Scientific realism is typically associated with metaphysics. One current incarnation of such an association concerns the requirement of a metaphysical characterization of the entities one is being a realist about. This is sometimes called “Chakravartty’s Challenge”, and codifies the claim that without a metaphysical characterization, one does not have a clear picture of the realistic commitments one is engaged with. The required connection between metaphysics and science naturally raises the question of whether such a demand is appropriately fulfilled, and how (...) metaphysics engages with science in order to produce what is called “scientific metaphysics”. Here, we map some of the options available in the literature, generating a conceptual spectrum according to how each view approximates science and metaphysics. This is done with the purpose of enlightening the current debate on the possibility of epistemic warrant that science could grant to such a metaphysics, and how different positions differently address the thorny issue concerning such a warrant. (shrink)

PORTUGUESE: Neste artigo, apresentaremos uma visão particular do desenvolvimento de teorias científicas que denominamos (inspirados em Ortega y Gasset) "perspectivismo". Discutiremos como, através desse enfoque, é possível compatibilizar diversas descrições aparentemente distintas e incompatíveis de uma suposta realidade que se investiga. Fazemos isso distinguindo entre a "realidade" (R) e a "descrição empírica da realidade" (Re). Aceitando que podemos ter diversas descrições empíricas de uma mesma realidade, discutimos o caso particular em que esse esquema é utilizado nos debates atuais acerca da (...) ontologia da física quântica, em especial da mecânica quântica não relativista. Como se sabe, essa teoria é compatível com distintas ontologias (ou metafísicas), em particular, pode ser vista como comprometida com uma ontologia de indivíduos, mas também com uma ontologia de não indivíduos. Ambas as alternativas são plausíveis e merecem ser desenvolvidas. Propomos que o perspectivismo aqui apresentado é neutro com relação à escolha de uma metafísica (ontologia), bem como aos debates entre realistas e antirrealistas em filosofia da ciência. Concluímos que passar do pluralismo aceito pelo perspectivista ao realismo ou antirrealismo envolve comprometimento com teses mais robustas acerca da relação entre realidade e descrição da realidade.ENGLISH: In this article we present a particular view of the development of scientific theories which (following Ortega y Gasset), we term "perspectivism". Making use of this view, we discuss how we can accommodate distinct and apparently incompatible descriptions of a supposed reality under investigation. We distinguish between a "reality" (R) and its "empirical description", (Re). Acknowledging that we can have diverse empirical descriptions of the same reality, we discuss the particular case in which the view is applied to current debates on the ontology of quantum physics, especially of non-relativistic quantum mechanics. As it is well known, this theory is compatible with treating quantum objects either as individuals or as non-individuals. Both ontologies are possible and deserve to be developed. We propose that the perspectivism developed here is neutral not only with respect to the choice of an ontology, but also concerning the debates among realists and anti-realists in the philosophy of science. We conclude that to go beyond the pluralism accepted by perspectivism, and to adopt realism or anti-realism, involves commitment to strong theses about the relation between reality and its descriptions. PORTUGUESE: Neste artigo, apresentaremos uma visão particular do desenvolvimento de teorias científicas que denominamos (inspirados em Ortega y Gasset) "perspectivismo". Discutiremos como, através desse enfoque, é possível compatibilizar diversas descrições aparentemente distintas e incompatíveis de uma suposta realidade que se investiga. Fazemos isso distinguindo entre a "realidade" (R) e a "descrição empírica da realidade" (Re). Aceitando que podemos ter diversas descrições empíricas de uma mesma realidade, discutimos o caso particular em que esse esquema é utilizado nos debates atuais acerca da ontologia da física quântica, em especial da mecânica quântica não relativista. Como se sabe, essa teoria é compatível com distintas ontologias (ou metafísicas), em particular, pode ser vista como comprometida com uma ontologia de indivíduos, mas também com uma ontologia de não indivíduos. Ambas as alternativas são plausíveis e merecem ser desenvolvidas. Propomos que o perspectivismo aqui apresentado é neutro com relação à escolha de uma metafísica (ontologia), bem como aos debates entre realistas e antirrealistas em filosofia da ciência. Concluímos que passar do pluralismo aceito pelo perspectivista ao realismo ou antirrealismo envolve comprometimento com teses mais robustas acerca da relação entre realidade e descrição da realidade. (shrink)

Ich erörtere die beiden folgenden Thesen:1. Der technisch-wissenschaftliche Fortschrift ist als Ganzes nicht zu steuern, und zwar gerade dann nicht, wenn er eine Zivilisation wie die unsere westliche total durchdringt. Die Nichtplanbarkett des Gesamtprozesses ist seine wichtigste Rahmenbedingung. Man hat aber einen ideologischen Begriff von Rationalität, wenn man den Entwicklungszug des 'Fortschrifts' deshalb als 'irrational' bezeichnen würde.2. Die Akzeptierung des Umstands, daß der technisch-wissenschaftliche Fortschritt nicht planbar ist, ist einer der augenfälligsten Preise, die wir für die Erhaltung der liberalen Demokratie (...) bei uns zu zahlen haben. (shrink)

La prévalence des situations de maltraitance sur enfants demeure importante, celles-ci intervenant habituellement dans le cadre familier de la jeune victime. Si de nombreux aspects théoriques et cliniques des formes de maltraitance sont aujourd’hui étudiés, peu de travaux se centrent sur les questions spécifiques des transgressions commises par les grands-parents. À partir d’une vignette clinique, l’auteur montre l’utilité d’une prise en charge s’appuyant sur les temps successifs que constituent l’évaluation et le traitement. Tenir un cadre et évaluer, c’est-à-dire faire émerger (...) d’un côté les ressources, de l’autre les défaillances, représente par essence un temps constructif. Quatre catégories principales de fonctionnement psychique des grands-parents maltraitants sont retrouvées. Comme la plupart de ceux-ci relèvent de soins individuels et familiaux, on gagne en efficacité par une diffraction des tâches via un travail en réseau. (shrink)

The way students perceive a learning climate (e.g. controlling or stimulating) is significantly influenced by feedback and assessment. However, at present much is unclear about the relation between feedback and motivational state. More specifically, the interplay with student characteristics is unclear. Since there is a strong increase of group work, the central research question is what are the effects of positive, neutral or negative feedback presented to collaborating teams of students, on students? intrinsic motivation, performance and on group processes? One (...) hundred thirty?eight higher education students participated in this study. There were no significant differences in performance across conditions. Multi?level analysis enabled a detailed comparison between groups and individual members of groups. Amongst others, it was found that feelings of competence facilitate the effect of positive feedback at the group level, which suggests that positive feedback boosts interest especially in groups of highly competent students. (shrink)

RESUMO: Pretende-se, com este artigo, analisar como a noção de epistemologias do Sul possibilita pensar também em um ethos sulista, no sentido de que a crise ambiental que assola a civilização tecnológica, crescida sob os auspícios do saber científico moderno, acabou por levar ao maior impasse ético da história humana, aquele que põe em xeque a própria possibilidade de sua existência no futuro. Dessa forma, almeja-se analisar como as comunidades tradicionais representam a concretização fática daquilo que o filósofo alemão Hans (...) Jonas descreveu, em sua proposta de uma ética para a civilização tecnológica: um tipo de vida baseado na frugalidade e na temperança, diante da emergência da crise climática e da urgência de uma nova ética amparada na responsabilidade.: In this article we intend to analyze how the notion of epistemologies of the south enables us to think also of a southern ethos, in the sense that the environmental crisis that plagues the technological civilization, grown under the auspices of modern scientific knowledge ended up leading to the greatest impasse ethics of human history, one that calls into question the very possibility of its existence in the future. In this way, we intend to analyze how traditional communities represent the factual fulfillment of what the German philosopher Hans Jonas described in his proposal for an ethics for technological civilization: a type of life based on frugality and temperance in the face of the emergence of the climate crisis and the urgency of a new ethics based on responsibility. (shrink)

BackgroundHIV molecular epidemiology is increasingly recognized as a vital source of information for understanding HIV transmission dynamics. Despite extensive use of these data-intensive techniques in both research and public health settings, the ethical issues associated with this science have received minimal attention. As the discipline evolves, there is reasonable concern that existing ethical and legal frameworks and standards might lag behind the rapid methodological developments in this field. This is a follow-up on our earlier work that applied a predetermined analytical (...) framework to examine the perspectives of a sample of scientists from the fields of epidemiology, public health, virology and bioethics on key ethical issues associated with HIV molecular epidemiology in HIV network research.MethodsFourteen in-depth interviews were conducted with scientists from the fields of molecular epidemiology, public health, virology and bioethics. Inductive analytical approaches were applied to identify key themes that emerged from the data.ResultsOur interviewees acknowledged the potential positive impact of molecular epidemiology in the fight against HIV. However, they were concerned that HIV phylogenetics research messages may be incorrectly interpreted if not presented at the appropriate level. There was consensus that HIV phylogenetics research presents a potential risk to privacy, but the probability and magnitude of this risk was less obvious. Although participants acknowledged the social value that could be realized from the analysis of HIV genetic sequences, there was a perceived fear that the boundaries for use of HIV sequence data were not clearly defined.ConclusionsOur findings highlight distinct ethical issues arising from HIV molecular epidemiology. As the discipline evolves and HIV sequence data become increasingly available, it is critical to ensure that ethical standards keep pace with biomedical advancements. We argue that the ethical issues raised in this study, whether real or perceived, require further conceptual and empirical examination. (shrink)

Resumo: O presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar três aspectos do tema do amor na obra de Friedrich Nietzsche. Para tanto, parte de dois pressupostos: [1] o sentimento do amor deve ser entendido como parte do projeto de crítica à metafísica e aos idealismos presentes na moral, na religião e na arte; e como consequência, [2] como crítica às noções do amor que remete à tradição socrático-platônico, judaico-cristã e moderna. Para tanto, os três aspectos daí derivados, mostram que o amor (...) em Nietzsche 1] não é falta, [2] nem negação de si, [3] nem está baseado na ideia de posse; muito pelo contrário, [1] amor é exuberância, [2] depende da fruição de si e [3] está baseado nas diferenças próprias e desigualdades naturais entre os indivíduos. Tal procedimento analítico chega à afirmação da amizade como amor superior, cujo conteúdo remente a um sentimento de homens nobres, precisamente aquilo que se poderia chamar, em Nietzsche, de um grande amor.: This article aims to analyze three aspects of the theme of love in Friedrich Nietzsche’s work. For that, it starts from two assumptions: [1] the feeling of love must be understood as part of the project of criticism of metaphysics and the idealisms present in morals, religion and art; and as a consequence, [2] as a critique of the notions of love that refer to the Socratic-Platonic, Judeo-Christian and modern tradition. The three aspects derived from it, show that love in Nietzsche [1] is not lack, [2] nor self-denial, [3] nor is it based on the idea of possession; quite the contrary, the opposite link, [1] love is exuberance, [2] depends on the enjoyment of oneself and [3] is based on self-differences and natural inequalities between individuals. Such an analytical procedure comes to the affirmation of friendship as a superior love, whose content refers to a feeling of noble men, precisely what could be called, in Nietzsche, great love. (shrink)

Schuklenk and van de Vathorst's paper is a very welcome addition to the literature on the assisted dying debate and will be of great interest to clinicians working in the field of mental health.1 Many psychiatrists will have had patients who have asked them to allow them to die, to desist in their efforts to prevent their suicide, and one of us has had personal experience, outside of professional life, of being asked to aid in someone's attempt to end their (...) life in the context of an episode of mood disorder. The person with depression asking professionals, friends and family members to aid them in ending their life is a very real phenomenon. In their discussion, Schuklenk and van de Vathorst's paper uses two principles that we endorse and add weight to their argument: namely, the reality of suffering in depression and the parity of mental and physical illness. Indeed, the case Schuklenk and van de Vathorst make is a strong one and our commentary will focus on the premise of the argument around choosing death and some empirical clarification about competence in depression and the nature of treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and its prognosis. The conceptual concern we wish to discuss in relation to assisted dying, endorsed by the state and legislature, is not linked to any moral or religious concern, or even on grounds related to ‘slippery slope’ or ‘abuse’ arguments. Rather the worry is how one could operationalise decisions around assisted dying as based on competence and capacity and view such decisions as rational. I think this concern is not limited to depressive illness, but to all decisions regarding choosing non-existence. Schuklenk and van de Vathorst offer the following useful criteria to regulate assisted suicide:1. (shrink)

Resumo: O objetivo do presente artigo é contrapor à acusação de tecnofóbico, erroneamente dirigida a Hans Jonas, a sua proposta de uma ethical turn da tecnologia, cujas bases estariam na capacidade ética de impor contenções ao avanço utópico do progresso técnico, algo que leva a ética da responsabilidade ao polêmico conceito de “heurística do temor”. Para tanto, parte-se de um exame sobre o projeto jonasiano de uma filosofia da tecnologia, cuja terceira perspectiva seria valorativa, sendo esta a que ele melhor (...) desenvolveu. A partir daí, analisa-se qual seria o valor da tecnologia, com base no ponto de vista da vida para então se examinar, estrategicamente, a posição de Gerard Lebrun, para quem Jonas estaria entre os filósofos tecnofóbicos. O intuito, nesse caso, é demonstrar a incoerência de tal interpretação, precisamente porque o pensador francês, com grande atuação no Brasil, confunde a proposta da reorientação ética com a imposição de um poder exterior, de cunho paralisante.: The purpose of this article is to counter against the accusation of technophobic, wrongly directed to Hans Jonas, his proposal for an ethical turn of technology, whose bases would be on the ethical capacity to impose restraint on the utopian advance of technical progress, something that leads to the ethics of responsibility to the controversial concept of “heuristic of fear”. To do so, we started from an examination of the Jonasian project of a philosophy of technology, whose third perspective would be valuable, which is the one he developed best. From there, we will analyze what would be the value of technology from the point of view of life and then strategically analyze the position of Gerard Lebrun for whom Jonas should be placed among technophobic philosophers. Our aim, in this case, is to demonstrate the inconsistency of such an interpretation, precisely because the French thinker with an important presence in Brazil, confuses the proposal of ethical reorientation with the imposition of an external power, of a paralyzing type. (shrink)

Resumo: Pretende-se neste artigo analisar a noção nietzschiana de filósofo do futuro e sua contribuição para o surgimento do novo homem, tendo em vista, prioritariamente, Além de bem e mal. Para tanto, iniciaremos analisando de que forma esta obra pode ser considerada, segundo a pretensão de seu autor, como uma crítica da modernidade e, consequentemente, de que forma ela se constitui como o manifesto de uma tarefa que Nietzsche define como própria dos filósofos do futuro: a superação do passado, ou (...) seja, das formas metafísicas, dogmáticas e ascéticas que orientaram a filosofia ao longo da história, por meio dos “trabalhadores filosóficos”, que agora devem ceder lugar aos autênticos filósofos, cujas lentes fisiopsicológicas examinam o pensamento como sintoma da saúde ou da doença de seus autores. Com isso, Nietzsche substitui a antiga tarefa do filósofo por uma nova missão. Com essa reflexão, acredita-se margear alguns dos problemas centrais da pesquisa do homenageado desse dossiê, prof. Wilson Antonio Frezzatti Jr.: This paper intends to analyze the Nietzschean notion of philosopher of the future and its contribution to the emergence of the new man, having in mind, primarily, Beyond good and evil. In order to do so, we will begin by analyzing how this work can be considered, according to the author’s intention, as a critique of modernity and, consequently, in what way it constitutes the manifesto of a task that Nietzsche defines as proper to the philosophers of the future: the overcoming of the past, that is, of the metaphysical, dogmatic and ascetic forms that have guided philosophy throughout history, through the “philosophical workers”, who must now give way to authentic philosophers, whose physiopsychological lenses examine thought as symptom of the health or illness of its authors. With this, Nietzsche replaces the philosopher’s old task with a new mission. With this reflection, it is believed that some of the central problems of the research of the honoree of this dossier, prof. Wilson Antonio Frezzatti Jr., are bordered. (shrink)

Pretende-se com este artigo, demonstrar como o niilismo é um dos conceitos centrais da obra de Hans Jonas. Para isso, analisaremos como o problema se desdobra em sua obra a partir de três perspectivas complementares: a identificação de um niilismo cósmico, cujo primeira aparição são os movimentos gnósticos da Antiguidade tardia e seus impactos sobre o cristianismo primitivo; um niilismo antropológico derivado dessa posição gnóstica e agravado pela filosofia existencialista; um niilismo ético e tecnológico, que tanto serve para diagnosticar a (...) tecnologia como “vontade de ilimitado poder” quanto para compreender a crise ambiental a partir da crise de valores que marca o Ocidente a partir da modernidade. Com isso, o niilismo, interpretado como velle nihil, ou seja, como vontade de negação e, mais especificamente, de destruição, é uma chave interpretativa para a crise ambiental. Dessa forma, a obra de Jonas pode ser considerada como uma tentativa de evitar que o “mais estranho dos hóspedes” destrua a própria morada. (shrink)

The present text aims at commenting the doctoral thesis A recepção do pensamento de Nietzsche na obra literária de Dalcídio Jurandir - submitted by Oclécio das Chagas Lacerda at the School of Philosophy, Arts and Human Sciences of the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) in 2022 - in light of two main themes developed by it: the “anthropophagic” interpretation of Nietzsche’s critique on Christian nihilism and the Amazon meaning derived from it.

The proposal that there is an illusion of conscious will has been supported by findings that priming of stimulus location in a task requiring judgements of action-authorship can enhance participants’ experience of agency. We attempted to replicate findings from the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ task [Aarts, H., Custers, R., & Wegner, D. M. . On the inference of personal authorship: enhancing experienced agency by priming effect information. Consciousness and Cognition, 14, 439–458]. We also examined participants’ performance on this task in relation (...) to self-reported passivity experiences and hallucination-proneness. We found a significant effect of priming, with primes being found to increase the experience of agency. An interaction between gender and priming was also found, with priming enhancing feelings of agency in women but not in men. There were no significant correlations between levels of self-reported passivity experiences or hallucination-proneness and participants’ susceptibility to the priming effect on ratings of agency. Implications of these findings are discussed with regard to a prominent model of passivity experiences. (shrink)

In three experiments, each of a set colour-unrelated distracting words was presented most often in a particular target print colour . In Experiment 1, half of the participants were told the word-colour contingencies in advance and half were not . The instructed group showed a larger learning effect. This instruction effect was fully explained by increases in subjective awareness with instruction. In Experiment 2, contingency instructions were again given, but no contingencies were actually present. Although many participants claimed to be (...) aware of these contingencies, they did not produce an instructed contingency effect. In Experiment 3, half of the participants were given contingency instructions that did not correspond to the correct contingencies. Participants with these false instructions learned the actual contingencies worse than controls. Collectively, our results suggest that conscious contingency knowledge might play a moderating role in the strength of implicit learning. (shrink)

The present paper aims at investigating the meaning and scope of the idea of musical dissonance in The Birth of Tragedy. In reviewing the possible explanatory definitions of this concept, within and outside the speculative-theoretical framework proper to Nietzsche’s first book, we hope to open a path that leads us to rethink the so-called “artist metaphysics”, and, specially, what is generally understood as Dionysian music.

In this article, we aim to demonstrate the centrality of the problem of the image in the ontology and philosophical anthropology of Hans Jonas, setting aside the ethical aspects. We will analyze how, based on elements derived from his philosophical biology (characterized as a description of the phenomenon of life), it is possible to understand the centrality of the notion of image in its different implications for the constitution of the difference between human animals and other forms of life. To (...) this end, we aim to demonstrate the central characteristics of what we can call a Phenomenological Anthropology of the Image, constituted from three aspects: [1] the participation of the human animal in the history of freedom, described as the guiding thread for understanding the phenomenon of life in which the relationship between vision and distance is situated; [2] the conception of the image as part of the process of self-constitution of the human being; [3] the image as an element of differentiation of the human animal in relation to other living beings, according to the process of trans-animal continuity of man. Finally, we hope to demonstrate how the image plays a fundamental role both in the context of Jonasian ontobiology (insofar as it bears witness to the freedom inherent to animal forms of life) and in the constitution of his philosophical anthropology (through the concept of trans-animality). (shrink)

Maladapting Minds discusses a number of reasons why philosophers of psychiatry should take an interest in evolutionary explanations of mental disorders and, more generally, in evolutionary thinking. First of all, there is the nascent field of evolutionary psychiatry. Unlike other psychiatrists, evolutionary psychiatrists engage with ultimate, rather than proximate, questions about mental illnesses. Being a young and youthful new discipline, evolutionary psychiatry allows for a nice case study in the philosophy of science. Secondly, philosophers of psychiatry have engaged with evolutionary (...) theory because evolutionary considerations are often said to play a role in defining the concept of mental disorder. The basic question here is: Can the concept of mental disorder be given an objective definition, or is it rather a normative concept? Thirdly and finally, evolutionary thinking in psychiatry has often been a source of inspiration for a philosophical view on human nature. Thus evolutionary psychiatrists have suggested, for example, that man's vulnerability to mental disorders may well be one of the defining features of our species. -/- Written by leading authors in philosophy, psychiatry, biology and psychology, this volume illustrates that many debates in contemporary philosophy of psychiatry are profoundly influenced by evolutionary approaches to mental disorders. Conversely, it also reveals how philosophers can help contribute to the burgeoning field of evolutionary psychiatry. It is important reading for a wide range of readers interested in mental health care and philosophy. (shrink)