What factors drove the transformation of the cyanobacterial progenitor of plastids (e.g. chloroplasts) from endosymbiont to bona fide organelle? This question lies at the heart of organelle genesis because, whereas intracellular endosymbionts are widespread in both unicellular and multicellular eukaryotes (e.g. rhizobial bacteria, Chlorella cells in ciliates, Buchnera in aphids), only two canonical eukaryotic organelles of endosymbiotic origin are recognized, the plastids of algae and plants and the mitochondrion. Emerging data on (1) the discovery of non‐canonical plastid protein targeting, (2) (...) the recent origin of a cyanobacterial‐derived organelle in the filose amoeba Paulinella chromatophora, and (3) the extraordinarily reduced genomes of psyllid bacterial endosymbionts begin to blur the distinction between endosymbiont and organelle. Here we discuss the use of these terms in light of new data in order to highlight the unique aspects of plastids and mitochondria and underscore their central role in eukaryotic evolution. BioEssays 29:1239–1246, 2007. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Diseases of complex origin have a component of quantitative genetics that contributes to their susceptibility and phenotypic variability. However, after several studies, a major part of the genetic component of complex phenotypes has still not been found, a situation known as “missing heritability.” Although there have been many hypotheses put forward to explain the reasons for the missing heritability, its definitive causes remain unknown. Complex diseases are caused by multiple intermediate phenotypes involved in their pathogenesis and, very often, each one (...) of these intermediate phenotypes also has a component of quantitative inheritance. Here we propose that at least part of the missing heritability can be explained by the genetic component of intermediate phenotypes that is not detectable at the level of the main complex trait. At the same time, the identification of the genetic component of intermediate phenotypes provides an opportunity to identify part of the missing heritability of complex diseases. (shrink)

This white paper outlines the plans of the History Philosophy Culture Working Group of the Next Generation Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration.

El presente artículo se propone indagar en el comercio de ideas entre William Prynne y la tradición escolástica hispánica, especialmente en lo relativo al origen y límites del poder del rey en cuanto esencialmente subordinado al Parlamento. También se considera al inicio del trabajo la teología calvinista de Prynne, fuertemente enfrentada a la teología católica y arminiano-anglicana. El trabajo termina concluyendo que en el pensamiento de Prynne se da, junto a una radical oposición teológica a arminianos y católicos, una intensa (...) recepción de las ideas políticas de Salamonio, los _schoolmen_ y los _doctors of Salamancha_, tales como Mariana, Suárez, etc., coincidentes en buena medida con las fuentes del Derecho político medieval inglés, tales como Bracton, Fleta y Fortescue. Desde un punto de vista metodológico el artículo ha sido elaborado a partir de un intenso trabajo de fuentes primarias teológicas y políticas de Prynne, accesibles gracias a la base de datos EEBO (_Early English Books Online_), de la Universidad de Michigan. (shrink)

In this article, I explore the ethical dimensions of same-sex reproduction achieved through epigenome editing—an innovative and transformative technique. For the first time, I analyse the potential normativity of this disruptive approach for reproductive purposes, focusing on its implications for lesbian couples seeking genetically related offspring. Epigenome editing offers a compelling solution to the complex ethical challenges posed by traditional gene editing, as it sidesteps genome modifications and potential long-term genetic consequences. The focus of this article is to systematically analyse (...) the bioethical issues related to the use of epigenome editing for same-sex reproduction. I critically assess the ethical acceptability of epigenome editing with reproductive purposes from multiple angles, considering harm perspectives, the comparison of ethical issues related to gene and epigenome editing, and feminist theories. This analysis reveals that epigenome editing emerges as an ethically acceptable means for lesbian couples to have genetically related children. Moreover, the experiments of a reproductive use of epigenome editing discussed in this article transcend bioethics, shedding light on the broader societal implications of same-sex reproduction. It challenges established notions of biological reproduction and prompts a reevaluation of how we define the human embryo, while poses some issues in the context of gender self-identification and family structures. In a world that increasingly values inclusivity and diversity, this article aims to reveal a progressive pathway for reproductive medicine and bioethics, as well as underscores the need for further philosophical research in this emerging and fertile domain. (shrink)

The current study is the first known attempt at analysing Chinese musical concepts linguistically, adopting the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) approach to formulate semantically and cognitively rigorous explications.

In this paper I argue that, by combining eliminativist and fictionalist approaches toward the sub-personal representational posits of predictive processing, we arrive at an empirically robust and yet metaphysically innocuous cognitive scientific framework. I begin the paper by providing a non-representational account of the five key posits of predictive processing. Then, I motivate a fictionalist approach toward the remaining indispensable representational posits of predictive processing, and explain how representation can play an epistemologically indispensable role within predictive processing explanations without thereby (...) requiring that representation metaphysically exists. Finally, I outline four consequences of accepting this approach and explain why they are beneficial: we arrive at a victory for metaphysical eliminativism in the ‘representation wars’; my account fits with extant empirical practice; my account provides guidance for future research; and, my account provides the beginnings of a response to Mark Sprevak’s IBE problem for fictionalist approaches toward sub-personal representation. (shrink)

There remains no consensus among social scientists as to how to measure and understand forms of information deprivation such as misinformation. Machine learning and statistical analyses of information deprivation typically contain problematic operationalizations which are too often biased towards epistemic elites' conceptions that can undermine their empirical adequacy. A mature science of information deprivation should include considerable citizen involvement that is sensitive to the value-ladenness of information quality and that doing so may improve the predictive and explanatory power of extant (...) models. (shrink)

Adult learners demand teaching innovations that are ever more rapid and attractive. As a response to these demands and the challenges of skills training, this article presents a conceptual analysis that introduces competitive debate as an impact training model. The aim is to learn whether debate can be considered to fall within the frame of gamification, so that the full potential of debate as gamification can be exploited. There is a significant research gap regarding competitive debate as a game, with (...) the training mechanics for adult learners remaining practically unexplored. Through a conceptual analysis of game, game experience, and gamification, and their respective characteristics, we conclude that competitive debate is an ideal instrument for gamification. (shrink)

Inspired by the writings of J. M. Hinton (1967a, 1967b, 1973), but ushered into the mainstream by Paul Snowdon (1980–1, 1990–1), John McDowell (1982, 1986), and M. G. F. Martin (2002, 2004, 2006), disjunctivism is currently discussed, advocated, and opposed in the philosophy of perception, the theory of knowledge, the theory of practical reason, and the philosophy of action. But what is disjunctivism?

I critically discuss two claims which Hannah Ginsborg makes on behalf of her account of meaning in terms of ‘primitive normativity’: first, that it avoids the sceptical regress articulated by Kripke's Wittgenstein; second, that it makes sense of the thought—central to Kripke's Wittgenstein—that ‘meaning is normative’, in a way which shows this thought not only to be immune from recent criticisms but also to undermine reductively naturalistic theories of content. In the course of the discussion, I consider and attempt to (...) shed light on a number of issues: the structure of the sceptical regress; the content of the thought that ‘meaning is normative’, and its force against reductive theories; the connection between meaning and justification; and the notion of ‘primitive normativity’. (shrink)

In their widely cited article, Swain et al. report data that, purportedly, demonstrates instability of folk epistemic intuitions regarding the famous Truetemp case authored by Keith Lehrer. What they found is a typical example of priming, where presenting one stimulus before presenting another stimulus affects the way the latter is perceived or evaluated. In their experiment, laypersons were less likely to attribute knowledge in the Truetemp case when they first read a scenario describing a clear case of knowledge, and more (...) likely to ascribe knowledge when they first read a vignette describing a clear case of nonknowledge. We tried to replicate Swain et al. findings in three experiments: one devised in Polish, and the other two conducted in English. We found no priming effect for knowledge ratings regarding the Truetemp case – laypersons were similarly likely to attribute knowledge in all three investigated conditions. These three failed replication attempts are not decisive as to whether the priming effect in question occurs, nevertheless, the collected data puts Swain et al. conclusions about instability of epistemic intuitions in jeopardy. (shrink)

El legado enciclopedista de Diderot sobre el poder político y el derecho en vísperas de Revolución -- Un célebre profesor de jurisprudencia de siglo XVIII, después marginado durante siglos: el caso de Jean Jacques Burlamaqui y sus Elementos de derecho natural -- Lardizábal, jurista "ilustrado" en los albores de la Independencia de México -- Los ilustrados, infatigables inventores de derechos vitales. Escolio a una obra de Lynn Hunt -- Lichtenberg, un ilustrado minimalista. A manera de epílogo.

We argue that artificial networks are explainable and offer a novel theory of interpretability. Two sets of conceptual questions are prominent in theoretical engagements with artificial neural networks, especially in the context of medical artificial intelligence: Are networks explainable, and if so, what does it mean to explain the output of a network? And what does it mean for a network to be interpretable? We argue that accounts of “explanation” tailored specifically to neural networks have ineffectively reinvented the wheel. In (...) response to, we show how four familiar accounts of explanation apply to neural networks as they would to any scientific phenomenon. We diagnose the confusion about explaining neural networks within the machine learning literature as an equivocation on “explainability,” “understandability” and “interpretability.” To remedy this, we distinguish between these notions, and answer by offering a theory and typology of interpretation in machine learning. Interpretation is something one does to an explanation with the aim of producing another, more understandable, explanation. As with explanation, there are various concepts and methods involved in interpretation: Total or Partial, Global or Local, and Approximative or Isomorphic. Our account of “interpretability” is consistent with uses in the machine learning literature, in keeping with the philosophy of explanation and understanding, and pays special attention to medical artificial intelligence systems. (shrink)

The prevalence and complexity of local sustainable development challenges require coordinated action from multiple actors in the business, public, and civil society sectors. Large multi-stakeholder partnerships that build capacity by developing and leveraging the diverse perspectives and resources of partner organizations are becoming an increasingly popular approach to addressing such challenges. Multi-stakeholder partnerships are designed to address and prioritize a social problem, so it can be challenging to define the value proposition to each specific partner. Using a resource-based view, this (...) study examines partner outcomes from the perspective of the strategic interest of the partner as distinct from the strategic goal of the partnership. Based on 47 interviews with representatives of partner organizations in four Canadian case studies of community sustainability plan implementation, this article details 10 resources partners can gain from engaging in a multi-stakeholder partnership. (shrink)

This volume will be an essential resource for anyone working in the central areas of philosophy, and the starting point for future research in this fascinating ...

Francis Ysidro Edgeworth’s unduly neglected monograph New and Old Methods of Ethics (1877) advances a highly sophisticated and mathematized account of social well-being in the utilitarian tradition of his 19th-century contemporaries. This article illustrates how his usage of the ‘calculus of variations’ was combined with findings from empirical psychology and economic theory to construct a consequentialist axiological framework. A conclusion is drawn that Edgeworth is a methodological predecessor to several important methods, ideas, and issues that continue to be discussed in (...) contemporary social well-being studies. (shrink)

A growing body of empirical evidence suggests that folk knowledge attribution practices regarding some epistemological thought experiments differ significantly from the consensus found in the philosophical literature. More specifically, laypersons are likely to ascribe knowledge in the so-called Authentic Evidence Gettier-style cases, while most philosophers deny knowledge in these cases. The intuitions shared by philosophers are often used as evidence in favor (or against) certain philosophical analyses of the notion of knowledge. However, the fact that these intuitions are not universal, (...) as non-philosophers do not sympathize with verdicts made by philosophers, is problematic and requires some explanation. Recently, a promising theoretical approach emerged that could be used to explain away unexpected folk knowledge attributions. According to the protagonist projection hypothesis, when subjects answer questions about some hypothetical scenario, their judgments might result from adopting the cognitive perspective of the protagonist in the given scenario. Previous experimental findings suggest protagonist projection might be responsible for problematic knowledge attributions in Gettier-style cases. This paper reports data collected in an experiment which focused on five different Authentic Evidence Gettier-style scenarios and investigated the impact of protagonist projection on folk knowledge ascriptions in such cases. The results bring some support to the protagonist projection hypothesis, but do not allow to explain away a substantial number of problematic folk knowledge attributions. (shrink)

A Brief History of the Philosophy of Time is a concise and accessible survey of the history of philosophical and scientific developments in understanding time and our experience of time. It discusses prominent ideas about the nature of time, plus many subsidiary puzzles about time, from the classical period through the present.

How can one ‘see’ the operationalization of contemporary visual culture, given the imperceptibility and apparent automation of so many processes and dimensions of visuality? Seeing – as a position from a singular mode of observation – has become problematic since many visual elements, techniques, and forms of observing are highly distributed through data practices of collection, analysis and prediction. Such practices are subtended by visual cultural techniques that are grounded in the development of image collections, image formatting and hardware design. (...) In this article, we analyze recent transformations in forms of prediction and data analytics associated with spectacular performances of computation. We analyze how transformations in the collection and accumulation of images as ensembles by platforms have a qualitative and material effect on the emergent sociotechnicality of platform ‘life’ and ‘perception’. Reconstructing the visual transformations that allow artificial intelligence assemblages to operate allows some sense of their heteronomous materiality and contingency. (shrink)

Por supuesto se expresa como quien conoce muy bien los términos jurídicos pero con la habilidad de no abrumar al interlocutor. Inspira confianza. Es una mujer grande que mira directamente a los ojos y sonríe casi siempre. Escucha con atención y acierta a comunicar desde la propia experiencia no ya de brillante profesional de la judicatura, sino de mujer, madre, compañera� Enseguida hemos pasado del usted al tú�.

Ante el pensamiento del neocapitalismo y su poder actual, el autor se pregunta su hay razones para reivindicar la justicia social en nuestros días. Para responder a esta interrogante realiza un análisis de algunos elementos históricos que habrían sido en su opinión decisivos para llegar a la situación actual de la democracia en Occidente, desgranando algunas de las diferencias ideológicas que sobre la gobernabilidad de la democracia surgieron en la izquierda, y que condujeron a dos vías diferentes en el seno (...) de la misma y al triunfo de la identificada con las posiciones socialdemócratas. Así, señala, una socialdemocracia reconvertida en tercera vía, y un comunismo pertrechado de consignas altisonantes con poca sustancia ideológica se reparten la clientela política de izquierda a este lado del mundo. (shrink)

El Juicio de gusto como Juicio estético parte de la contemplación de un objeto en particular. Surge de forma libre y no guarda relación alguna con una intencionalidad por parte del sujeto. En el caso de un juicio sobre lo bello se considera que atribuye cierta belleza al objeto como si se tratase de una propiedad que le caracteriza. La forma en la que se da este juicio posibilita el surgimiento de cierta universalidad del mismo en la medida en que (...) todo aquel que pueda contemplarlo pueda distinguir la belleza en él. Pero se trata sólo de universalidad estética y no lógica. En la forma que adoptan estos objetos se advierte una finalidad de la naturaleza como condición a priori que posibilita su conocimiento. Dicha posibilidad basada en la reflexión sobre la forma de estos viene determinada por el uso reflexionante de la facultad de juzgar. (shrink)

Este espacio ofrece un conjunto de aspectos de la filosofía de Lévinas expresados en una sección de su obra Totalidad e Infinito que se enfrentan con el pensamiento de Hegel en el marco de las relaciones intersubjetivas en torno a un comportamiento ético de la conciencia o el yo frente a lo otro de sí. Los puntos de encuentros y más aún de desencuentros entre ambos autores revelan que el contexto histórico es determinante en las posturas que plantean en la (...) medida en que ofrecen interpretaciones mayormente divergentes de acuerdo a la relación de cada sujeto con lo externo a sí. El objetivo de este espacio de discusión entre ambos autores es resaltar la importancia y el papel que juega la figura de la Autoconciencia hegeliana frente a la construcción de sociedades que aspiran a poner en marcha proyectos de justicia social y verdadera democracia. (shrink)

La facultad de juzgar teleológica se distingue de la estética básicamente en el punto de partida que tiene el sujeto frente a los objetos que juzga. En este caso el sujeto parte de algún conocimiento sobre ellos y no juzga solo a partir de lo que exteriormente advierte en los mismos. Esto implica que la realidad de dichos objetos cobra una dimensión diferente y el hombre puede incluirle en su quehacer diario ya que puede dar cuenta de su utilidad. La (...) finalidad en sentido de intencionalidad que se muestra en ciertos productos naturales guarda una relación externa con el hombre y con otros productos pues su existencia se basa en la conveniencia de su manifestación en un momento y lugar determinados. En los organismos naturales la finalidad de la naturaleza se basa en una relación orgánica entre los componentes que los constituyen formando entre todos un conjunto como ser organizado. (shrink)

En este artículo se exploran algunas condiciones de posibilidad sobre un pensamiento bibliotecológico en América Latina. Para tales fines, se analizó la propuesta de una “Bibliotecología desde Abya Yala”, sobre todo por lo desafiante de sus pretensiones y porque exhibe algunos síntomas generalizados en esta clase de ideaciones (como inconsistencias conceptuales y metodológicas derivadas de prejuicios identitarios regionalistas). Se identificaron dos problemas básicos: “la identidad desde la exclusión” y el supuesto estado epistémico de “saber desde la inclusión”. La “identidad desde (...) la exclusión” se refiere al problema de intentar definir la identidad latinoamericana desde lo “no anglosajón”, y por el criterio de descarte de ideas ajenas como parte de las acciones para lograr, en modo artificial, el carácter “latinoamericano” auténtico (sin que exista de por medio una justificación epistémica). Por otro lado, el problema del supuesto “saber desde la inclusión” (que parte, más bien, desde la exclusión y la marginación hermenéutica) retoma los mismos prejuicios identitarios, y se posa, indirectamente, en el arcaico pensamiento funcionalista bibliotecológico. A pesar de esto, su rasgo más polémico resulta ser que se basa en estados epistémicos deterministas que no son sostenibles ni ética ni epistemológicamente (ni siquiera en la esfera práctica más inmediata). (shrink)

Does the existence of body representations undermine the explanatory role of the body? Or do certain types of representation depend so closely upon the body that their involvement in a cognitive task implicates the body itself? In the introduction of this special issue we explore lines of tension and complement that might hold between the notions of embodiment and body representations, which remain too often neglected or obscure. To do so, we distinguish two conceptions of embodiment that either put weight (...) on the explanatory role of the body itself or body representations. We further analyse how and to what extent body representations can be said to be embodied. Finally, we give an overview of the full volume articulated around foundational issues (How should we define the notion of embodiment? To what extent and in what sense is embodiment compatible with representationalism? To what extent and in what sense are sensorimotor approaches similar to behaviourism?) and their applications in several cognitive domains (perception, concepts, selfhood, social cognition). (shrink)

The history of economic thought witnessed several prominent economists who took seriously models and concepts in physics for the elucidation and prediction of economic phenomena. Econophysics is an emerging discipline at the intersection of heterodox economics and the physics of complex systems, with practitioners typically engaged in two overlapping but distinct methodological programs. The first is to export mathematical methods used in physics for the purposes of studying economic phenomena. The second is to export mechanisms in physics into economics. A (...) conclusion is drawn that physics transfer is often justified at the level of mathematical transfer but unjustified at the level of mechanistic transfer. (shrink)

According to the No-Luck-Thesis knowledge possession is incompatible with luck – one cannot know that p if the truth of one’s belief that p is a matter of luck. Recently, this widespread opinion was challenged by Peter Baumann, who argues that in certain situations agents do possess knowledge even though their beliefs are true by luck. This paper aims at providing empirical data for evaluating Baumann’s hypothesis. The experiment was designed to compare non-philosophers’ judgments concerning knowledge and luck in one (...) case that Baumann takes to be in favor of his claim and other cases where, according to him, absence of knowledge coincides with luck. The results show that the cases do not differ in a significant way between each other with respect to verdicts regarding knowledge and luck. In all cases subjects were more reluctant to judge that the ‘Gettierized’ belief is knowledge and more likely to judge that it is true by luck in comparison to a belief that is an uncontroversial instance of knowledge. However, the negative relationship between knowledge and luck ascriptions predicted by the No-Luck-Thesis was almost absent. The data raise some doubts about the No-Luck-Thesis, but the reasons for doubt are different than what Baumann expected. (shrink)