This work is a generalization of the López-Ruiz, Mancini, and Calbet (LMC) and Shiner, Davison, and Landsberg (SDL) complexity measures, considering that the state of a system or process is represented by a continuous temporal series of a dynamical variable. As the two complexity measures are based on the calculation of informational entropy, an equivalent information source is defined by using partitions of the dynamical variable range. During the time intervals, the information associated with the measured dynamical variable is (...) the seed to calculate instantaneous LMC and SDL measures. To show how the methodology works generating indicators, two examples, one concerning meteorological data and the other concerning economic data, are presented and discussed. (shrink)

Preface -/- 1. 'Anima' and 'res cogitans'. The Cartesian idea of nature and mind as a residual concept. The first chapter discusses the genesis of the concept of mind in Cartesian Philosophy; the claim is advanced that 'res cogitans' is a residual concept, defined on the basis of a previous definition of matter as 'res extensa'. As a consequence, a contradictory ontology of the mind is Descartes's poisoned bequest to the following tradition of 'scientific' psychology. -/- 2. The Mathematical method (...) in the theory of the mind and the passions. The second chapter discusses the first ambitious attempt in this direction, namely Spinoza's theory of the mind and the passions in Ethics II and III; the topics treated are Spinoza's program of a mathematical science of the mind and his transformation of the genre 'treatise of the passions' into a would-be mathematical science of the motions of the soul. -/- 3. The definition of affections and the impossibility of reducing inadequate to adequate ideas. The third chapter discusses a tension in Spinoza project of a theory of the passions, namely a need to reduce concepts to pure mathematical definitions and the opposite need to keep inadequate imaginative definitions of the phenomena under scrutiny, namely the passions, in order to avoid a radical reduction of the subject-matter to the only truly existing reality (the world order in itself) that would leave the theory without any subject-matter at all. -/- 4. 'Conatus', 'potentia', 'vis'. Concepts of force in the theory of passions and the impossibility of eliminating occult qualities. The fourth chapter discusses the troubles arising in the original project deriving from difficulties in the treatment of dynamic concepts, such as the notion of conatus, which were an unavoidable consequence of Cartesian assumptions. -/- 5. Overview and discussion. Chapter five tries to draw a general discussion, focusing on the tension between the Cartesian assumptions and the actual practice in the new post-Galilean sciences, including attempts at giving birth to psychology or science of man. -/- Appendices I. The mind-body problem in Spinoza. II. Concepts of force in Newton and Spinoza. III. Materialist readings of Newton and Spinoza. IV. On the opposition of materialism and spiritualism and Geisteswissenschaften and natural science. V. Conatus, the idea of liberation and social theory in Spinoza. (shrink)

It is undeniable that human agents sometimes act badly, and it seems that they sometimes pursue bad things simply because they are bad. This latter phenomenon has often been taken to provide counterexamples to views according to which we always act under the guise of the good. This paper identifies several distinct arguments in favour of the possibility that one can act under the guise of the bad. GG seems to face more serious difficulties when trying to answer three different, (...) but related, arguments for the possibility of acting under the guise of the bad. The main strategies available to answer these objections end up either undermining the motivation for GG or failing to do full justice to the nature of perverse motivation. However, these difficulties turn out to be generated by focusing on a particular version of GG, what I call the “content version”. But we have independent reasons to prefer a different version of GG; namely, the “attitude version”. The attitude version allows for a much richer understanding of the possibility of acting on what we conceive to be bad. Drawing on an analogy with theoretical akrasia and theoretical perversion, I try to show how the attitude version can provide a compelling account of perverse actions. (shrink)

This paper argues that the principles of instrumental rationality apply primarily to extended action through time. Most philosophers assume that rational requirements and principles govern in the first instance momentary mental states, as opposed to governing extended intentional actions directly. In the case of instrumental rationality, the relevant mental states or attitudes would typically be preferences, decisions, or intentions. In fact, even those who recognize the extended nature of our agency still assume that rational requirements apply primarily to mental states (...) at a moment in time. Such views try to do justice to the extended nature of our agency by postulating rational requirements that apply in the first instance to plans, policies, and intentions more generally. The paper focuses on the central case of requirements and reasons governing the reconsideration of intentions and argues that these requirements or reasons are either superfluous or invalid.I argue that a proper conception of instrumental reasoning that applies directly to actions turn out to have surprising consequences. In fact, this conception allows us to see that policies, projects and the like are best understood as instances of extended actions, and that the instrumental requirements that apply to projects and policies are exactly the same as the instrumental requirements that apply to ordinary extended actions. Finally, I argue that the resulting theory of instrumental rationality is a significant improvement over theories that rely on principles governing intentions. (shrink)

In this article we scrutinize what can be called an "experimentalist dogma" presupposed in Pablo Melogno's analysis of empirical incommensurability in the chemical revolution. According to Melogno, the fact that experimental methods were preserved throughout the chemical revolution was an indication that there were no relevant perceptual differences between Joseph Priestley and Antoine Lavoisier. In order to refine Melogno's general analysis, we will present a taxonomy of varieties of empirical incommensurability and discuss their relationships. To exemplify this categorization, and to (...) show its metatheoretical adequacy, we will apply it to the neuronist revolution, that is, to the process of discovery of the neuron in the late 19th and early 20th centuries within neuroanatomy, taking as our main case study the controversy between Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal. From the analysis of the controversies regarding dendritic spines and stellate cells of the cerebellum, in particular, we question the experimentalist dogma, highlighting how, in these controversies, the conservation of experimental practices does not guarantee the similarity of perceptual contents. Moreover, we will argue that, all other experimental conditions being equal, differences in experiential content between Golgi and Cajal are best explained by differences in their commitments to incompatible conceptual schemes. (shrink)

We reconstruct the text, that is, we analyse the development of the discussion between Malthus and Ricardo both in the correspondence and in published works, paying special attention to (a) the use of methodological statements, (b) some pragmatic features of the controversy, (c) considerations pertaining to the meta-level of the controversy (assessments of the status of the controversy, of ways of solving it, etc.); then, we reconstruct the co-text, that is, unpublished papers by each opponent that were not made available (...) to the other, records of exchanges between each of these and third parties, etc.; thirdly, we describe the essential features of the context, focusing on events that influenced the course of the controversy; (iv) we draw lessons from our case study on the role of co-text and context, on pragmatic and semantic interpretation, and on "casts of mind”. (shrink)

Accidie, depression, and dejection seem to be psychological phenomena that are best characterized as cases in which an agent has no motivation to pursue what he or she judges to be good or valuable. The phenomena thus seem to present a challenge to any view that draws a close connection between motivation and evaluation. ‘Accidie, Evaluation, and Motivation’ aims to show that the phenomena are actually best explained by a theory that postulates a conceptual connection between motivation and evaluation.

The occasion for this dialogue on Elisabeth Anscombe’s legacy for twenty-first-century ethics came with the publication in Italian of the collection of her ethical writings (G. E. M. Anscombe, Scritti di etica con un saggio di Peter Geach, a cura di S. Cremaschi, Morcelliana, Brescia 2022). In addition to making Anscombe’s ethical writings accessible to the Italian public, the book brings together her contribution to practical philosophy to its full extent for the first time. Vaccarezza's essay discusses Anscombe’s critique of (...) the modern law-based view of ethics. Magri’s contribution focuses on Anscombe’s anti-anti-naturalism, aiming to unearth the twofold agenda in her project of meta-critique of modern moral philosophy. De Anna's paper sets out to examine the role of Wittgensteinian ways of thinking in Anscombe’s proposed restructuring of modern ethics. (shrink)

Descartes and the fruits of mechanics: the conquest of the earthly good life Resumen: El proyecto de Descartes profesa un notable interés encaminado al dominio de la naturaleza que, en última instancia, debe conducir al sujeto a vivir la mejor vida posible. A este propósito se dirigen los distintos frutos, resultado de la ciencia cartesiana: Medicina, Moral y Mecánica. El presente artículo analiza los frutos de la mecánica a fin de determinar su papel respecto a la consecución de una buena (...) vida. Para ello se analizará el tipo de bien de que nos provee la mecánica, así como los distintos instrumentos que permiten su consecución. Palabras clave: artefactos, artesanos, bienes terrenales, buena vida, comodidad, Descartes, frutos de la mecánica.: The Cartesian project professes a remarkable interest in the mastery of nature which, ultimately, leads the subject to live the best possible life. The various fruits of the philosophical tree which result from the Cartesian science —Medicine, Moral and Mechanics— are directed to this purpose. This paper analyzes the fruits of mechanics in order to determine its role in the achievement of a good life. For this purpose, it will be analyzed the kind of good which mechanics provides us and the various instruments necessary to achieve it. Keywords: artifacts, craftsman, Descartes, comfort, earthly goods, fruits of mechanics, good life. (shrink)

This paper examines whether Bratman’s succeeds in provides a reductive account of collective intention.

A short discussion of the notions of self-love and self-interest in early modern ethics and the shaping of political economy.

Nos proponemos exponer, analizar y contrastar dos de las principales reflexiones sobre los fundamentos de la técnica en la filosofía contemporánea: Bergson y Heidegger. Para esto, en primer lugar, revisaremos el planteamiento bergsoniano del homo faber, destacando su comprensión instrumental y antropológica de la técnica. Con esto, en segundo lugar, contrastaremos la reflexión del filósofo francés con la descripción heideggeriana de la técnica. Es fundamental realizar este contraste, dado que, si para Bergson la técnica se resuelve en la fabricación instrumental, (...) para Heidegger responderá a un modo de apertura fundamental del Dasein. Finalmente, expondremos algunos puntos de cercanía entre ambas propuestas en el marco de sendas críticas a la ciencia y técnica moderna, destacando su operatividad provocante e irreflexiva. (shrink)

This paper argues that the idea of “self-recognition” is fruitful for a critical theory of recognition like the one found in Axel Honneth’s work. Yet, it has repeatedly been ignored both by Honneth himself and by the secondary literature. By contrast, I submit that it can productively contribute to a better approach to some of the problems and paradoxes present in this author’s model, particularly those derived from an excessively intersubjective, psychologistic perspective. There are several phenomena that, to my mind, (...) could be better explained by means of the idea of “self-recognition”, among them, the origin of recognition struggles, the distinction between justified and unjustified demands for recognition, and the normativity of our practical self-relation. Although I do not intend to develop a complete taxonomy, I propose that “self-recognition” is relevant for a critical theory of recognition (and for social theory in general) in at least two senses: as “normative self-understanding” of the subject and as “knowing oneself in the other”, where the “other” is either a material object, person or social institution. (shrink)

Neste texto temos por objetivo compreender e problematizar os sentidos de diversidade que a Revista Exame faz circular sobre grupos minorizados e suas caracterizações. Partimos da premissa de que essa mídia, em perspectiva discursiva, ocupa lugar de modelar, orientando as percepções de lideranças empresariais (gestores, empresários, investidores) sobre diferentes temas, como o das diversidades. Dentre outras coisas, essa influência tende a se traduzir em cultura organizacional, portanto na forma como as diversidades podem se fazer presentes nas organizações. A perspectiva metodológica (...) é a análise do discurso e o corpus é constituído por todos os materiais veiculados nas 24 edições da revista, em 2019, que se relacionam às “diversidades” e/ou “diferenças”. Os resultados mostram que as abordagens são isoladas e simplistas, indicando que o valor das diferenças está na sua aplicação e utilidade para a gestão. (shrink)

I describe both the German Aristotelian revival and the Anglo-Saxon virtue-ethics approach and argue that there are some reasons why Grotus's dismissal of Aristotelian practical rationality had finally to be overcome. I suggest that such reasons in turn depend on deeper changes in the structure of the building of modern philosophy, first among them those carried by the critique of Cartesian foundationalism staged by such odd bed-fellows as Peirce, Wittgenstein, Husserl, and Heidegger, adding quasi-Thomist such as Anscombe and Geach. This (...) may account for the apparently unexpected normative turn which took place in the same years (shortly after or before 1958) in two different and comparatively insulated contexts such as Germany and the Anglo-Saxon world. (shrink)

In the essays collected here, Apel addresses some of the points of the discourse ethics controversy by responding to critics and developing his original formulation in different directions: a) the distinction between two stages of discourse ethics, relating respectively to the ideal community of communication and the real community; in the second stage, while maintaining the principle of equal dignity of communication partners as a regulatory idea, deontological ethics should be integrated with an ethics of responsibility; b) placing a deontological (...) ethics as a post-conventional ethics within an evolutionary reconstruction of individual development and the history of humankind in the light of Gehlen's anthropology and Kohlberg's psychological theory of moral development; c) a recognition of a certain validity in the neo-Hegelian claim of the ineliminable role of morality or Sittlichkeit in the face of all universalistic ethics, accompanied, however, by the characterization of ethics as a compromise between universalistic instances and concrete cultural and institutional data, without any concession, yet, to the thesis of incommensurability between different forms of life. (shrink)

A short discussion of the emergence of the self-interest axiom during the classical phase of political economy, its roots in the previous discussion on self-love in early modern ethics and its development in the following formulation of the notion of 'homo economicus' and the definition of the agent's rationality.

A short reconstruction of the origin and evolution of Islamic moral doctrines and their re-interpretation by Arabic philosophers.

A reconstruction of the history of the wording civil society and of the curious twist in its usage and meaning, highlighting why the term had an important role in Continental political thinking and was ignored until comparatively recently in Anglo-Saxon political discourse.

A short reconstruction of the method of casuistry in Medieval and early Modern moral theology.

A short reconstruction of the ethical, political and economic doctrines of Thomas Hodgskin, William Thompson and John Gray.

In his work, Michael Ruse underscores the significance of metaphors in science, with a particular focus on the “abyss” between mechanistic and organicist metaphors in the history and practice of biology. Ruse posits that the Darwinian revolution involved a radical “metaphor shift” in biology, transitioning from organicism to mechanism. In this article, I set out several objectives (i) to assess whether the neuronist revolution, pivotal in the inception of neuroscience, involved a shift from an organicist metaphor to a mechanistic one; (...) (ii) to highlight the indispensable influences of organicist metaphors in Cajal’s neuron doctrine; and, consequently, (iii) to challenge the idea of an abyss between mechanistic and organicist metaphors, at least, in neuroscience. (shrink)

A short reconstruction of the origins of the concept of metaphor, the early modern mistrust of metaphor in the name of univocal scientific language, the twentieth century rescue of the cognitive value of metaphor.

Recent contributions by Kuhn, Wartofsky, and Granger, converge in the direction of an extended view of models, one that acknowledges a metaphorical dimension in the language of science. Such a view is in some respects the opposite of the views of both Bachelard and the Logical Empiricists. A number of familiar puzzles of the philosophy of science, such as the problem of reference, the opposition of realism and instrumentalism, that between explanation and understanding, and the status of scientific objectivity, may (...) receive a new solution in the light of the Kuhn/Wartofsky/Granger view of scientific metaphors. (shrink)

A discussion of the origins of the very notion of development, its role in eocnomic thoery, and its discussion in applied ethics.

The chapter reconstructs and criticizes one of Anscombe's famous three these, namely the claim that a ‘philosophy of psychology’ is a preliminary task to the construction of any possible ethical theory, or that moral philosophy ‘should be laid aside at any rate until we have an adequate philosophy of psychology, in which we are conspicuously lacking’. The claim is that Anscombe’s idea of a philosophy of psychology cannot be simply identified with that of moral psychology with which we are familiar (...) now; that her main claim, namely that actions are analogous to language is quite promising; that among the implications there is not only a criticism to consequentialism but also acknowledgement of a central role for judgement, and accordingly not just a blunt refusal, but instead an unaware rediscovery of Kantian ethics; that her rediscovery of the idea of virtue is promising enough, albeit misunderstood by Anscombe herself when she presents it in terms of coming back to Aristotelian and Thomist ethics as contrasted with modern moral philosophy. (shrink)

Este trabajo lleva a cabo un estudio de caso descriptivo en un aula de 4º de la ESO en la que se aborda, desde Geografía e Historia, la cuestión problemática de la memoria histórica a partir de la dictadura franquista. La experiencia didáctica se orientó a transformar los contenidos programados en el libro de texto y promover el diálogo y la reflexión. El objetivo era observar si el alumnado era capaz de entender, asumir y reivindicar, desde una perspectiva crítica, el (...) período histórico presentado, aplicándolo posteriormente a otros aprendizajes. La metodología y los instrumentos fueron de tipo cualitativo. Se confirma que 1) el alumnado muestra interés por la memoria como objeto de conocimiento; 2) da sentido al conocimiento histórico y lo pone en valor, lo que redunda en una educación basada en el desarrollo del pensamiento crítico; y 3) adquiere una conciencia cívica para situarse críticamente en el presente y proyectarse en el futuro. (shrink)

Hilbert algebra with a Hilbert-Galois connection, or HilGC-algebra, is a triple \(\left(A,f,g\right)\) where \(A\) is a Hilbert algebra, and \(f\) and \(g\) are unary maps on \(A\) such that \(f(a)\leq b\) iff \(a\leq g(b)\), and \(g(a\rightarrow b)\leq g(a)\rightarrow g(b)\) forall \(a,b\in A\). In this paper, we are going to prove that some varieties of HilGC-algebras are characterized by first-order conditions defined in the dual space and that these varieties are canonical. Additionally, we will also study and characterize the congruences of (...) an HilGC-algebra through specific closed subsets of the dual space. This characterization will be applied to determine the simple algebras and subdirectly irreducible HilGC-algebras. (shrink)

A short discussion of the origin of the notion of mode of subsistence in the eighteenth-century discussion and particularly in the Scottish Enlightenment and its legacy n the Marxist theory of modes of production or social economic formations.

Beall (2016) proposes to read the middle-value of Weak Kleene logic as off-topic. This interpretation has recently drawn some attention: for instance, Francez has pointed out that Beall's interpretation does not meet some important requirements to count as a truth value. Moreover, Beall is silent about what a topic (or a subject matter) is. But arguably, what is a topic? is a crucial question, and an answer is really important to fully understand his proposal. Thus, our goal here is to (...) help to remedy this deficiency, and show how Beall's interpretation of Weak Kleene truth-values interacts with the notion of topic. To do that, we formalize his motivating ideas and draw some consequences from them. (shrink)

A short presentation of James Steuart's neglected philosophical publications as well as of his well-known economic contribution.

La presente investigación se propone mostrar que la rehabilitación del ser sensible realizada por la filosofía de Merleau-Ponty es comprensible a partir de una dimensión originariamente virtual. Para esto se plantea una primera descripción del ser sensible a partir de su latencia constitutiva, colocando atención al desplazamiento de su definición que va desde lo dado a la percepción hacia lo que viene-a-ser en su transaparecer. De tal modo, el ser sensible no es originariamente la pura presencia, antes de esto el (...) ser sensible se comprenderá a partir de un proceso de diferenciación entre lo visible y lo invisible. Así, el sentido del ser sensible viene a expresión medialmente, en la medida en que lo sensible es una singularización de un trasfondo operativamente virtual. Finalmente, la presencia singularizada en la experiencia del cuerpo propio y de toda experiencia sensible adquiere un sentido a modo de constante actualización de potencias virtuales, que abren al mundo como permanente desborde, desajuste y descentramiento. (shrink)

Neste artigo refletimos sobre a oralidade no Batuque Gaúcho. Nessa direção, o principal objetivo é o de problematizar a oralidade nos processos de instituição de poder hierárquico nessas organizações/terreiros. Para isso, empreendermos revisão bibliográfica e acionamos dados de pesquisa empírica realizada por [ocultado para avaliação cega], que consistiu na realização de entrevistas com sete pais/mães de santo. Os dados empíricos foram interpretados à luz da análise de conteúdo (BARDIN, 2016). Como principais resultados inferimos que a oralidade é, em si, materialização (...) de poder hierárquico (o poder de fala outorgado e legitimado), exige escuta e atenção (submete os sujeitos que não têm o poder de falar a observação), bem como gera disputas e reordenamento na estrutura de poder (hierarquia). (shrink)

O objetivo deste artigo, de viés ensaístico, é construir uma reflexão e uma conversa teórica sobre a dicotomia entre os dispositivos “natural” e “artificial” em relação ao corpo. A partir dos escritos de Paul Preciado, construímos linhas conceituais para pensar os discursos midiatizados como máquinas de construção de corpos sexuados. Essas máquinas, de modo geral, utilizam-se de uma lógica cisnormativa para constituir um sistema que constantemente se reinscreve sobre os corpos em operações de repetição e de recitação dos códigos binários (...) tidos como naturais (masculino/feminino). É nesse sentido que o dispositivo discursivo midiático que classifica o corpo como natural ou artificial (re)produz um código de legitimação dos corpos, ignorando ou fazendo aparecer o caráter prostético das expressões de gênero. (shrink)

In recent decades the central questions of moral psychology have attracted renewed interest. Contemporary work on moral motivation and the rationality of moral action has broadened its focus to include a wide array of related issues. New interpretations of historical figures have also contributed to conceptual advances in moral psychology, in a way unparalleled in any other area of philosophy. This volume presents original work from some of the most prominent philosophers currently working on moral psychology, spanning both the historical (...) and the contemporary problem-based approaches. (shrink)