We report the identification of a recurrent, 520-kb 16p12.1 microdeletion associated with childhood developmental delay. The microdeletion was detected in 20 of 11,873 cases compared with 2 of 8,540 controls and replicated in a second series of 22 of 9,254 cases compared with 6 of 6,299 controls. Most deletions were inherited, with carrier parents likely to manifest neuropsychiatric phenotypes compared to non-carrier parents. Probands were more likely to carry an additional large copy-number variant when compared to matched controls. The clinical (...) features of individuals with two mutations were distinct from and/or more severe than those of individuals carrying only the co-occurring mutation. Our data support a two-hit model in which the 16p12.1 microdeletion both predisposes to neuropsychiatric phenotypes as a single event and exacerbates neurodevelopmental phenotypes in association with other large deletions or duplications. Analysis of other microdeletions with variable expressivity indicates that this two-hit model might be more generally applicable to neuropsychiatric disease. © 2010 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved. (shrink)

Psychotic-like experiences are a phenomenon that occurs in the general population experiencing delusional thoughts and hallucinations without being in a clinical condition. PLEs involve erroneous attributions of inner cognitive events to the external environment and the presence of intrusive thoughts influenced by dysfunctional beliefs; for these reasons, the role played by metacognition has been largely studied. This study investigates PLEs in a non-clinical population and discriminating factors involved in this kind of experience, among which metacognition, as well as psychopathological features, (...) seems to have a crucial role. The aim of this study was to extend the knowledge about the relationship between metacognition, psychopathology, and PLEs, orienting the focus on metacognitive functioning. The sample consisted of 207 Italian participants voluntarily recruited online, who gave consent to participate in the study. The average age of the sample was 32.69 years. Subjects affected by psychosis, neurological disease, and drug addiction were excluded from the analyses. The following scales were used to investigate PLEs: Peters et al. Delusions Inventory, Launay-Slade Hallucinations Scale-Extended Revised, Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief, and Revised Hallucination Scale. To assess general psychopathological features, the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale was administrated. The Metacognition Self-Assessment Scale was chosen to evaluate metacognitive functioning. From hierarchical regression analyses, it emerged that the presence of anxiety, depression, and impulsive/addictive symptoms constitute a remarkable vulnerability factor for PLEs, in line with previous evidence regarding the relationship between general psychopathology and PLEs. Metacognition negatively predicts PLEs, and its presence does not affect the significance of psychopathological variables, suggesting that metacognitive abilities seem to play a protective role for the occurrence of PLEs among non-clinical individuals, and such ability operates as an independent predictor along with other variables. These results are explained by the role of metacognitive functions, which allow individuals to operate many mental processes such as interpreting sensorial events as real or illusory, understanding behaviors, thoughts, and drives of others, and questioning the subjective interpretation of facts. (shrink)

This paper presents a novel argumentation framework to support Issue-Based Information System style debates on design alternatives, by providing an automatic quantitative evaluation of the positions put forward. It also identifies several formal properties of the proposed quantitative argumentation framework and compares it with existing non-numerical abstract argumentation formalisms. Finally, the paper describes the integration of the proposed approach within the design Visual Understanding Environment software tool along with three case studies in engineering design. The case studies show the potential (...) for a competitive advantage of the proposed approach with respect to state-of-the-art engineering design methods. (shrink)

A well-established historiography has pointed out the distinction between first philosophy and theology, proposed by Benet Perera in his De communibus, as the “birth” of modern ontology. Ontology is often defined as an independent or neutral science by modern authors as well as contemporary scholars.This paper aims to show the way in which Perera comes to this distinction, after a long reflection on the status of mathematics and abstractions of theoretical sciences matured during his lectures at the Collegio Romano.Interestingly, (...) it appears that after the subject of ontology is removed from its relationship with God and rational theology, ontology does not seem to acquire the status of neutral and universal science that Perera sought. Ontology becomes, in fact, a science dependent on the definitions provided by other disciplines and sciences, such as logic and mathematics.Following these recent findings, the paper also provides a renewed confrontation b.. (shrink)

Em sua obra A Cidade de Deus, Santo Agostinho procura definir e relacionar dialeticamente os conceitos de Cidade de Deus e Cidade terrena, considerando a origem, natureza, desenvolvimento e fins das duas cidades. É aí que encontramos a sua teologia-filosofia da história, que nos faz identificar as duas cidades com certas realidades históricas: Cidade de Deus como sendo a Igreja, Cidade terrena como sendo o Império Romano. Contudo, Agostinho adverte que estes termos não são sinônimos.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:"Un editore, un dotto studioso … silenzioso e costante, instancabile": con questo elogio, in occasione della presentazione del Supplementum ad Bullarium Franciscanum di P. Cesare Cenci, O.F.M., presso l'università francescana di Via Merulana , P. Sergio Pagano, B., Prefetto dell'Archivio Segreto Vaticano, tracciava il profilo umano ed intellettuale dell'autore, elogiandone l'attesa pubblicazione come opera "in cui si coniugano diverse virtù "storiche" – per dir così – come l'accortezza diplomatica (...) necessaria per la comprensione tipologica dei testi, la destrezza paleografica nella lettura delle non facili grafie delle fonti , l'erudizione che sorregge le note, la visione matura dei problemi legati all'Ordine francescano e, non ultimo, il solido possesso di uno stile latino, molto vicino alla stessa terminologia coeva curiale delle fonti, che si diffonde in tutta l'opera" , 459-60.A distanza di quasi tre anni, martedì 16 gennaio 2007, nella splendida coreografia neogotica dell'Aula "Sant'Antonio" della Pontificia Università Antonianum di Roma, in occasione della Festa dell'Università e del Gran Cancelliere, si è svolta la cerimonia di conferimento della laurea "honoris causa" in Teologia al Prof. P. Cesare Cenci, docente di Codicologia.Hanno partecipato al solenne atto accademico – il quale ha avuto un solo precedente, che risale al 17 novembre 1955, con la consegna del medesimo riconoscimento al biblista francescano P. Gabriele Maria Allegra – il Vicario della Provincia Veneta di S. Antonio di Padova , P. Vittorio Bellè, Definitori Generali dell'Ordine francescano, decani e professori dell'Antonianum, rappresentanti delle università ecclesiastiche romane, P. Servus Gieben dell'Istituto Storico dei Cappuccini, membri del Collegio "S. Bonaventura" dei PP. Editori di Grottaferrata, il nipote Luciano Cenci, accompagnato dalla gentile consorte e figlio, ed esponenti del mondo accademico romano e nazionale.L'esecuzione di brani di Bach da parte del soprano Alessandra Migliorini ha introdotto la cerimonia. Il Segretario Generale dell'Antonianum, P. Marek Wach, O.F.M., ha ricordato le tre principali virtù di P. Cenci: la fedeltà assidua allo studio, la serietà della competenza che richiede disciplina e la passione per la ricerca scientifica, uno stile di vita che gli ha consentito di coniugare la vocazione della minoritas francescana con quella del ricercatore erudito.Ha fatto seguito l'intervento del Rettore, Prof. P. Johannes B. Freyer, O.F.M., che ha riferito le partecipazioni e le felicitazioni ricevute, tramite l'invio di telegrammi, fax ed e-mail, da esponenti del mondo accademico nazionale ed internazionale, in particolare specialisti nel settore del francescanesimo, dalla Società Internazionale di Studi Francescani e dalla Conferenza mondiale dei Rettori delle Università francescane, che si sono incontrati a Denver nella settimana che ha preceduto la cerimonia di consegna del prestigioso riconoscimento accademico al dotto francescano.P. Freyer ha ripercorso le tappe salienti del percorso biografico di P. Cenci: nato a Costalunga di Monteforte d'Alpone il 5 gennaio 1925, nel 1936 entrò nell'ordine francescano nel Collegio Serafico di Chiampo . Dopo il noviziato a S. Francesco del Deserto , compì gli studi liceali a Cormons , Monselice e Chiampo ; nel biennio 1945-46 studiò teologia a S. Michele in Isola e Motta di Livenza , dove, il 25 marzo 1947, emise la professione solenne. Il 26 giugno 1949 venne ordinato sacerdote da Mons. Giuseppe Zaffonato, Vescovo di Vittorio Veneto.Dopo essere stato destinato ad un centro missionario di cultura, del quale era stata programmata l'istituzione in Egitto presso Il Cairo , chiese di partire missionario per l'America centrale . I superiori decisero diversamente: venne inviato a studiare teologia morale presso il Pontificio Ateneo Antonianum di Roma . Terminato il curriculum accademico, fu incaricato dell'insegnamento di Teologia morale nello studentato teologico di Motta di Livenza e presso lo studio teologico "S. Bernardino" di Verona, dal 1957 al 1959, anno nel quale venne aggregato ai PP. Editori del Collegio "San.. (shrink)

Mantendo-se na linha de São Justino, o qual, apesar de valorizar a Filosofia Grego-Romana, defende ser o Cristianismo a "verdadeira filosofia", Agostinho fundamenta ou alicerça seu conceito de felicidade na tradição filosófica que o antecedeu, a qual é concebida por ele como um philosophiae portus . Entretanto, como pensador cristão, buscando superar o eudaimonismo grego-romano, ao distinguir sabedoria e Verdade, sendo esta última identificada com Deus, faz da Fé Cristã o arx philosophiae , a que chama de "nossa Filosofia (...) Cristã", lugar da "verdadeira felicidade", que, para ele, é a principal finalidade de todo filosofar. Following Saint Justin , Augustine grounded his concept of happiness in the philosophical tradition that preceded it, which is conceived by him as a philosophiae portus . However, as a Christian thinker, Augustine sought to overcome Greco-Roman eudaimonism. The distinction between truth and wisdom, the latter being identified with God, makes Christian faith the arx philosophiae , which Augustine calls "our Christian philosophy", the place of "true happiness", which for him is the main purpose of all philosophizing. (shrink)

En este artículo se analiza una recreación quijotesca en la novela de Graham Greene Monseñor Quijote. Para ello se utilizan dos términos procedentes del Derecho romano: los conceptos de autoridad y poder. En esta obra de Greene, la autoridad surge de los libros o de autores de libros, cuya lectura permite que la vida siga teniendo sentido. En Greene encontramos la estrategia de lectura conocida como las sortes virgilianae que permite a los personajes orientarse en las dificultades diarias. Sin (...) embargo, el poder está caracterizado por su condición iletrada, la ausencia de libros y su ignorancia. In this article a novel by Graham Greene entitled Monsignor Quixote is analysed, a book that involves a recreation of the novel by Cervantes. The author of this article employs two concepts from Roman law: authority and power in his analysis. In this work by Greene, authority arises from the books or the book writers, whose reading allows life to keep making sense. In Greene, a strategy of reading known as the sortes virgilianae is found and this allows the characters to get their bearings in the daily difficulties. However, power is described as illiterate, the absence of books and ignorance. (shrink)

First published in 1917 and 1918, with a second edition in 1946, this is the first English translation of Santi Romano's classic work, L'ordinamento giuridico. The main focus of The Legal Order is the notion of institution, which Romano considers to be both the core and distinguishing feature of law. After criticising accounts of the nature of law centred on notions of rule, coercion or authority, he offers a compelling conception, not merely of law as an institution, but (...) of the institution as 'the first, original and essential manifestation of law'. Romano advances a definition of a legal institution as any group who share rules within a bounded context: for example, a family, a firm, a factory, a prison, an association, a church, an illegal organisation, a state, the community of states, and so on. Therefore, this understanding of legal institutionalism at the same time provides a ground-breaking theory of legal pluralism whereby 'there are as many legal orders as institutions'. The acme of a jurisprudential current long overlooked in the Anglophone environment, The Legal Order not only proposes what Carl Schmitt described as a 'very significant theory', but, more importantly, it offers precious insights for a thorough rethinking of the relationship between law and society in today's world. (shrink)

A Sogra (Hecyra) é uma comédia de Terêncio que trata dos desencontros entre personagens que constituem dois grupos familiares: a família de Laques, constituída de seu filho Pânfilo, sua nora Filumena, sua esposa Sóstrata. A família de Filumena, cujo pai é Fidipo e sua esposa Mírrina. A trama gira em torno de desencontros, convenções sociais que sobrepujam os sentimentos entre os parentes e a presença de uma prostituta de nome Báquis. Trata-se de uma peça com base em dramas burgueses que (...) atravessam todas as sociedades no tempo e no espaço. Analisaremos a estrutura familiar aqui presente e suas convenções que impõem certo padrão de comportamento. As relações afetivas e desejos fazem parte da trama de forma acentuada, pois, aqui os desencontros são entre o que se deseja e o que a convenção social estabelece como comum. A cortesã, o filho, o pai, a sogra são elementos fulcrais desta trama, no que diz respeito a convenção social; já os laços afetivos estabelecidos no meio familiar e extra-familiar constituem o lado não convencional que se choca com a convenção social. Assim analisaremos estes fatores na estrutura da trama da peça de Terêncio. (shrink)

"Tentarei, neste texto, apresentar argumentos não só para recomendar os estudos da Antiguidade em educação, mas para deixar claro o quanto esses estudos são fundamentais para a formação do professor. Meus argumentos serão de dois tipos: em primeiro lugar, apresentarei a Antiguidade — e por esse nome eu me refiro à literatura dos antigos gregos e romanos — como uma herança que está à nossa disposição. Depois, quero apontar, sumariamente, a conexão necessária entre a presença dessa literatura e o vocabulário (...) que constituiu – junto de uma gramática e de uma semântica também recebidas – a linguagem com que lidamos ainda hoje com os problemas fundamentais da educação.". (shrink)

Este artigo é uma tentativa de esclarecer a relação entre a posição dissidente assumida por estoicos antigos em seu contexto social e a maneira corajosa como defenderam suas posições políticas a partir de alguns princípios do sistema estoico, o que levou muitos deles ao exílio e à morte durante o Período Imperial Romano (terceira fase da civilização romana, que se estendeu de 27 AEC a 476 EC). Sugerimos que a marginalização desses grupos, bem como a sua perseguição, posiciona os (...) estoicos de maneira única, tanto em seu próprio tempo como no nosso. (shrink)

We present a statistical analysis of the realization of definiteness in Tunisian Arabic (TA) texts written in Arabizi, a hybrid system reflecting some features of TA phonetics (assimilation), but also showing orthographic features, as the use of arithmographs. In §1, we give an overview of definiteness in TA from a semantic and syntactic point of view. In §2 we outline a typology of definite articles and show that TA normally marks definiteness with articles or similar devices, but also presents zero-markings (...) or weak definites. In §3 we discuss TA and how definiteness is instantiated in TA. In §4, we present data from the Tunisian Arabizi Corpus (TAC), a multidisciplinary work with a hybrid approach based on dialectological questions, corpus linguistics standards, and deep learning techniques. In §5 we define the behavior of TA with respect to what we observed in §1, §2 and §3, describing our TAC-based analysis. (shrink)

Tras el estudio inicial de R. Bultmann, y pasando por los significativos aportes de S. K. Stowers y C. Song, el extenso reconocimiento por parte de los exégetas paulinos relativo a la presencia del género diatriba en Romanos, no se corresponde con los comentarios generalizantes de los cuales es objeto μὴ γένοιτο en dicha epístola. En este marco, al momento de determinar el sentido de μὴ γένοιτο en Romanos los exégetas paulinos se limitan a: constatar la relación entre μὴ (...) γένοιτο y el género diatriba; mencionar las similitudes entre el uso paulino de μὴ γένοιτο en Romanos y el uso de μὴ γένοιτο por parte de Epicteto en su Disertaciones; proveer una lista de los pasajes en los que se encuentra μὴ γένοιτο en Romanos ; conjeturar, en algunos casos, un ; semítico trasfondo posible destacar que μὴ γένοιτο siempre es antecedido por una pregunta; subrayar la naturaleza enfática de μὴ γένοιτο. (shrink)

En este artículo se analiza una recreación quijotesca en la novela de Graham Greene Monseñor Quijote. Para ello se utilizan dos términos procedentes del Derecho romano: los conceptos de autoridad y poder. En esta obra de Greene, la autoridad surge de los libros o de autores de libros, cuya lectura permite que la vida siga teniendo sentido. En Greene encontramos la estrategia de lectura conocida como las sortes virgilianae que permite a los personajes orientarse en las dificultades diarias. Sin (...) embargo, el poder está caracterizado por su condición iletrada, la ausencia de libros y su ignorancia. In this article a novel by Graham Greene entitled Monsignor Quixote is analysed, a book that involves a recreation of the novel by Cervantes. The author of this article employs two concepts from Roman law: authority and power in his analysis. In this work by Greene, authority arises from the books or the book writers, whose reading allows life to keep making sense. In Greene, a strategy of reading known as the sortes virgilianae is found and this allows the characters to get their bearings in the daily difficulties. However, power is described as illiterate, the absence of books and ignorance. (shrink)

El marco y los personajes de las descripciones del más allá que encontramos en las obras de Luciano, que ponen un énfasis especial en las decisiones de Radamantis como juez de los seres humanos, muestra un tipo de moralidad que puede analizarse tanto desde la perspectiva de los modelos grecoromanos tradicionales como desde el enfoque de otros contextos religiosos nuevos del Imperio Romano. Los apologistas cristianos, por otro lado, entre otros Taciano en su Oratio ad Graecos, insisten en (...) distinguir claramente entre el juicio de Radamantis y el del propio Dios. Tanto uno como otro enfoque reciben la influencia del mito griego y de la manipulación de Platón de este mito. La pérdida de la antigua función del mito entre los paganos y la existencia de ideas cristianas propias relativas a la vida después de la muerte pueden haber provocado que un escritor como Luciano haya encontrado en la vida en el más allá uno de sus temas favoritos. The framework and the characters of Lucian's descriptions of the afterlife, focusing in particular on the decisions of Rhadamanthys as a judge of human beings, show a kind of morality which can be analyzed both from the perspective of traditional Graeco-Roman standards and from that of the new religious contexts of the Roman Empire. Christian apologists, on the other hand, like Tatian in Oratio ad Graecos, insist on distinguishing clearly between the judgment of Rhadamanthys and that of God himself. Both views of the afterlife are influenced by Greek myth and by Plato's manipulation of it. The loss of the ancient function of myth among the pagans and the real presence of Christian issues regarding the afterlife may have caused a writer like Lucian to reflect on the real sense of the afterlife. (shrink)

Dos pasajes de las Historiae de Curcio Rufo pueden ser leídos en el marco de la tradición de la historiografía romana de incluir discursos de enemigos extranjeros para expresar visiones críticas del imperialismo romano. El discurso de Darío antes de la batalla de Gaugamela (4.14.9-26) y el de un embajador escita (7.8.12-30) son analizados en este trabajo para demostrar que, detrás de una lectura literal de censura a Alejandro Magno, aparece un fuerte reproche a la expansión imperial de (...) Roma. (shrink)

Ao observar as traduções do relato anafórico institucional da terceira edição típica do Missal Romano nas diversas línguas vernáculas, nota-se que não há mais consenso a respeito da tradução da expressão pro multis como havia nas traduções das edições anteriores. Tal expressão tem sua origem no “Quarto Poema do Servo” de Isaías e vem utilizada nas palavras pronunciadas sobre o cálice nos relatos institucionais de Marcos e Mateus, estabelecendo-se uma relação intertextual. O presente artigo almeja ser uma contribuição que (...) aprofunde o entendimento dessa relação para uma melhor compreensão do pro multis, sem ter, no entanto, a pretensão de apresentar uma solução definitiva para as questões que envolvem a sua tradução. Para isso, propõe-se apresentar os principais pontos que abarcam o debate a respeito da referida tradução; validar a relação intertextual entre o texto isaiano e os textos neotestamentários que são objeto deste estudo através de critérios apropriados; buscar no contexto veterotestamentário do termo hebraico, que se traduziu por multi, o seu sentido original e, em posse desses dados, verificar que sentido o termo adquire e que efeitos de sentido produz essa relação intertextual nas palavras pronunciadas sobre o cálice em Marcos e Mateus e na liturgia da Igreja latina. (shrink)

In the recent literature, it has been shown that the wave function in the de Broglie–Bohm theory can be regarded as a new kind of field, i.e., a "multi-field", in three-dimensional space. In this paper, I argue that the natural framework for the multi-field is the original second-order Bohm’s theory. In this context, it is possible: i) to construe the multi-field as a real-valued scalar field; ii) to explain the physical interaction between the multi-field and the Bohmian particles; and iii) (...) to clarify the status of the energy-momentum conservation and the dynamics of the theory. (shrink)

As virtudes sociais são sem dúvida alguma fundamentais para preservar a harmonia e o desenvolvimento social, bem como a nossa autorrealização. Apesar de nunca ter escrito um tratado filosófico sobre este argumento, recorrendo à sua obra, Mediações, podem-se conhecer as virtudes sociais às quais o filósofo e imperador romano, Marco Aurélio, dá mais importância, a fim de garantir-se o bem-comum. Portanto, neste artigo, exponho estas virtudes sociais, mostrando, assim, como elas fundamentais para criar-se uma sociedade mais harmónica.

This paper examines the subversive role of statistics paleontology at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries. In particular, I will focus on German paleontology and its relationship with statistics. I argue that in paleontology, the quantitative method was questioned and strongly limited by the first decade of the 20th century because, as its opponents noted, when the fossil record is treated statistically, it was found to generate results openly in conflict with the Darwinian theory (...) of evolution. Essentially, statistics questions the gradual mode of evolution and the role of natural selection. The main objections to statistics were addressed during the meetings at the Kaiserlich-Königliche Geologische Reichsanstalt in Vienna in the 1880s. After having introduced the statistical treatment of the fossil record, I will use the works of Charles Léo Lesquereux, Joachim Barrande, and Henry Shaler Williams to compare the objections raised in Vienna with how the statistical treatment of the data worked in practice. Furthermore, I will discuss the criticisms of Melchior Neumayr, one of the leading German opponents of statistical paleontology, to show why, and to what extent, statistics were questioned in Vienna. The final part of this paper considers what paleontologists can derive from a statistical notion of data: the necessity of opening a discussion about the completeness and nature of the paleontological data. The Vienna discussion about which method paleontologists should follow offers an interesting case study in order to understand the epistemic tensions within paleontology surrounding Darwin’s theory as well as the variety of non-Darwinian alternatives that emerged from the statistical treatment of the fossil record at the end of the 19th century. (shrink)

This article gives a practice-based overview of the implementation aspects of Corporate Responsibility. After discussing the success factors for implementing Corporate Responsibility, the article describes a model for implementing Corporate Responsibility. Special attention is given to the success factors in the subsequent phases of implementation (sensitivity to the organizational environment, awareness of core values and clear leadership), to ensure that the most optimal results attainable for the organization can be reached. The implementation-model is clarified by looking at experiences in implementing (...) Corporate Responsibility at Chiquita. (shrink)

El siguiente ensayo busca tematizar los alcances y posibilidades de una fenomenología hermenéutica del testigo en la obra de Paul Ricoeur. Dos objetivos dan cuerpo a este intento: 1) situar el lugar del testigo en el marco de la fenomenología contemporánea, particularmente, de Husserl, Sartre y Lévinas; 2) preguntarse por la condición pasible del testigo, condición que a mí juicio hace de éste un respondiente, inscribiendo la obra ricoeuriana, con todas las cautelas correspondientes, que deben ser muchas, al inicio (...) de lo que puedo llamar el avance de diversos intentos de conducir una fenomenología de la responsividad (Jean-Louis Chrétien, Emmanuel Housset, Claude Romano), siendo cada uno de ellos, en todo caso, tan singular y original que habría que probar si son o no coincidentes. En este sentido, este ensayo es un prolegómeno a otro futuro que tendría por tarea tomar en serio a cada uno de estos fenomenólogos franceses. (shrink)

This paper aims to clarify some conceptual aspects of decoherence that seem largely overlooked in the recent literature. In particular, I want to stress that decoherence theory, in the standard framework, is rather silent with respect to the description of (sub)systems and associated dynamics. Also, the selection of position basis for classical objects is more problematic than usually thought: while, on the one hand, decoherence offers a pragmatic-oriented solution to this problem, on the other hand, this can hardly be seen (...) as a genuine ontological explanation of why the classical world is position-based. This is not to say that decoherence is not useful to the foundations of quantum mechanics; on the contrary, it is a formidable weapon, as it accounts for a realistic description of quantum systems. That powerful description, however, becomes manifest when decoherence theory itself is interpreted in a realist framework of quantum mechanics. (shrink)

A spatial logic is a formal language interpreted over any class of structures featuring geometrical entities and relations, broadly construed. In the past decade, spatial logics have attracted much attention in response to developments in such diverse fields as Artificial Intelligence, Database Theory, Physics, and Philosophy. The aim of this handbook is to create, for the first time, a systematic account of the field of spatial logic. The book comprises a general introduction, followed by fourteen chapters by invited authors. Each (...) chapter provides a self-contained overview of its topic, describing the principal results obtained to date, explaining the methods used to obtain them, and listing the most important open problems. Jointly, these contributions constitute a comprehensive survey of this rapidly expanding subject. (shrink)

In this paper, I investigate the variety and richness of the taxonomical practices between the end of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. During these decades, zoologists and paleontologists came up with different quantitative practices in order to classify their data in line with the new biological principles introduced by Charles Darwin. Specifically, I will investigate Florentino Ameghino’s mathematization of mammalian dentition and the quantitative practices and visualizations of several German-speaking paleontologists at the beginning of the twentieth century. In (...) so doing, this paper will call attention to the visual and quantitative language of early twentieth-century systematics. My analysis will therefore contribute to a prehistory of the statistical frame of mind in biology, a study which has yet to be written in full. Second, my work highlights the productive intertwinement between biological practices and philosophical frameworks at the turn of the nineteenth century. Deeply rooted in Kantian bio-philosophy, several biologists sought to find rules in order to apply ordering principles to chaotic taxonomic information. This implies the necessity to investigate the neglected role of Kantian and Romantic bio-philosophy in the unfolding of twentieth-century biology. (shrink)

The paper offers a historical overview of Einstein's oscillating attitude towards a "phenomenological" and "dynamical" treatment of rods and clocks in relativity theory. Contrary to what it has been usually claimed in recent literature, it is argued that this distinction should not be understood in the framework of opposition between principle and constructive theories. In particular Einstein does not seem to have plead for a "dynamical" explanation for the phenomenon rods contraction and clock dilation which was initially described only "kinematically". (...) On the contrary textual evidence shows that, according to Einstein, a realistic microscopic model of rods and clocks was needed to account for the very existence of measuring devices of "identical construction" which always measure the same unit of time and the same unit of length. In fact, it will be shown that the empirical meaningfulness of both relativity theories depends on what, following Max Born, one might call the "principle of the physical identity of the units of measure". In the attempt to justify the validity of such principle, Einstein was forced by different interlocutors, in particular Hermann Weyl and Wolfgang Pauli, to deal with the genuine epistemological, rather then physical question whether a theory should be able or not to described the material devices that serve to its own verification. (shrink)

El relato “Los teólogos”, de Borges, puede ser leído a partir de un eje de contrarios que se confunden, de verdades que falseadas vuelven a ser consideradas tales, puestas al servicio del mantenimiento de un orden en el que los personajes varían de acusadores a víctimas. Esa perspectiva permite reflexionar acerca del modo en que se lleva a cabo una argumentación en juicio, las formas de resolver un litigio, el rol de los jueces y su lugar dentro del sistema en (...) el que operan, el concepto de la verdad dentro del sistema penal y la cuestión de cómo se neutraliza la violencia social o se resuelven los conflictos en una comunidad. En el relato, los personajes se dedican construir argumentaciones en defensa de la fe dentro de un modelo ideado para el mantenimiento del orden que la iglesia pretendía consolidar tras la caída del imperio romano. A partir de ese modelo de disputa, el texto revisa brevemente cómo se ha construido hasta hoy el sistema de persecución y juzgamiento de delitos y cuál es el rol que ocupan las personas designadas para juzgar y aplicar un castigo. Intentaré, a partir de las descripciones del relato, presentar ciertas formas de fundamentación y de manipulación de las herramientas argumentales y la trascendencia de la noción de verdad en una administración de justicia cuya finalidad central es la de resolver conflictos en el marco de un determinado modelo de convivencia. (shrink)

El objetivo del presente trabajo es señalar que la noción de filosofía como terapia, que aparece en las Disputas Tusculanas III, no es suficiente para erradicar las opiniones falsas en el marco de la sociedad, dado el carácter individual que nos propone el estoicismo. Para sustentar esta tesis, en primer lugar, retomaré las características que Foucault señala sobre el cuidado de sí en el periodo helenístico y romano, toda vez que la filosofía, entendida como una terapia para la (...) vida, se enmarca en lo que el pensador francés llama el “cuidado de sí”, esto es, la capacidad que tiene la filosofía de curar el alma para poder tener un comportamiento conforme a la naturaleza a fin de llevar una vida feliz e imperturbable. La finalidad de este análisis es mostrar en qué sentido la terapia de la que nos habla Cicerón en Tusculanas III funciona como un cuidado de sí mismo. En segundo lugar, con base en los elementos del cuidado de sí a la luz de la terapia estoica, examinaré el origen de la opinión falsa para advertir que, si bien la terapia es efectiva para una dimensión ética del comportamiento humano, resulta insuficiente para erradicar el origen de las opiniones falsas que están en el seno de la sociedad. Por último, sugeriré una posible solución para el problema de las opiniones y las emociones que se gestan en el marco de la sociedad a partir de lo que Martha Nussbaum nos dice sobre la envidia en Emociones políticas. (shrink)

The paper explains why the de Broglie–Bohm theory reduces to Newtonian mechanics in the macroscopic classical limit. The quantum-to-classical transition is based on three steps: (i) interaction with the environment produces effectively factorized states, leading to the formation of _effective wave functions_ and hence _decoherence_; (ii) the effective wave functions selected by the environment—the pointer states of decoherence theory—will be well-localized wave packets, typically Gaussian states; (iii) the quantum potential of a Gaussian state becomes negligible under standard classicality conditions; therefore, (...) the effective wave function will move according to Newtonian mechanics in the correct classical limit. As a result, a Bohmian system in interaction with the environment will be described by an effective Gaussian state and—when the system is macroscopic—it will move according to Newtonian mechanics. (shrink)

Since Darwin proposed that human musicality evolved through sexual selection, empirical evidence has supported intersexual selection as one of the adaptive functions of artistic propensities. However, intrasexual competition has been overlooked. We tested their relative importance by investigating the relationship between the self-perceived talent/expertise in 16 artistic and 2 sports modalities and proxies of intersexual selection and intrasexual competition in heterosexuals. Participants were 82 Brazilian men, 166 Brazilian women, 146 Czech men, and 458 Czech women. Factor analysis revealed five factors: (...) Literary-arts, Visual-arts, Musical-arts, Circus-arts, and Sports. Multivariate General Linear Model showed more associations of the arts to intersexual selection in women and to intrasexual selection in men, and overall more relationships in women than in men. In women, literary and musical-arts were related to elevated inter- and intrasexual selections proxies, visual and circus-arts were related to elevated intersexual selection proxies, and sports were related to intrasexual selection proxies. In men, literary-arts and sports were related to elevated inter- and intrasexual selection proxies, musical-arts were related to intrasexual proxies, and circus-arts were related to intersexual proxies; visual-arts did not have predictors. Although present in both sexes, each sexual selection component has different relative importance in each sex. Artisticality functions to attract and maintain long/short-term partners, and to compete with mating rivals. (shrink)

In this paper, I argue that the German morphological tradition made a major contribution to twentieth-century study of form. Several scientists paved the way for this research: paleontologist Adolf Seilacher, entomologist Hermann Weber, and biologist Johann-Gerhard Helmcke together with architect Frei Otto. All of them sought to examine morphogenetic processes to illustrate their inherent structural properties, thus challenging the neo-Darwinian framework of evolutionary theory. I point out that the German theoretical challenge to adaptationist thinking was possible through an exchange and (...) transfer of practices, data, technologies, and knowledge between biologically oriented students of form and architects, designers, and engineers. This exchange of practices and knowledge was facilitated by the establishment of two collaborative research centers at the beginning of the 1970s. Hence, by showing the richness of topics, methods, and technologies discussed in German-speaking morphology between 1950 and the 1970s, this paper paves the way to a much broader comprehension of the shifts that have shaped twentieth-century evolutionary biology. (shrink)

Si dejamos a un lado la teoría, son tiempos difíciles para el republicanismo y uno de sus conceptos centrales: la virtud cívica. A contramano de ello, cabe la pregunta respecto a las nociones aristotélicas que, en tal sentido, podrían pervivir en las sociedades complejas contemporáneas. Se repasarán algunos conceptos políticos clave del pensador estagirita y también de Marco Tulio Cicerón, autor romano que sigue sus pasos, para luego intentar actualizar aquellos elementos que, entendemos, aún pueden aplicarse a nuestras (...) sociedades, mientras que otros deberán ser dejados a un lado. Asimismo, en un momento de alta apatía en relación a la democracia, y de cierta anomia provocada por un individualismo exacerbado, entendemos que es clave la pregunta por la existencia, actualidad y posibilidades de la virtud cívica en el siglo XXI. Y, en caso de respuesta afirmativa a dicha posibilidad, cabe preguntarnos cuánto de aristotélico tendría hoy esa virtud. (shrink)

In a recent paper, Kristin Mickelson argues that Alfred Mele’s Zygote Argument, a popular argument for the claim that the truth of determinism would preclude free action or moral responsibility, is not valid. This sort of objection is meant to generalize to various manipulation arguments. According to Mickelson, the only way to make such arguments valid is to supplement them with an argument that is an inference to the best explanation. In this paper, I argue that there are two other (...) ways in which the proponent of such manipulation arguments can modify their argument, neither of which requires an inference to the best explanation. I then briefly consider and respond to a worry with one of these proposed solutions. (shrink)

Todo filosofar, quando compreendido em marcos hegelianos, exige a prévia constituição de conhecimentos científicos, sobre os quais a Filosofia então se volta, como Saber de saberes. Ao tempo de Hegel, a Ciência do Direito (doutrina) — mesmo que buscasse remontar aos gregos e romanos, ou às muitas escolas de estudo e ensino jurídico emergentes com a criação das universidades medievais —, era ainda incipiente e insuficiente para alimentar uma Filosofia do Direito. Por isso, não foi possível a Hegel produzir uma (...) Filosofia do Direito, mas uma Filosofia do Estado. Somente após o desenvolvimento das Ciências Jurídicas, nos séculos XIX e XX, o hegelianismo pôde encontrar na obra de Joaquim Carlos Salgado — filósofo brasileiro do Direito e do Estado, formado pelo introdutor dos estudos hegelianos no Brasil, Henrique Cláudio de Lima Vaz —, uma Filosofia (hegeliana) do Estado e do Direito. O texto reconstitui o itinerário lógico de aparecimento da Filosofia do Direito salgadiana, revelando na história do Direito, do pensamento jurídico e da Filosofia os principais passos necessários à construção de seu pensamento jusfilosófico. Ao redescobrir a obra de Salgado, o Autor é contextualizado no sistema universitário brasileiro e na escola de pensamento que lidera no Brasil por várias décadas — a Escola Jusfilosófica Mineira, sediada em Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, sumarizada no texto para fins informativos —, e seu projeto jusfilosófico é então compreendido como um projeto hegeliano, por isso antes de uma Filosofia do Estado, concebido como Estado de Direito, para então desdobrar-se como uma Filosofia do Direito, centrada na primazia dos direitos fundamentais na arquitetura do Direito. (shrink)

Matthias Schirn has argued on a number of occasions against the interpretation of Frege's ``objects of a quite special kind'' (i.e., the objects referred to by names like `the concept F') as extensions of concepts. According to Schirn, not only are these objects not extensions, but also the idea that `the concept F' refers to objects leads to some conclusions that are counter-intuitive and incompatible with Frege's thought. In this paper, I challenge Schirn's conclusion: I want to try and argue (...) that the assumption that `the concept F' refers to the extension of F is entirely consistent with Frege's broader views on logic and language. I shall examine each of Schirn's main arguments and show that they do not support his claim. (shrink)

In Beyond Nature Maurizi tackles the animal question from an unprecedented perspective: strongly criticizing the abstract moralism that has always characterized animal rights activism, the author proposes a historical-materialistic analysis of the relationship between humans and non-humans. By contrasting the thinking of Hegel, Marx and the Frankfurt School with classical authors in the field of animal rights (such as Singer, Regan, and Francione) this text offers an alternative, social and dialectical theory of animality and a different practical approach to the (...) problem of animal suffering. The hopes for change placed in veganism, liberationism and animal activism are here assumed in a political, revolutionary perspective, in which human and animal liberation finally cease to oppose each other. (shrink)