Genetic counselling is an important aspect of prenatal care in many developed countries. This tendency has also begun to emerge in Br.

Most of the epidemiological models of the Covid-19 pandemic contain the reproduction number as a parameter. In this article we focus on some shortcomings regarding its role in driving health policies and political decisions. First, we summarize what R is and what it is used for. Second, we introduce a three-question matrix for the evaluation of any construct or parameter within a model. We then review the main literature about R to highlight some of its shortcomings and apply to them (...) our three-question matrix. Finally, we argue that these shortcomings are important for an epistemic and political evaluation of R. (shrink)

Tim Wardle’s 2018 documentary film Three Identical Strangers is an exploration of identity, family, and loss. It’s also about nature versus nurture and the boundaries of ethically permissible research, particularly research involving children. The film tells the story of identical triplets who were separated soon after birth in 1961. A different family adopted each boy, without being told that their son had two identical brothers. The adoption agency responsible for finding the families was collaborating with a group of researchers working (...) on a study about … something. Three Identical Strangers details the boys’ fight to obtain information about the study and for closure. But while the film may have received rave reviews, it left us feeling uneasy. We came away with two sets of questions, one having to do with the story that the film documents and the second with the ethics of filmmaking itself. (shrink)

Casual sexual relationships are frequent relationship experiences in young adulthood that provide opportunities for many to explore sexual relationships and to construct their sexual identity. Empirical research on casual sex is still lacking outside North-American countries, despite evidence pointing to the need to contextualize sexual interactions in their own sociocultural context. In order to better understand casual sexual relationships, these should be examined in with novel samples in other countries where a “hookup culture” as it is described in the North-American (...) university campus is apparently absent. Through a qualitative study, we explored what casual sexual relationships consist of according to the perceptions of Portuguese college students. The thematic analysis of eight focus group interviews resulted in the generation of six themes, three of which are presented here: What CSRs are, regarding features and types of CSRs, Why individuals engage in CSRs, focusing on positive and negative motivations, and What one gets from CSRs, focusing on positive and negative outcomes of CSRs. Our findings showed that Portuguese emerging adults are familiarized with CSRs, particularly with one-night stand, friends with benefits and “curte”/hookup. Sexual interactions associated with other CSRs, such as booty call or fuck buddies, were mentioned but rarely associated with a distinctive label and established characteristics. Participants described the CSRs in a partially overlapping manner presenting some areas of ambiguity, such as with regard to sexual exclusivity and still-unlabeled sexual interactions. CSRs are generally evaluated as positively motivated and mainly beneficial. This study adds to the literature around casual sexual relationships by exploring and describing CSRs in a different sociocultural context, as well as indicating directions for future research in order to better prepare and empower young adults in their sexual and relational trajectories. (shrink)

Introduction: Physical distancing under the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic had a significant impact on lifestyles, including exercise routines. In this study, we examined the relationship between mental health and addictive behaviors, such as excessive exercise and the use of image and performance enhancing drugs across 12 sport disciplines.Materials and methods: A large cross-sectional sample of the adult population was surveyed. The mean age was 33.09. The number of male participants was 668. The use of IPEDs was assessed in conjunction with (...) psychometric measures such as the Exercise Addiction Inventory and the Appearance Anxiety Inventory. The participants were grouped into activity group and non-activity group according to the presence or absence of their exercise habits. The results were compared between these groups, as well as across sport disciplines, while taking into account the relationship between different psychological measures and IPEDs consumption.Results: The frequency of IPEDs use was higher among AG than NAG, although AG participants reported less history of addictions than NAG. The logistic regression analysis revealed that scores equal to or above cutoff points, in both the EAI and AAI, predicted the IPEDs use. Regarding the differences across the various sport disciplines, those who were involved in practicing Weight Lifting and Cross Fit were found to be more at risk of excessive exercising and more inclined to use a wide range of IPEDs.Conclusions: Although exercise could help to increase well-being and prevent addictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, our results show that those in the AG are particularly vulnerable to excessive IPEDs use. Sport disciplines associated with higher EAI and AAI scores have also shown a higher tendency to excessive IPEDs use. Furthermore, the factor of having above the cutoff scores in EAI or AAI in each sport could indicate larger IPEDs consumption regardless of the discipline. In light of the current findings, it is necessary to better define the “non-excessive” levels of exercise in various sport disciplines and an adequate intake of IPEDs to ensure the safety and well-being of people during a pandemic. (shrink)

Earthquakes, which can cause widespread territorial and socio-economic destruction, are life-threatening, unexpected, unpredictable and uncontrollable events caused by the shaking of the surface of the earth. The psychological consequences, such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation, are well-known to clinicians and researchers. This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the use of the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Integrative Group Treatment Protocol (IGTP) on a sample of adolescents, after the earthquake in Central Italy on 24 August (...) 2016. The objective of the EMDR intervention was to reduce PTSD symptoms. Before and after EMDR, specific assessment to find changes in PTSD symptoms was made using the IES-R (Impact of Event Scale Revised) and through the analyses of the Subjective Units of Disturbance (SUD). The EMDR treatment was given in three sessions (T1, T2, T3), each lasting 90 minutes, and the results at follow-up phase (T4) were also monitored. The results are very encouraging, showing significantly reduced PTSD symptoms in the majority of the subjects. The clinical implications and limitations will be discussed. (shrink)

Exemplos, relatos e anedotas históricas são recorrentes nos Ensaios e revelam a maneira original de Montaigne se apropriar da história: como estudo do passado e das ocorrências particulares; como alimento moral; como referência fictícia ou real; através da relação da história com a retórica e a prova argumentativa; como história contemporânea e a crítica da mentalidade cultural; como história de vida. Em todas essas articulações da narrativa histórica, que podemos sintetizar ao modo de uma conversação com os homens do passado (...) e do presente, encontramos o alvo de Montaigne: ir das ações às intenções, do outro para o conhecimento de si, do diverso para o discernimento. A história, sobretudo aquela à maneira plutarquiana, constitui matéria prima indispensável para o exercício do julgamento de Montaigne. Examples, reports and historical anecdotes are not hard to find in Les Essais and reveal Montaigne's original way of approaching history: as a study of the past and particular events; as moral nourishment; as fictitious or real reference; by relating history to rhetoric and argumentative proof; as contemporary history and criticism of cultural mentality; as life story. In all these articulations of historical narrative, which we can synthesize as a conversation with men of the past and present time, we find Montaigne's target: to go from actions to intentions, from the other to the knowledge of oneself, from diversity to discernment. History, mainly the one that follows Plutarch's style, composes the raw material indispensable to Montaigne's exercise of judgment. (shrink)

La discussione generale sulla filosofia della scienza contemporanea è complicata dal numero e dall’eterogeneità delle scienze, mentre lo studio di temi specifici porta inevitabilmente a dissertazioni specialistiche che mancano nel dare ragione della trama di senso sottostante. Questo Piccolo trattato di epistemologia intende occupare uno spazio vuoto, proponendo alcuni temi chiave per la comprensione dei meccanismi alla base della conoscenza scientifica: i rapporti tra filosofia e scienze, siano esse naturali o umane; la complessa relazione tra fatti e valori; la distinzione (...) tra scoperta e giustificazione; la necessità di un discorso etico sulla ricerca, che chiami in causa categorie come fiducia, empatia, altruismo ed egoismo. Con un approccio chiaro e rigoroso, il volume intende rivolgersi a quell’ampia fascia di pubblico interessata alle tematiche centrali dell’epistemologia, della filosofia e delle scienze. (shrink)

En este trabajo analizo la concepción de Eugenio Bulygin respecto de aquellos enunciados jurídicos que afirman que una cierta acción es jurídicamente obligatoria, prohibida o permitida. Conforme a Bulygin, estos enunciados son ambiguos. Ellos pueden ser enunciados empíricos externos que afirman la existencia o validez de una norma, o pueden ser enunciados normativos internos que expresan una norma, o una actitud moral absoluta. En el trabajo sostengo que, para una concepción positivista, si el derecho es concebido como un conjunto de (...) normas, los enunciados bajo análisis no enuncian un hecho empírico, pero tampoco expresan una actitud moral absoluta. Ellos ciertamente enuncian un hecho normativo: la validez o existencia jurídica de una entidad normativa, que es relativa a un determinado tiempo y lugar. En mi opinión, la dificultad de Bulygin para admitir este tipo de enunciados se debe fundamentalmente a la presuposición de una falsa dicotomía entre dos modos en los que una entidad puede existir: uno empírico y otro normativo. Con el fin de criticar esta aparente dicotomía presento brevemente una concepción constructivista de la existencia de normas. Si mi razonamiento es correcto, esta concepción es adecuada para explicar, desde una perspectiva teórica positivista, aquellos enunciados que expresan el hecho normativo de la existencia o validez jurídica de una norma. In this paper I analyze Bulygin's conception of those legal statements asserting that a certain action is legally obligatory, prohibited or permitted. According to Bulygin, these statements are ambiguous. They can be external, empirical statements expressing the existence or validity of a legal norm, but they can also be internal, normative statements expressing a norm or an absolute, moral attitude. In the paper I attempt to defend that for a positivist theory, if law is conceived as a set of norms, this kind of statements do not report an empirical fact, but do not express an absolute moral attitude either. They surely assert a normative fact: the legal existence or validity of a normative entity, which is relative to a certain time and place. In my view, Bulygin's failure to see this point is fundamentally due to the assumption of a false dichotomy between two ways in which an entity can exist: one empirical, the other normative. In order to criticize this apparent dichotomy, I briefly sketch a constructivist conception in which we can say that legal norms exist. If my reasoning is correct, this conception is apt to explain those statements expressing the normative fact that a norm exists or is legally valid. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Nietzsche-Studien Jahrgang: 45 Heft: 1 Seiten: 222-222.

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)

Discute-se a capacidade humana de estabelecer novos começos no mundo. A pergunta que orienta a discussão refere-se à possibilidade da dignidade da política em tempos sombrios e em tempos de crise da democracia e do estado de direito. Parte-se do pressuposto de que a garantia da liberdade compõe o fundamento do Estado Democrático de Direitos, portanto a liberdade deve ser assegurada. No intuito de compreender a liberdade como pressuposto da democracia, objetiva-se elucidar a capacidade humana de trazer a novidade ao (...) mundo, de começar, de iniciar. Para tal utiliza-se como fundamentação teórica os estudos de Hannah Arendt acerca da atividade da ação – onde se faz imprescindível o discurso – e da capacidade de começar; a partir disso busca-se compreender a liberdade. Aponta-se que a dignidade da política encontra resposta na liberdade como o sentido da fundação das comunidades políticas e na possibilidade humana do estabelecimento de novos começos. (shrink)

According to the minimal version of the traditional analysis of knowledge, there are (at least) three necessary components to knowledge, that is, truth, belief and justification. In this paper we will argue that even in a global sceptical scenario, all three conditions minimally necessary for knowledge can be satisfied. In particular, we will focus on the justification requirement and analyse two “traditional” theories of justification, i.e., coherentism and foundationalism, as well as a more “innovative” one, i.e., reliabilism. Then, we will (...) conclude that if we want to continue to claim that, in a global sceptical scenario, a cognitive subject does not know (almost) anything, we should recognise that she may still have justified true beliefs, and we should, therefore, look elsewhere for the reasons why she lacks knowledge. (shrink)

In Davidson’s opinion, the model of triangulation, which is a situation where two or more sufficiently similar interacting creatures respond to one another within a shared external environment, can give explanation to how concepts and mental contents are acquired and also clarify their very nature. In this paper, I will explore the model of triangulation, its various levels, and its specific role in concept acquisition. I will then assess the plausibility of Davidson’s account and suggest a few possible amendments to (...) the model of triangulation, in order to make it effective in explaining the process of concept acquisition. Finally, I will argue that the model of triangulation cannot be disconnected from holism and will briefly sketch some consequences of this claim. (shrink)

Nella pratica scientifica ci sono molte questioni di tipo concettuale che possono trarre vantaggio da uno specifico sguardo filosofico. Per esempio, qual è la differenza tra scienza e pseudoscienza? Le teorie scientifiche sono in grado di fornire una descrizione vera del mondo? In cosa consiste la spiegazione scientifica? In che misura l’impresa scientifica è influenzata da valori etici, politici, economici o religiosi? Prediligendo un approccio tematico, il volume introduce alla comprensione dei principali problemi teorici della filosofia della scienza attraverso l’analisi (...) di venti parole o concetti chiave, così da permettere la lettura dei singoli capitoli in modo indipendente, pur in una fitta rete di importanti rimandi. (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 tiene como objetivo fundamental presentar el concepto de repetición bajo tres aspectos. El primero es su ubicación en el contexto de la existencia individual; el segundo, su carácter de exigencia de búsqueda de la libertad; y, finalmente, la consideración de la repetición como acontecimiento de la existencia. El recorrido del artículo revela así el tránsito que se emprende desde la importancia de la figura del lector en su profunda soledad; lector de la vida, de la prueba, de la (...) circunstancia, de lo ineludible; hasta la revelación de la existencia revestida en un acto mimético. Este recorrido aparece evidenciado porque se pone de relieve la preocupación humana no sólo por la existencia, sino por el sentido que ella adquiere frente a la posibilidad del mal desde lo particular, desde lo individual. En este orden de ideas, tras un seguimiento del concepto de repetición se pretende hacer evidente un interés que puede llamarse interés existencial y por ello filosófico: volver la cara hacia el individuo. (shrink)

Resumo: Este artigo visa a investigar as críticas que o sociólogo francês Alfred Fouillé faz a Nietzsche acerca de suas concepções morais. Apoiado nos textos de seu enteado, Jean-Marie Guyau, Fouillée contrapõe uma moral do altruísmo ao que entende ser uma moral nietzschiana: individualismo, egoísmo e violência. O texto indica os equívocos da leitura de Fouillée a partir dos próprios comentários de Nietzsche ao sociólogo francês e faz algumas aproximações entre Nietzsche e Guyau.: This article intends to investigate the criticism (...) raised by the French sociologist Alfred Fouillé to Nietzsche related to his moral conceptions. Supported by his stepson´s text, Jean-Marie Guyau, Fouillé opposes an altruism morality to what he understands to be a Nietzschian morality: individualism, selfishness and violence. The text points to errors in Fouillé´s readings based on the very Nietzsche´s comments to the French sociologist and do some approximations between Nietzsche and Guyau. (shrink)