The paper discusses recent proposals by Carroll and Chen, as well as Barbour, Koslowski, and Mercati to explain the arrow of time without a Past Hypothesis, i.e. the assumption of a special initial state of the universe. After discussing the role of the Past Hypothesis and the controversy about its status, we explain why Carroll's model - which establishes an arrow of time as typical - can ground sensible predictions and retrodictions without assuming something akin to a Past Hypothesis. We (...) then propose a definition of a Boltzmann entropy for a classical N-particle system with gravity, suggesting that a Newtonian gravitating universe might provide a relevant example of Carroll's entropy model. This invites comparison with the work of Barbour, Koslowski, and Mercati that identifies typical arrows of time in a relational formulation of classical gravity on shape space. We clarify the difference between this gravitational arrow in terms of shape complexity and the entropic arrow in absolute spacetime, and work out the key advantages of the relationalist theory. We end by pointing out why the entropy concept relies on absolute scales and is thus not relational. (shrink)

Neste artigo apresentamos uma perspectiva de compreensão da história da filosofia, na qual é possível acessar outros modos de como essa história pode ser interpretada. Nesta perspectiva ocorre a desconstrução epistêmica eurocentrada de legitimação da ideia de um “milagre” grego que permite o surgimento da filosofia nessa região em detrimento a outros lugares. O pressuposto indicado é o da pluriversalidade de Mogobe Ramose (2011) que apresenta a ideia de pensamento reflexivo e crítico como condição humana, independente de local. Em relação (...) ao continente africano trazemos a crítica de que a escravidão moderna promovida pela Europa desumanizou africanos e indígenas e, com isso, lhes nega a capacidade de pensamento. Após essa análise, apresentamos a filosofia afro-brasileira como um desdobramento da filosofia africana em seu deslocamento do continente africano para as Américas no período da escravidão e colonização. Apresentamos as bases epistêmicas dessa filosofia mantidas nas culturas afro-brasileiras. Destacamos, também, os seus subsídios corporais, salientando a sua dimensão ética e estética ao propor outros modos de se relacionar em que o coletivo é a alternativa ao individualismo, no qual se destaca uma ética comunitária e solidária. As narrativas constituídas no processo colonizador da modernidade são revistas em seus pressupostos de supremacia para dar lugar a uma filosofia que alcance o outro, que se estabeleça na alteridade. Tal proposta nos parece relevante para o ensino formal de filosofia, pois dialoga diretamente com a realidade de mundo existencial formativa do país, e aponta outras possibilidades de organização da vida em distintos aspectos, mas todos eles perpassados pela educação, neste caso, uma educação para ser e estar com o outro, o que solicita a revisão curricular na grade da filosofia, tanto na formação de professores quanto na disciplina destinada ao ensino médio. (shrink)

En este trabajo critico la interpretación moralizada de la obligación política en Hobbes que defiende Luciano Venezia. Exploro una lectura diferente que evita una dicotomía tajante entre las razones prudenciales y las razones morales y subraya en cambio la discontinuidad entre la normatividad subjetiva de la ley natural y la normatividad objetiva de la ley positiva. Sostengo que el contrato de sujeción política establece obligaciones objetivas recién cuando el soberano exige el cumplimiento de los contratos. La obligación política es entonces (...) una forma de obligación jurídica. Además, enfatizo que la comunidad moral de Hobbes solo es posible dentro del Estado. In this paper, I criticize Luciano Venezia's moralized interpretation of the Hobbesian concept of political obligation. I explore a different reading that avoids a clear-cut dichotomy between prudential and moral reasons and underscores instead the discontinuity between natural law's subjective normativity and civil law's objective normativity. I contend that the pact of political subjection establishes objective obligations only when the sovereign requires the fulfillment of contracts. Political obligation is then a form of legal obligation. In addition, I emphasize that Hobbes's moral community is only possible within the State. (shrink)

The intensification of farm animal welfare debate has led to an increasing number of certification schemes covering this issue; however, there are concerns about the contribution of these schemes in improving welfare. The aims of this study were to identify certification schemes for broiler chicken welfare at farm level in Brazil, to investigate the extent of nutritional, environmental, health and behavioral indicators within the schemes and to analyze the content of scheme and the capacity to promote continuous improvement on certified (...) farms. GLOBALG.A.P.® and Certified Humane® were the only schemes observed, corresponding to 2.1 % of broiler chicken farms in Brazil. Environmental and health indicators were in greater number, and the requirements classified as behavioral indicator were commonly related to the resolution of low levels of animal welfare. Both schemes were in accordance with the European Food Safety Authority recommendations for farmer training, birds and buildings inspection, temperature control, air and litter quality, stocking density and lighting. The selection of breeds and the use of animal-based indicators needs to be improved, as well the inclusion animal welfare objectives and management review as part of continuous improvement. Welfare certification is a potential market to be developed in Brazil. Overall, assessed schemes may potentially enhance animal welfare at farm level by including new concepts and practices. It is desirable to increase the number of certified farms in Brazil and that certification schemes be critically analyzed on a regular basis regarding their content to meet new demands and to include updates from scientific research. (shrink)

We argue that the phases identified in the novelty-seeking model can be clarified by considering an updated version of the optimal-level of arousal model, which incorporates the “arousal” and “mood changing” potentials of stimuli and contexts. Such a model provides valuable insights into what determines one's state of mind, inter-individual differences, and the rewarding effects of curiosity and creativity.

Review of the book "Platão", que é uma tradução feita a partir do original: “A Companion do Plato”, publicado pela Blackwell e organizado Hugh H. Benson.

This paper proposes different approaches to design, referring to gambiarra practices and artifacts and their relation to complexity theory, evoking critical theorists that take undecidability into account in order to link gambiarra to operations that breed complexity and responsibility. The word gambiarra comes from Brazilian slang and describes an intervention or artifact meant to provide a provisory solution to an unexpected event or crisis. This kind of alternative design differs radically from conventional design because it does not come from formally (...) trained, engineer-minded, projects. Instead, it lacks control, stability and durability. As it offers no permanent solution, it opens room for further accidents and is messy, especially if compared to a conservative model for creation that praises human predominance, soundness and efficiency. Therefore, gambiarra often has negative connotations that this analysis aims to challenge, by relating it to principles of complexity theory. Complexity theory is a transdisciplinary field for research aimed at the organization of living systems, with a vast understanding of networks and what life and govern are. It gathers insights from different disciplines to explore the interconnectivity between individuals, their systems and environment. It unveils how ambivalent information/noise relationships are fundamental for the increase of diversity in a system. It also displays the intelligent dynamics resulting from seemingly insignificant neighborhood relations that collectively make it possible to adapt and continuously change structures. With that in mind, the “deficient” aspect of gambiarra becomes more valuable, as it hints at a potential to generate new information and structures beyond entropic models that perpetuate the same logics across time. Michel Serres’s information theory presented in the book The Parasite is brought up in comparison to gambiarra, in order to explore the potential of interdependent ambiguous relationships that may not fit in dominant forms of discourse. Concomitantly, Vilém Flusser’s notion of responsibility reinforces the argument that a fabric of dynamic differences can emerge out of mutual engagement and indeterminacy. Underlying, this paper concerns with drafting ecological discourses and practices that can embrace contradictions and the plurality of worlds, noticing complex phenomena that have been pushed to the margins, while also decentralizing from hegemonic models. It questions the predominance of the prevailing design paradigm in the search for non-eurocentric and non-anthropocentric human-environment relationships and forms of provision of human needs. (shrink)

The idea that teachers love children is often taken for granted in education. Rarely is the idea of love itself examined. Bringing together the work of educators, curriculum theorists and clinical psychoanalysts, and drawing upon autobiographical and narrative case studies, this groundbreaking collection examines the collision of love and learning, including the ways in which such intersections are provoked, repressed and denied. Contributors turn to psychoanalysis to explore questions of love in all of its varying permutations - ambivalence, sexuality, hatred, (...) desire, projection, and loss - in order to demonstrate how the social ramifications of such work is critical to the ways teachers are currently being prepared for life in the classroom. (shrink)

In this article, Lauren Gatti and Paula McAvoy explain the interdisciplinary methods that they used for developing a theory of professional judgment for teachers that they call the Ethical Long View. In developing the theory, they engaged in empirical inquiry through the solicitation of dilemmas from practicing teachers using an online survey (N = 127) and follow-up interviews with a subset of survey participants (N = 11). The interviews were developed into qualitative normative cases, which are richly described vignettes (...) of a teacher's dilemma and thinking. In between analyzing the survey data and developing the cases was a philosophically oriented recursive process that was both iterative and interdisciplinary. The qualitative work helped the authors develop the conceptual framework for the Ethical Long View and, at the same time, positioned participants as co-constructors of the ethical theory. This research draws on the tools of both applied philosophy and social science, but it belongs exclusively to neither. (shrink)

O livro “A Técnica e os Riscos da Modernidade” apresenta-se subdividido em cinco capítulos, no primeiro tem-se o título “Liberdade e risco”, onde o autor disserta acerca do desejo e da necessidade humana de transcender as situações cotidianas, isso desde seus primórdios. Nele o autor mostra o quanto a necessidade de ir além das condições imediatas de existência está indissoluvelmente associada ao seu anseio por liberdade. Sendo esta identificada com uma liberdade política, visto que o homem, por sua natureza social, (...) é um ser essencialmente político. Então a questão que aqui se coloca é justamente o que fazer dessa capacidade de ser livre? Ou seja, como bem utilizá-la sem cair nas armadilhas que levam a um mau uso da liberdade? Responder a contento a esse ponto é um dos maiores desafios do homem e um dos que mais lhe provoca aflição, pois, segundo esse entendimento, não se conta com critérios precisos e infalíveis nas avaliações cotidianas, conta-se apenas com incertezas e com a busca por uma conduta moral. (shrink)

This article intends to analyze the implications of a hypothesis that extends Foucault's analysis of neoliberalism from its effects on modern democracy. For this purpose, Wendy Brown's recent work examines how neoliberal rationality affects democracy, transforms its imaginary and even its main subject, namely the demos. Brown points to two problems of the "neoliberalism's stealth revolution," namely that the neoliberal rationality transforms and undoes democracy by directly affecting its fundamental principle of popular sovereignty. Such transformation is made from the change (...) produced in the democratic imaginary and, mainly, from the transformation of the economic subject from a subject of interest to human capital, as well as the political subject, relegated to the background. From this first problem, we examine how they happen and what are the consequences of changing the democratic imaginary and its central political subject. The second problem pointed out by Brown deals with the interference of neoliberal reason in sovereign autonomy. The second part of this article seeks, therefore, to analyze the relationship between the sovereignty of the nation-state and the notion of popular sovereignty from the problem of the expansion of capital and the vulnerability of the frontiers and territory where citizenship is exercised. (shrink)

From a doctoral research based on the theoretical and methodological construction of the Feminist Sociology of Religion, the referent text presents a discussion about power and domination of gender in the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. The study adopts the religion as a sociological problem in order to raise some discussion points from the construction process and articulation of the relationship between power and gender resistance in religion. The doctoral thesis researched three major Pentecostal churches and found that (...) in all of them the official discourse reproduces the view that the physical skills of becoming pregnant makes women physically unable to take positions and power activities in the church than men. This judgment strengthens the association between male domination and religious power because it reinforces the community's own complicity and thus continue tolerating that men benefit from this argument to legitimize their positions of power in the church. From the notion of "innate fragility of women" the church keeps women on the margins of competition for religious status. The founding elements of the "feminine nature ideology" show that men do not want to lose the attention and personal services that are still accustomed to receive from their mothers, wives or sisters. So, weaken this ideology would open the possibility of losing this style of women, because this empowerment process would allow women conquer spaces and rights usually enjoyed only by men. Therefore, this text aims to present some daily practices of resistance and insubordination to social relationships that insist on keeping the Pentecostal women to domestic and family sphere, in other words, distant from the pulpit and church spheres of power. (shrink)

This paper analyzes the ongoing university reform in Russia by underlining historical roots and peculiarities of its system of higher education. It is pointed out that the Soviet model of economy, political and ideological bias deeply impacted the university system and enforced its estrangement from foreign universities. A limited number of the best Soviet higher education institutions which provided a military-oriented education and fundamental research were re-casted along the so called “PhysTech” system after the end of the WWII. As a (...) result of this system, higher education and R&D in Russia is not presently competitive in the educational international market. Closing the gap between Russian universities and the “global university” approach and raising university competitiveness are the main objectives of the current reform in science and education. As universities are considered core actors of knowledge economy, a new set of federal and national research universities was created. However, reform faces numerous conceptual and institutional obstacles, risks and constraints are significant, and positive outcomes elusive. (shrink)

My purpose in this essay is to make some remarks about the Digression of the Theaetetus. I shall argue that one central aim of the Digression is to show that there is a conflict between two ways of life: the life of the philosopher and the life of people get involved in politics. In the first part of this paper I make some considerations on the relationship between the Prologue and the trial of Socrates. In the second part I examine (...) the moral of the Digression from the perspective of Socrates‟ account of Protagoras‟ epistemology. (shrink)

Climate change exposes ecological and socio-economic systems to risks. The identified disparities in knowledge about the social climate system are at the root of the difficulties in perceiving and understanding the diversity of risks related to climate change. The still huge gap between what science and technological innovation can contribute to mitigation and what is unmanageable by humans inevitably requires a continuous process of adaptation. This work is part of the research associated with the European project (under the ERA4CS) 'Citizen (...) Sensing - Urban climate resilience through participatory risk management systems', which proposes to develop a Participatory Climate Risk Management System, a two-way communication system where is part of a participatory risk management system, contributing to adaptive governance. These objectives will be achieved through the creation of a platform that will incorporate information gathered from four pilot studies: Norrköping (Sweden), Porto (Portugal), Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and Trondheim (Norway). Ultimately, the aim is to draw conclusions on how this application can contribute to improving citizens' literacy to cope with climate change adaptation and to raise awareness of this problem, as the involvement of citizens and stakeholders will only be improved if the perception of the risk of climate change is substantially increased. Awareness campaigns about the potential risks associated with extreme events are of great importance. Citizens tend to view climate change as a global phenomenon, ignoring and avoiding taking action until it is directly and seriously affected. (shrink)

Livro-texto de introdução à lógica, com (mais do que) pitadas de filosofia da lógica, produzido como uma versão revista e ampliada do livro Forallx: Calgary. Trata-se da versão de 13 de outubro de 2022. Comentários, críticas, correções e sugestões são muito bem-vindos.

Metaphors are central in communication and sense-making processes in health-related contexts. Yet how the metaphors used by health-care-professionals to make sense of their patients and their relations to them are associated to the perceived valence of their clinical encounters is underexplored. Drawing-upon the ABC Model of Dehumanization, this study investigated how the humanizing or dehumanizing metaphors nurses’ use for making sense of their pain patients are associated with how they perceived their relationships with them. Fifty female nurses undertook individual narrative-episodic (...) interviews about easy/difficult cases in pain care. A content analysis classified the metaphors, identifying eight classes reflecting different types of patients (de)humanization. A multiple correspondence analysis extracted patterns of metaphors and their association with the perceived characteristics of the patient-nurse relationship. It showed how these patterns were not associated with patient sex or socioeconomic status (SES) but were related to the perceived valence of the clinical relationship. By uncovering how patient metaphors guide nurses’ sense-making and potentially modulate interactions in clinical encounters, these findings may contribute to improve quality of pain care. (shrink)

A virada neopragmática, crítica avassaladora da função fundante dos saberes autodefendida pela filosofia, radical ao ponto de incluir a própria vertente analítica de onde se originou, é, inexoravelmente, a fronteira atual do conhecimento filosófico, o golpe do movimento neopragmático à filosofia e à razão; contudo, deve ser avaliado como positivo. Ele possibilitou o retorno à consciência das matrizes conceituais genuínas desse saber ao apontar as propostas de superação do impasse: naturalismo estrito, naturalismo fraco, idealismo objetivo, contextualismo. Contribuíram, inquestionavelmente, para esse (...) desfecho, os estudos históricos e sociológicos da ciência pós-kuhnianos, inspirados em sua filosofia da ciência. Inserindo-se tangencialmente nesse debate, o objeto de reflexão deste estudo é contrapor o ponto de vista da sociologia da ciência ao realismo e ao idealismo. Nosso intuito é demonstrar que o construtivismo que caracteriza seu modelo de inquirição não nega, como ingênua ou maliciosamente entendem seus críticos, a função determinante da natureza na construção da ciência. A força do nosso argumento emergirá da análise realizada pelos expoentes do strong programme em sociologia da ciência, Barry Barnes, David Bloor e John Henry, no livro “ Scientific Knowledge: a sociological analysis ”, de um estudo de caso controverso da história da física: os experimentos que o físico norte-americano Robert Millikan realizou para estabelecer a carga do elétron. (shrink)

The At Home/Chez Soi project is a pragmatic trial that is intended to test the effectiveness of providing persons who are homeless and mentally ill with housing and support for their mental illnesses. Research undertaken in academic journals and the gray literature about the ethics of conducting pragmatic housing studies with persons who are mentally ill revealed the lack of published knowledge in this area of research ethics. Thus, the At Home/Chez Soi project had to tailor traditional research ethics thinking (...) and tools to best protect its stakeholders. In this article, we outline two of the modifications we made. First, we evaluate the ethical challenges present when participants want to withdraw from a housing study. And second, we describe how adverse events are addressed in our pragmatic trial, and how a specially convened safety committee protects participants and stakeholders. (shrink)

Gerbera hybrida is a member of the large sunflower family (Asteraceae). Typical of Asteraceae, Gerbera bears different types of flowers in its inflorescence. The showy marginal flowers comprise elongate, ligulate corollas that are female, whereas the central and inconspicuous disc flowers are complete, with both male and female organs. As such, Gerbera offers great potential for comparative developmental research within a single genotype. Moreover, different Gerbera varieties show an impressive spectrum of color patterns, directly displaying responses to developmental cues at (...) all important morphological levels (flower type, flower organ and within organs). Further, Gerbera harbors an arsenal of Asteraceae‐type secondary metabolites, not present in other model plants. With powerful reverse genetics methods, a large collection of EST sequences and a new cDNA microarray, Gerbera has become a model plant of the sunflower family. BioEssays 28: 756–767, 2006. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

La poesía es un espacio en el que la palabra se materializa en instante. En ella se encuentran mundos inesperados, olvidadosque se vuelven a hacer presentes para recordar así que en la palabra de un poeta están contenidos todos los hombres, todoslos sueños, todos los tiempos. La palabra es proyección de la existencia, es una necesidad de no caer en el olvido, por lomenos en uno que no sea profundo, inolvidable, irrecuperable.

This paper examines one aspect of professional practice for bioethicists: managing conflicts of interest. Drawing from our qualitative study and descriptive analysis of the experiences of conflicts of interest and/or conflicting interests (COI) of 13 Canadian clinical bioethicists (Frolic and Chidwick 2010), this paper examines how bioethicists define their roles, the nature of COIs in their roles, how their COIs relate to conventional definitions of conflicts of interest, and how COIs can be most effectively managed.

Antonio Gramsci is one of the major social and political theorists of the 20th century whose work has had an enormous influence on several fields, including educational theory and practice. Gramsci and Education demonstrates the relevance of Antonio Gramsci's thought for contemporary educational debates. The essays are written by scholars located in different parts of the world, a number of whom are well known internationally for their contributions to Gramscian scholarship and/or educational research. The collection deals with a broad range (...) of topics, including schooling, adult education in general, popular education, workers' education, cultural studies, critical pedagogy, multicultural education, and the role of intellectuals in contemporary society. (shrink)

Este artículo pretente estabelecer possível correlação entre os princípios do "sistema epistemológico e metafísico"de Espinosa e as diretrizes da filosofia de Diderot.

En el Ecuador a consecuencia de varios actos de violencia ejecutados por varias organizaciones delincuenciales que lideran el país; el Presidente de la República a través de los decretos ejecutivos Nro. 110 y 111 declara el estado de excepción y la existencia de conflicto armado interno. La problemática que se analizó en el presente artículo es la falta de motivación de los decretos ejecutivos 110 y 111 emitidos por el Presidente de la Republica el 8 y 9 de enero de (...) 2024, en el cual se violenta los derechos de libertad e inviolabilidad domicilio. El método utilizado fue desde un enfoque cualitativo, utilizando la revisión bibliográfica -instrumental. Arrojando como resultado que los decretos ejecutivos 110 y 111 no cumple con los parámetros establecidos por el Protocolo Adicional II de Ginebra de 1977 y lo establecido en el Dictamen 2-24/CC de fecha 21 de marzo de 2024. Concluyendo que los decretos ejecutivos se encuentran viciados motivacionalmente en apariencia e incongruencia, lo que causa la violación de los derechos de libertad e inviolabilidad de domicilio, que se restringen por declarar un estado de excepción. (shrink)

O texto situa em seu contexto as Conferências Públicas e apresenta o seu papel no projeto de Instrução Pública e Organização do Ensino, proposto por Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, marquês de Condorcet , que deu origem ao decreto sobre Instrução Pública aprovado na Assembléia Nacional da França Revolucionária em 1792. Ao final, caberá uma breve comparação entre os objetivos das Conferências Públicas dispostos por Condorcet com o recente programa Escola da Família, do governo do Estado de São Paulo, para (...) evidenciar o contraste entre duas políticas liberais para a educação. The essay places in context the Public conferences and presented his paper on the design of Public Instruction and Education Organization, proposed by Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet , which led to the decree on Public Instruction approved National Assembly of Revolutionary France in 1792. In the end, it will be a brief comparison between the objectives of Public Conferences arranged by Condorcet at the recent Family School program, the state government of St. Paul, to highlight the contrast between two liberal policies for education. (shrink)

O artigo enfoca a articulação conceitual entre a razão e a imaginação no Leviatã de Hobbes.