction with other individuals. (shrink)

This research is part of the last study Drugs and School IX developed in the Basque Country (Spain) by the Instituto Deusto de Drogodependencias (Deusto Institute of Drug Addiction) of the University of Deusto and the data gathered by means of cluster sampling in two stages. The sample is made up of N= 6.007 girls and boys ranging from 12 to 22 years of age in Secondary Education and the aim is to answer the following new research questions based on (...) those parameters: (1) describe the reality of drug consumption and some psychosocial variables in this sample, as well as analyse several relations between variables; (2) analysing the role of school well-being, self-esteem and self-concept regarding consumption; (3) taking a close look at the moderating role of age and gender on the relationship of school well-being, self-concept and self-esteem with consumption; and (4) understand the existing interaction between all these variables, studying the moderating role of self-esteem and self-concept in the influence of school well-being on consumption. Using a correlation, hierarchical regression and mediation analysis with SPSS (v. 26) and Amos (v. 26) applications, three main conclusions were reached. Firstly, that educational and academic well-being, academic self-concept and self-esteem seem to play the role of protecting factors in adolescence, while assertiveness is linked to a higher consumption level. Secondly, that academic self-concept has a mediating effect between well-being and consumption. Some of these relations are moderated by the variables of gender and age. Thirdly, that age and gender are very relevant sociodemographic variables that must be taken into account in order to understand this phenomenon. Age has shown its covariant effect, which is especially relevant in the influence of academic well-being measured as being held back years. It has also proved to be important in order to understand its experiential or experimental and transitory character. Moreover, significant differences in consumptions have been found based on gender. (shrink)

The development of computer science has raised ethical concerns regarding the potential negative impacts of machine learning tools on people and society. Some examples are pornographic deepfakes used as weapons of war against women; pattern recognition designed to uncover sexual orientation; and misuse of data and deep learning by private companies to influence democratic elections. We contend that these three examples are cases of automated evil. In this article, we defend that the concept of forbidden knowledge can help to inform (...) a coherent ethical framework in the context of machine learning research. We conclude that restricting generalised access to extensive data and limiting access to ready-to-use codes would mitigate potential harms caused by machine learning tools. In addition, the notions of intersectionality and interdisciplinarity should be systematically introduced in data and computer science research. (shrink)

One of the main priorities of current educational systems is a strong connection between education provided by schools and the requirements of a successful integration in the social life and work field. This article offers the teachers’ perspective on the various ways in which outdoor learning can be useful in creating teaching-learning situations that prepare pupils to be active citizens and to have smoother integration in the social life and this way, on the labor market. The findings of a brief (...) study among teachers from Arad County is presented. The method that was used is the survey based on a questionnaire. The main instrument that used was the questionnaire, which was based on a number of 12 variables. The quantitative data obtained was processed in the SPSS statistical program. The preliminary results show that even if teachers have some knowledge on the benefits of outdoor education regarding future involvement of pupils in social life, they tend to rarely use it in their educational practice. This happens because of the lack of correct and valid information they have on this type of education, and also because of the misconceptions of parents, who refuse to cooperate regarding this issue. The present study brings and important contribution in this research field, highlighting the values of outdoor education, both theoretically and practically. (shrink)

La influencia de la obra y doctrina de Francisco Suárez en la conformación del pensamiento moderno ha sido ampliamente estudiada en áreas como la filosofía política y del derecho, la metafísica o la epistemología. Sin embargo, la filosofía moral de Suárez, en concreto aquella que, como él mismo explica, habrá de servir de base a sus tratados de teología moral, está todavía por analizar. El objetivo de este trabajo es traer a luz algunos aspectos de la teoría suareciana sobre la (...) causalidad final en los agentes libres, confrontando su doctrina sobre la causalidad del fin en dos comentarios, escritos en distintos períodos, a las cuestiones I-IIae de la Suma de Teología de Tomás de Aquino: el manuscrito inédito De beatitudine y el tratado De ultimo fine hominis, publicado por Baltasar Álvares. La cuestión aquí analizada —qué significa actuar por un fin— se asume como un instrumento heurístico para dar a conocer sea estas dos fuentes estudiadas, sea el interés filosófico de las doctrinas de Suárez a respecto de la causalidad final. Las conclusiones apuntan a los siguientes aspectos: i) la proximidad, aun con dudas, de Suárez a la doctrina tomista de la causalidad del fin, en el comentario de 1579; ii) la asunción parcial de la doctrina tomista en cuanto a la función del intelecto en el actuar libre, y la afirmación de que el locus finis es la voluntad, en el comentario de 1628. Trabajando con estos matices hemos querido establecer algunos puntales de encuentro que permitan hacer visibles los puentes que emergen entre una tradición escolástica que enfrenta una nueva imagen del hombre, y la filosofía moral inmediatamente posterior que despojando aquella de su fundamento teológico, avanza con paso firme hacia la modernidad. (shrink)

El artículo estudia la presencia de los cuadrados mágicos matemáticos en al-Andalus. Después de un repaso introductorio a la historia de dichos cuadrados mágicos, al problema de su origen y a su desarrollo en el oriente islámico, se examinan los métodos de construcción de los cuadrados talismánicos que aparecen en dos manuscritos del tratado de Azarquiel, el único sobre este tema conocido en al-Andalus, así como su recepción en Europa.

En el presente trabajo se reflexiona sobre la situación de pobreza y desigualdad que asola al mundo en este nuevo siglo señalando el papel que desarrolla la Universidad en el cambio social y en la consecución de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible. Las Universidades se enfrentan a un gran desafío, contribuir a la creación de un mundo sostenible e igualitario. La Educación Superior se convierte en guía para una sociedad que necesita, hoy más que nunca, de una conciencia crítica que (...) les haga actuar desde la responsabilidad socy el compromiso ético. En esta investigación, se expone un caso concreto, la asignatura de Educación para Responsabilidad Social impartida en la Universidad Francisco de Vitoria como una materia que ayuda a los estudiantes a implicarse personalmente para lograr la justicia social y el bien común, trabajando activamente para incidir en el logro de los ODS. (shrink)