In anthropology, archaeology and popular culture, Shamanism may be one of the most used, abused and misunderstood terms, to date. Researchers are increasingly recognizing the socio‐political roles of altered states of consciousness and shamanism in past and present societies, yet the rise of Neo‐shamanism and its implications for academics and their subjects of study are consistently neglected. Moreover, many academics marginalize "neo‐shamans," and neo‐shamanic interaction with anthropology, archaeology and indigenous peoples is often regarded as neocolonialism. To complicate the matter, indigenous (...) peoples express multivocal opinions of neo‐shamanism, from blatant condemnation to active encouragement. I first trace the roots of neo‐shamanism in order to compare neo‐shamanic and academic approaches. Criticisms of neo‐shamanism as expressed by academic and native critics are presented, and I suggest these conflicting views are potentially reconcilable. Essentially, post‐processualist praxis should be implemented via programs of research and communication. (shrink)

Biochemistry and molecular biology have been focusing on the structural, catalytic, and regulatory proper- ties of individual macromolecules from the perspective of clarifying the mechanisms of metabolism and gene expression. Complete genomes of ‘primitive’ living organisms seem to be substantially larger than necessary for metabolism and gene expression alone. This is in line with the findings of silent phenotypes for supposedly important genes, apparent redundancy of functions, and variegated networks of signal transduction and transcription factors. Here we propose that evolutionary (...) optimization has been much more intensive than to lead to the bare minima necessary for autonomous life. Much more complex organisms prevail. Much of this complexity arises in the nonlinear interactions between cellular macromolecules and in subtle differences between paralogs (isoenzymes). The complexity can only be understood when analyzed quantitatively, for which quantitative experimentation is needed in living systems that are as simple and manipulatable as possible, yet complex in the above sense. We illustrate this for the glutamine synthetase cascade in Escherichia coli. By reviewing recent molecular findings, we show that this cascade is much more complex than necessary for simple regulation of ammonia assimilation. Simulations suggest that the function of this complexity may lie in quasi-intelligent behavior, including conditioning and learning. (shrink)

A cross-sectional study to ascertain what the Singapore population would regard as material risk in the anaesthesia consent-taking process and identify demographic factors that predict patient preferences in medical decision-making to tailor a more patient-centered informed consent. A survey was performed involving patients 21 years old and above who attended the pre-operative evaluation clinic over a 1-month period in Singapore General Hospital. Questionnaires were administered to assess patients’ perception of material risks, by trained interviewers. Patients’ demographics were obtained. Mann–Whitney U (...) test and Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance was used. Statistical significance was taken at p < 0.05. Four hundred fourteen patients were eligible of which 26 refused to participate and 24 were excluded due to language barrier. 364 patients were recruited. A higher level of education, being employed and younger age group are factors identified in patients who wanted greater participation in medical decisions. Gender, marital status, type of surgery, and previous surgical history did not affect their level of participation. The complications most patients knew about were Nausea, Drowsiness and Surgical Wound Pain. Patients ranked Heart Attack, Death and Stroke as the most significant risks that they wanted to be informed about in greater detail. Most patients wanted to make a joint decision with the anaesthetist, instead of letting the doctor decide or deciding for themselves. Discussion with the anaesthetist is the preferred medium of communication compared to reading a pamphlet or watching a video. Age and educational level can influence medical decision-making. Despite the digital age, most patients still prefer a clinic consult instead of audio-visual multimedia for pre-operative anaesthetic counselling. The local population appears to place greater importance on rare but serious complications compared to common complications. This illustrates the need to contextualize information provided during informed consent to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship. (shrink)

In the history of Western philosophy, dialetheism – the view that some sentences are both true and false – has been unpopular. This paper recovers a previously overlooked episode in the history of dialetheism. Specifically, it reconstructs a section of Robert Greville's The Nature of Truth (1640) in order to show that he was a dialetheist. Greville's consideration of the view that evil is a privation led him to endorse the claim that sinful acts are contradictory; they are the subjects (...) of both being and non‐being. The paper also explores responses to Greville from John Wallis and Nathaniel Culverwell. (shrink)

Theodor W. Adorno is best known for his contributions to aesthetics and social theory. Critics have always complained about the lack of a practical, political or ethical dimension to Adorno's philosophy. In this highly original contribution to the literature on Adorno, J. M. Bernstein offers the first attempt in any language to provide an account of the ethical theory latent in Adorno's writings. Bernstein relates Adorno's ethics to major trends in contemporary moral philosophy. He analyses the full range of Adorno's (...) major works, with a special focus on Dialectic of Enlightenment, Minima Moralia and Negative Dialectics. In developing his account Bernstein lays particular stress on Adorno's contention that the event of Auschwitz demands a new categorical imperative. This book will be widely acknowledged as the standard work on Adorno's ethics and as such will interest professionals and students of philosophy, political theory, sociology, history of ideas, art history and music. (shrink)

Introducción: Camagüey ocupa el cuarto lugar nacional en cuanto al número de infectados con VIH/SIDA, después de La Habana, Santiago de Cuba y Holguín. Camagüey se encuentra dentro de los 45 municipios con mayor prevalencia en Cuba. Objetivo: identificar las actitudes socioculturales frente a las infecciones de transmisión sexual en estudiantes de primer año de Medicina. Método: en noviembre de 2011 se realizó un estudio analítico, de corte transversal, a una muestra de estudiantes de la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas "Carlos (...) J. Finlay". Se utilizó una encuesta para recoger información. Con el método no paramétrico de Kruskal Wallis se determinó el nivel de conocimiento de los mismos en cada uno de los componentes relacionados con las actitudes socioculturales. Se utilizó la técnica no paramétrica de ji cuadrado para evaluar si existían diferencias significativas entre los distintos grupos de edades, el sexo y el estado civil. Resultados: se valoró que el componente conductual se encuentra fortalecido, entre otras actitudes, por la tendencia de los estudiantes a mantener parejas estables. En el componente cognitivo sólo un 46 % supo reconocer las vías de transmisión del VIH/SIDA, y un 13,2 % no identificó las manifestaciones clínicas relacionadas con las infecciones de transmisión sexual. En el componente afectivo se destacó un 12 % de los encuestados como grupo de riesgo a los que no les gusta usar el preservativo. Conclusiones: como resultado de la encuesta se lograron identificar algunas actitudes socioculturales frente a las infecciones de transmisión sexual en estudiantes de Medicina de primer año, en los componentes valorados. Background: Camagüey has the fourth national place in the number of persons infected with VHI/AIDS, after Havana, Santiago and Holguín. Objetive: the aim of this work is identifying socio-cultural attitudes to face of the infections of sexual transmission in first year Medicine students. Methods: in November 2011, a group of students participated in a questionnaire. The non-parametric test Kruskal Wallis was made to find significant differences in the answers given by persons with different age, sex or civil status, Frequency of answers to each question was found out. The non parametric technique of Ji square was used to evaluate if there were significant differences among the different groups of ages, the sex and the civil status. Results: it was valued that the behavioral component is strengthened, among other attitudes, for the tendency of the students to maintain stable couples, only a 46 % know most of transmission ways of STD and a 13,2 % know the clinical symptoms, a 12 % said they did not like condom use. Conclusions: it was possible to find with this survey some socio-cultural attitudes to face of the infections of sexual transmission in first year Medicine students. (shrink)

The meta-problem is 'the problem of explaining why we think that there is a problem of consciousness' (Chalmers, 2018, p. 6). This presupposes that we think there is a problem in the first place. We challenge the breadth of this 'we', arguing that there is already sufficient empirical evidence to cast doubt on the claim. We then add to this body of evidence, presenting the results of a new cross-cultural study extending the work of Sytsma and Machery (2010).

_The Foundations of Arithmetic_ is undoubtedly the best introduction to Frege's thought; it is here that Frege expounds the central notions of his philosophy, subjecting the views of his predecessors and contemporaries to devastating analysis. The book represents the first philosophically sound discussion of the concept of number in Western civilization. It profoundly influenced developments in the philosophy of mathematics and in general ontology.

With contributions by leading scholars in the field, this book is the first collection in the English language devoted to Baumgarten’s aesthetics.

I argue physicalism should be characterized as the thesis that all behavior is law-governed. This characterization captures crucial desiderata for a formulation of physicalism, including its broad import and worldview defining features. It also has more local virtues, such as avoiding Hempel’s dilemma. A particularly important implication, I argue, is that this thesis makes the question of the mind’s physicality turn on what the mind can do- rather than what experience is like.

J. B. Schneewind's "The Invention of Autonomy" has been hailed as a major interpretation of modern moral thought. Schneewind's narrative, however, elides several serious interpretive issues, particularly in the transition from late medieval to early modern thought. This results in potentially distorted accounts of Thomas Aquinas, Hugo Grotius, and G. W. Leibniz. Since these thinkers play a crucial role in Schneewind's argument, uncertainty over their work calls into question at least some of Schneewind's larger agenda for the history of ethics.

J.L. Schellenberg offers a path to a new kind of religious outlook. Reflection on our early stage in the evolutionary process leads to skepticism about religion, but also offers a new answer to the problem of faith and reason, and the possibility of a new, evolutionary form of religion.

Grzegorczyk, A. O pewnych formalnych konsekwencjach reizmu.--Hiż, H. O rzeczach.--Kołakowski, L. Determinizm i odpowiedzialność.--Kotarbińska, J. Tak zwana definicja dejktyczna.--Ossowska, M. Norma prawna i norma moralna u Petrażyckiego.--Ossowski, S. Od "Kodeksu natury" do "Sprzysiężenia równych."--Lazari-Pawłowska, I. Tworzenie pojęć nauk humanistycznych według koncepcji Leona Petrażyckiego.--Pawłowski, T. Klasyfikacja sztuczna a klasyfikacja naturalna w biologii.--Pelc, J. Szkic analizy znaczeniowej terminu "ideologia dzieła literackiego."--Poznański, E. Operacjonalizm po trzydziestu latach.--Przełęcki, M. Postulat empiryczności terminów przyrodniczych.--Pszczołowski, T. Prakseologiczne pojęcie pracy.--Stonert, H. Analiza logiczna teorii atomistycznej w klasycznej chemii.--Szaniawski, (...) K. O indukcji eliminacyjnej.--Wallis, M. Koncepcje biologiczne w humanistyce. (shrink)

Built in the centre of Copenhagen, and noted for its equestrian stairway, the Rundetaarn, was intended as an astronomical observatory. Part of a complex of buildings that once included a university library, it affords expansive views of the city in every direction, towering above what surrounds it. The metaphor of the towering figure, who sees what others might not, whose vantage point allows him to visualize how things fit together, and who has an earned-stature of respect and authority, fits another (...) Danish stalwart, Hans Vilhelm Hansen, whose contributions to the fields of informal logic and argument theory have earned the gratitude of his colleagues, and inspired this collection of essays, written to express the appreciation of its authors and of the many, many colleagues they represent. (shrink)