In this research work a novel two-step system for anomaly detection is presented and tested over several real datasets. In the first step the novel Exploratory Projection Pursuit, Beta Hebbian Learning algorithm, is applied over each dataset, either to reduce the dimensionality of the original dataset or to face nonlinear datasets by generating a new subspace of the original dataset with lower, or even higher, dimensionality selecting the right activation function. Finally, in the second step Principal Component Analysis anomaly detection (...) is applied to the new subspace to detect the anomalies and improve its classification capabilities. This new approach has been tested over several different real datasets, in terms of number of variables, number of samples and number of anomalies. In almost all cases, the novel approach obtained better results in terms of area under the curve with similar standard deviation values. In case of computational cost, this improvement is only remarkable when complexity of the dataset in terms of number of variables is high. (shrink)

Student performance and its evaluation remain a serious challenge for education systems. Frequently, the recording and processing of students’ scores in a specific curriculum have several flaws for various reasons. In this context, the absence of data from some of the student scores undermines the efficiency of any future analysis carried out in order to reach conclusions. When this is the case, missing data imputation algorithms are needed. These algorithms are capable of substituting, with a high level of accuracy, the (...) missing data for predicted values. This research presents the hybridization of an algorithm previously proposed by the authors called adaptive assignation algorithm, with a well-known technique called multivariate imputation by chained equations. The results show how the suggested methodology outperforms both algorithms. (shrink)

Neste estudo procedemos a uma revisão narrativa da literatura, de modo a mostrar as diferentes etapas da psiquiatria tal como desenvolvida por Ludwig Binswanger, ao mesmo tempo realizamos uma análise crítica dessas etapas. Discorremos sobre os motivos do afastamento desse estudioso das bases biológicas que sustentavam a psiquiatria da época, em direção a uma perspectiva psicanalítica. Nessa etapa, Binswanger defende as bases psíquicas das enfermidades mentais, das quais em breve tempo também se afasta por avaliar que na psicanálise, também, havia (...) uma redução ao psíquico. Esse estudioso passa, imediatamente, para os estudos das bases fenomenológicas com seu mestre Edmund Husserl, acreditando que nessa perspectiva ficaria livre de qualquer redução. Em um breve intervalo de tempo, esse estudioso da psiquiatria passou a estudar a analítica do Dasein com Martin Heidegger, assumindo a Daseinsanalyse nas bases de seus estudos. No entanto, com a crítica de Heidegger à daseinsanálise de Binswanger, este acabou por denominar o seu projeto de psiquiatria como fenomenologia antropológica, interessando-se pelas vivências do espaço e do tempo daqueles que apresentavam enfermidades psíquicas. (shrink)

En este artículo, analizamos el modo en que se articulan distintas representaciones sobre la Causa Malvinas, la guerra de 1982 y la posguerra en las letras de las canciones de rock nacional, en tanto expresiones de la cultura popular que fijan sentidos y que pueden manifestar ideas coincidentes con las dominantes o, por el contrario, visiones que las cuestionen y pongan en juego su hegemonía. Para ello, tomando al conflicto bélico de 1982 como punto de inflexión, hemos relevado un corpus (...) de veintisiete canciones que explícitamente refieren a la Guerra de Malvinas y sus implicancias, y que han contribuido a articular distintas perspectivas acerca de esta cuestión en el imaginario social. (shrink)

In this article, we present a modal logic that extends the basic modal logic with two dynamic operators: copy ( ), which replicates the current model, labelling each copy with a different propositional symbol and respecting accessibility relations even between distinct copies; and remove ( ), which deletes paths in the model that satisfy certain intermediate conditions. We call the resulting logic. We study its computational complexity, and its relative expressivity with respect to (static) modal logics and, and the dynamic (...) epistemic Action Model Logic,. (shrink)

The growth of urban violence in Brazil, as in other countries, has led citizens to demand more severe and punitive measures to solve the problem of juvenile crime. One motion submitted to the Brazilian parliament, for instance, proposes to reduce the age of penal majority from 18 to 16 years. Our hypothesis is that popular opinions about this proposal are largely constrained by construal levels and psychological distance. Accordingly, we expect that the knowledge and proximity to the circumstances associated with (...) juvenile transgression will influence opinions about the proposal. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated how opinion against or for the proposal can be explained by psychological distance and moral development theory. We studied two samples, composed of people who do not have a deep experience with the subject and workers from a juvenile justice court. After collecting socio-demographic information from the subjects and their answer to moral dilemmas, the data was subjected to a multivariate analysis by multimodal logistic regression for socio-demographic characteristics, Kohlberg moral stages, and opinion on the reduction of APM as dependent variables. Our findings suggest that 1) opinion about the APM depends on psychological distance and 2) socioeconomic variables may influence the average construal level of adolescent transgressors in the public’s perspective. (shrink)

En este segundo documento nos ocupamos del aborto realizado por motivos terapéuticos o, dicho más brevemente, del aborto terapéutico. En la Argentina, el aborto plantea serios desafíos para la salud pública, ya que, pese a estar prohibido, se practica de forma clandestina y, muchas veces, insegura, poniendo en riesgo la vida y la salud de las mujeres. Por esta razón, creemos que la sociedad y el Estado deben debatir este problema y encontrar soluciones que resguarden los derechos de las mujeres. (...) El artículo 86, inciso 1, del Código Penal argentino expresamente despenaliza el aborto cuando corre peligro la vida o la salud de la mujer. En estos casos, se habla de aborto terapéutico. Esta disposición legal no suele aplicarse ni por los médicos ni por los profesionales que trabajan en la justicia, ya sea por desconocimiento o por razones ideológicas. Más aún, en muchos casos, las interpretaciones del Código Penal se apartan de su letra y restringen arbitrariamente su aplicación. Por estas razones, nos parece importante analizar este problema y proveer información sobre los aspectos legales y éticos involucrados en el aborto terapéutico en la Argentina. Este documento comienza con el relato de un caso hipotético, elaborado a partir de experiencias reales, con el objetivo de acercar al público a una situación concreta. Intercaladas en el cuerpo del relato, se desarrollan algunas reflexiones acerca de las implicaciones médicas, éticas y legales del caso. A continuación, se presenta un apartado referido al marco legal en el que se deben encuadrar los casos de aborto no punible. El documento sigue con una serie de breves recomendaciones destinadas tanto a los profesionales que trabajan en el sistema judicial como a los profesionales de la salud. Por último, se incluye un apéndice que contiene los principios que rigen la interpretación en materia penal y el glosario médico y legal, donde se pueden buscar las palabras resaltadas a lo largo del documento. (shrink)

The field of neuroaesthetics attempts to identify the brain processes underlying aesthetic experience, including but not limited to beauty. Previous neuroaesthetic studies have focussed largely on paintings and music, while performing arts such as dance have been less studied. Nevertheless, increasing knowledge of the neural mechanisms that represent the bodies and actions of others, and which contribute to empathy, make a neuroaesthetics of dance timely. Here, we present the first neuroscientific study of aesthetic perception in the context of the performing (...) arts. We investigated brain areas whose activity during passive viewing of dance stimuli was related to later, independent aesthetic evaluation of the same stimuli. Brain activity of six naïve male subjects was measured using fMRI, while they watched 24 dance movements, and performed an irrelevant task. In a later session, participants rated each movement along a set of established aesthetic dimensions. The ratings were used to identify brain regions that were more active when viewing moves that received high average ratings than moves that received low average ratings. This contrast revealed bilateral activity in the occipital cortices and in right premotor cortex. Our results suggest a possible role of visual and sensorimotor brain areas in an automatic aesthetic response to dance. This sensorimotor response may explain why dance is widely appreciated in so many human cultures. (shrink)

‘Plant neurobiology’ has emerged in recent years as a multidisciplinary endeavor carried out mainly by steady collaboration within the plant sciences. The field proposes a particular approach to the study of plant intelligence by putting forward an integrated view of plant signaling and adaptive behavior. Its objective is to account for the way plants perceive and act in a purposeful manner. But it is not only the plant sciences that constitute plant neurobiology. Resources from philosophy and cognitive science are central (...) to such an interdisciplinary project, if plant neurobiology is to maintain its target well-focused. This manifesto outlines a road map for the establishment and development of a new subject—the Philosophy of Plant Neurobiology—, a new field of research emerging at the intersection of the philosophy of cognitive science and plant neurobiology. The discipline is herewith presented, introducing challenges and novel lines of engagement with the empirical investigation, and providing an explanatory framework and guiding principles that will hopefully ease the integration of research on the quest for plant intelligence. (shrink)

Page 1. Economics and Philosophy, 26 291--320 Copyright C Cambridge University Press doi: 10.1017 / S0266267110000386 TWO KINDS OF WE-REASONING RAUL HAKLI, KAARLO MILLER AND RAIMO TUOMELA University of Helsinki.

El objeto de este trabajo es analizar las repercusiones económicas de las nuevas formas de familia. Pero esto no se hará contrastando datos cuantitativos sobre los parámetros monetarios de las variables afectadas (ingresos, gastos, ahorro, capacidad de consumo), sino discutiendo conjeturas hipotéticas, sobre todo por cuanto afecta a las consecuencias imprevistas (perversas o disfuncionales pero también funcionales y quizá benéficas) de lo que a veces se llama familia posconyugal, consecuencia de la segunda transición demográfica.

En este artículo pretendemos estudiar el fenómeno de la realidad virtual SecondLife usando el método fenomenológico. Para ello partimos del análisis de lo que sucede en la actitud natural. En ésta, la realidad es el aquí-ahora fácticamente existente que se me da, y la realidad virtual conlleva una duplicación de planos: lo realreal y mi copia digital. Para desentrañar el entramado que sustenta el concepto de realidad es necesario aplicar la epojé. Mediante ésta, damos con la imbricación de un cuerpo (...) viviente y el mundo, relación que no se da en SecondLife, universo virtual cuyo punto cero es mi avatar u objeto físico que me representa. El artículo es el despliegue de las consecuencias de las ideas aquí expuestas. (shrink)

Este artículo pretende mostrar las líneas fundamentales de la teoría merleaupontyana acerca de la violencia, centrándonos en sus «escritos de guerra». Consta de cuatro epígrafes: una Introducción en la que describimos la situación histórica que influye en la propuesta de Merleau-Ponty, así como explicamos las expresiones «mains sales»-«mains propres». Un segundo apartado en el que caracterizamos las «manos limpias» en base al optimismo democrática el cual se apoya en una conciencia pura. En el tercer epígrafe hacemos patente la crítica merleau-pontyana (...) a los fundamentos teóricos de los «manos limpias» y señalamos su nuevo concepto de humanismo cuya figura central es Maquiavelo. Asimismo, nos detenemos en la ambigüedad existente entre la coexistencia primigenia y la violencia, de modo que una llama a la otra. Finalmente, concluimos definiendo a Merleau-Ponty como «filósofo de la Modernidad», concepto que adquiere un nuevo matiz en su obra.  . (shrink)

La Sentencia 31 plantea una paradoja: el efecto permanece en su causa, pero al mismo tiempo la causa está “en todas partes y en ninguna” en su efecto. Nos centraremos en el análisis de la teoría del πανταχοῦ καὶ οὐδαμοῦ, deteniéndonos en la lectura porfiriana del argumento plotiniano de la anterioridad causal del Uno respecto a lo múltiple (III, 9 [13] 4, 1-9; V I 4 [22] 3), aplicado a Dios, al Intelecto y al Alma.

Autonomy has been central to moral and political philosophy for millenia, and has been positioned as a critical aspect of both justice and wellbeing. Research in psychology supports this position, providing empirical evidence that autonomy is critical to motivation, personal growth and psychological wellness. Responsible AI will require an understanding of, and ability to effectively design for, human autonomy (rather than just machine autonomy) if it is to genuinely benefit humanity. Yet the effects on human autonomy of digital experiences are (...) neither straightforward nor consistent, and are complicated by commercial interests and tensions around compulsive overuse. This multi-layered reality requires an analysis that is itself multidimensional and that takes into account human experience at various levels of resolution. We borrow from HCI and psychological research to apply a model (“METUX”) that identifies six distinct spheres of technology experience. We demonstrate the value of the model for understanding human autonomy in a technology ethics context at multiple levels by applying it to the real-world case study of an AI-enhanced video recommender system. In the process we argue for the following three claims: 1) There are autonomy-related consequences to algorithms representing the interests of third parties, and they are not impartial and rational extensions of the self, as is often perceived; 2) Designing for autonomy is an ethical imperative critical to the future design of responsible AI; and 3) Autonomy-support must be analysed from at least six spheres of experience in order to approriately capture contradictory and downstream effects. (shrink)

Raúl Arrabales, Int. J. Mach. Conscious., 06, 1 (2014). DOI: 10.1142/S1793843014400010.

I argue that from a very weak recombination principle and plausible assumptions about the nature of parthood and location it follows that it's possible that the mereological structure of the material world and that of spacetime fail to correspond to one another in very radical ways. I defend, moreover, that rejecting the possibility of such failures of correspondence leaves us with a choice of equally radical alternatives. I also discuss a few ways in which their possibility is relevant to various (...) debates in metaphysics. (shrink)

One of the key problems the field of Machine Consciousness is currently facing is the need to accurately assess the potential level of consciousness that an artificial agent might develop. This paper presents a novel artificial consciousness scale designed to provide a pragmatic and intuitive reference in the evaluation of MC implementations. The version of ConsScale described in this work provides a comprehensive evaluation mechanism which enables the estimation of the potential degree of consciousness of most of the existing artificial (...) implementations. This scale offers both well defined levels of artificial consciousness and a method to calculate an orientative numerical score . A set of architectural and cognitive criteria is considered for each level of the scale. This permits the definition of a cognitive framework in which MC implementations can be ranked according to their potential capability to reproduce functional synergies associated with consciousness. The probability of the implementations having any phenomenal states related to the assessed functional synergy is not specifically addressed in this paper; nevertheless, it could be thoughtfully discussed elsewhere. (shrink)

Epistemic justification of non-summative group beliefs is studied in this paper. Such group beliefs are understood to be voluntary acceptances, the justification of which differs from that of involuntary beliefs. It is argued that whereas epistemic evaluation of involuntary beliefs can be seen not to require reasons, justification of voluntary acceptance of a proposition as true requires that the agent, a group or an individual, can provide reasons for the accepted view. This basic idea is studied in relation to theories (...) of dialectical justification in which justification is taken to require ability to justify. Since the reasons offered can in principle always be challenged, there is no ultimate end to the dialectical chain of justification. This makes justification of acceptance, and thus group belief, social and, in a way, contextual, but this does not seem to entail strong forms of epistemic relativism. (shrink)

Este trabajo estudia la historia de la ciudad moderna de finales del siglo XIX-1920, en el que destaca la ciudad culta e higiénica. De este modo, la ciudad se vinculó a las políticas de planificación, higiene, ornato, celebraciones religiosas, conmemoraciones y juntas de embellecimiento. Esto sirvió de promoción de la ciudad moderna al servicio del urbanismo de las élites, a los intereses por construir memorias nacionales y modernizar las repúblicas. Se inauguraron calles, parques y edificios; situación que permitía un escenario (...) de ciudad moderna, pero libre de segmentos empobrecidos, por lo que se propuso el control social del espacio público urbano. (shrink)

The progress in the machine consciousness research field has to be assessed in terms of the features demonstrated by the new models and implementations currently being designed. In this paper, we focus on the functional aspects of consciousness and propose the application of a revision of ConsScale — a biologically inspired scale for measuring cognitive development in artificial agents — in order to assess the cognitive capabilities of machine consciousness implementations. We argue that the progress in the implementation of consciousness (...) in artificial agents can be assessed by looking at how key cognitive abilities associated to consciousness are integrated within artificial systems. Specifically, we characterize ConsScale as a partially ordered set and propose a particular dependency hierarchy for cognitive skills. Associated to that hierarchy a graphical representation of the cognitive profile of an artificial agent is presented as a helpful analytic tool. The proposed evaluation schema is discussed and applied to a number of significant machine consciousness models and implementations. Finally, the possibility of generating qualia and phenomenological states in machines is discussed in the context of the proposed analysis. (shrink)

Most experimental studies of facial expression processing have used static stimuli (photographs), yet facial expressions in daily life are generally dynamic. In its original photographic format, the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces (KDEF) has been frequently utilized. In the current study, we validate a dynamic version of this database, the KDEF-dyn. To this end, we applied animation between neutral and emotional expressions (happy, sad, angry, fearful, disgusted, and surprised; 1,033-ms unfolding) to 40 KDEF models, with morphing software. Ninety-six human observers categorized (...) the expressions of the resulting 240 video-clip stimuli, and automated face analysis assessed the evidence for 6 expressions and 20 facial action units (AUs) at 31 intensities. Low-level image properties (luminance, signal-to-noise ratio, etc.) and other purely perceptual factors (e.g., size, unfolding speed) were controlled. Human recognition performance (accuracy, efficiency, and confusions) patterns were consistent with prior research using static and other dynamic expressions. Automated assessment of expressions and AUs was sensitive to intensity manipulations. Significant correlations emerged between human observers’ categorization and automated classification. The KDEF-dyn database aims to provide a balance between experimental control and ecological validity for research on emotional facial expression processing. The stimuli and the validation data are available to the scientific community. (shrink)

We study whether robots can satisfy the conditions of an agent fit to be held morally responsible, with a focus on autonomy and self-control. An analogy between robots and human groups enables us to modify arguments concerning collective responsibility for studying questions of robot responsibility. We employ Mele’s history-sensitive account of autonomy and responsibility to argue that even if robots were to have all the capacities required of moral agency, their history would deprive them from autonomy in a responsibility-undermining way. (...) We will also study whether humans and technological artifacts like robots can form hybrid collective agents that could be morally responsible for their actions and give an argument against such a possibility. (shrink)

Endorsing the idea of group knowledge seems to entail the possibility of group belief as well, because it is usually held that knowledge entails belief. It is here studied whether it would be possible to grant that groups can have knowledge without being committed to the controversial view that groups can have beliefs. The answer is positive on the assumption that knowledge can be based on acceptance as well as belief. The distinction between belief and acceptance can be seen as (...) a refinement of the ordinary language concept of belief, and it may be useful in understanding the nature of epistemic justification and classifying various types of epistemic subjects. (shrink)

This book proposes, from a civil perspective —such as that developed by Stefano Zamagni— and a cordial perspective —such as that developed by Adela Cortina—, orientations to design an economy in tune with what the historical moment demands. Among other things, this comes from encouraging institutions, organisations and companies to include in their designs aspects as important for carrying out their activities as cordial reciprocity, mutual recognition of the communicative and affective capacities of the linked or linkable parties, public commitment (...) and the active participation of civil society. The book first shows the conceptualisation of the process of self-interest as operating for one’s own benefit and its inclusion in the orthodox economic model. In Chapter 2 it then displays some of the logical/formal and experimental limits of the axiomatic economics model to discover the possibility of building bridges between theoretical modelling and factual validation. Chapter 3 demonstrates the fragility of a rationality model based on the paradigmatic figure of homo oeconomicus. Chapter 4 reflects on the critical process that has identified reciprocity as a determining factor for human cooperation, turning this behaviour into a paradox in which the lack of a reasonable explanation from the selfish perspective becomes inconsistent in the predominant economic theory. Chapter 5 is from a moral point of view it describes and criticises the different approaches to reciprocity observed by sociologists, biologists, psychologists and economists. Chapter 6 analyses three mutual recognition proposals as possible foundations for human cooperation, highlighting one of them –cordial recognition, developed by Cortina– because it is more closely related to studies of reciprocity, particularly the most recent contributions from the neurosciences. Chapter 7 proposes cordial reciprocity as a horizon of meaning for the various approaches to reciprocity observed. Chapter 8 explores the possible emergence and development of cordial goods, a type of relational and communicative good that enables joint actions to take place in different contexts of human activity. Chapter 9 analyses the application and implementation of cordial reciprocity at the macro, meso and micro levels of the economy. And finally, it proposes guidelines for designing a monitoring and compliance system which, based on the communication, storage and processing of big data and the committed participation of stakeholders, offers businesses the possibility of inspecting their underlying dimensions of morality, emotions and responsibility. (shrink)

El trabajo analiza las razones para la acción. A partir de la distinción entre los enfoques de decisión racional y altruismo recíproco, el artículo examina sucesivamente ambos modelos, concluyendo con una breve observación sobre el poder de las profecías que se auto-cumplen. El texto argumenta que el enfoque de la decisión racional se basa en suposiciones erróneas sobre la naturaleza humana y, por consiguiente, conduce a predicciones igualmente equivocadas.

En la introducción del presente estudio se subraya la tesis de que el eurocentrismo no ha sido superado todavía. Sobre todo en el campo de la filosofía se puede comprobar su persistencia y su vigencia. Esto lleva, en el caso de América Latina, a que todavía hoy haya muchos prejuicios frente a una filosofía latinoamericana. Sobre el telón de fondo de esta tesis este trabajo muestra en su parte central el esfuerzo que ha hecho la filosofía en América Latina por (...) superar el eurocentrismo. Y lo muestra de manera positiva, es decir, dando cuenta del proceso de contextualización que ha llevado a cabo la filosofía en América Latina en el pasado siglo XX y que la llevó a constituirse como una �filosofía latinoamericana�. (shrink)

Max Aub es uno de los escritores en lengua castellana que mejor analizó los movimientos fascistas europeos a lo largo de su obra. Particularmente significativo es su temprano trabajo Sobre algunos mitos fascistas publicado en Nueva Cultura. Siguiendo este texto, este artículo busca exponer el trabajo de Aub como intelectual comprometido con la lucha antifascista desde la crítica cultural, así como las ideas que sobre el fascismo y el totalitarismo posee al comienzo de la Guerra Civil española. Aub centra sus (...) reflexiones en la reconstrucción del mito por parte del fascismo, donde el racismo la biopolítica y las masas son claves para entender a los movimientos totalitarios europeos. Un análisis que el escritor desarrollará en su fecunda narrativa, construyendo uno de los corpus literarios que, de manera más compleja, intentarán comprender al totalitarismo en lengua castellana y que suma a Max Aub a la gran tradición de pensamiento europeo antifascista.Palabras clave: Max Aub, fascismo, mito, biopolítica, literatura antifascista, crítica cultural. (shrink)

Transient changes in DNA torsional tension are generated by environmental stimuli and transcriptional activity. In eukaryotic cells, these changes can only be accommodated by a chromatin structure that is flexible. This property of chromatin may be essential to the regulation of eukaryotic gene activity.