This article explores the metaphor of Science as provider of sharp images of our environment, using the epistemological framework of Objective Cognitive Constructivism. These sharp images are conveyed by precise scientific hypotheses that, in turn, are encoded by mathematical equations. Furthermore, this article describes how such knowledge is pro-duced by a cyclic and recursive development, perfection and reinforcement process, leading to the emergence of eigen-solutions characterized by the four essential properties of precision, stability, separability and composability. Finally, this article discusses (...) the role played by ontology and metaphysics in the scientific production process, and in which sense the resulting knowledge can be considered objective. (shrink)

The full Bayesian signi/cance test (FBST) for precise hypotheses is presented, with some illustrative applications. In the FBST we compute the evidence against the precise hypothesis. We discuss some of the theoretical properties of the FBST, and provide an invariant formulation for coordinate transformations, provided a reference density has been established. This evidence is the probability of the highest relative surprise set, “tangential” to the sub-manifold (of the parameter space) that defines the null hypothesis.

Conceptual congruency effects are biases induced by an irrelevant conceptual dimension of a task (e.g., location in vertical space) on the processing of another, relevant dimension (e.g., judging words’ emotional evaluation). Such effects are a central empirical pillar for recent views about how the mind/brain represents concepts. In the present paper, we show how attentional cueing (both exogenous and endogenous) to each conceptual dimension succeeds in modifying both the manifestation and the symmetry of the effect. The theoretical implications of this (...) finding are discussed. (shrink)

Sortition, i.e. random appointment for public duty, has been employed by societies throughout the years as a firewall designated to prevent illegitimate interference between parties in a legal case and agents of the legal system. In judicial systems of modern western countries, random procedures are mainly employed to select the jury, the court and/or the judge in charge of judging a legal case. Therefore, these random procedures play an important role in the course of a case, and should comply with (...) some principles, such as transparency and complete auditability. Nevertheless, these principles are neglected by random procedures in some judicial systems, which are performed in secrecy and are not auditable by the involved parties. The assignment of cases in the Brazilian Supreme Court is an example of such a procedure, for it is performed using procedures unknown to the parties involved in the judicial cases. This article presents a review of how sortition has been historically employed by societies and discusses how Mathematical Statistics may be applied to random procedures of the judicial system, as it has been applied for almost a century on clinical trials, for example. A statistical model for assessing randomness in case assignment is proposed and applied to the Brazilian Supreme Court. As final remarks, guidelines for the development of good randomization procedures are outlined. (shrink)

Inauguration speech at chair number 18 of the Brasilian Academy of Philosophy.

Se ha impuesto en México, en las últimas dos décadas, un sentido común neoliberal que apuesta al Estado débil. Sin embargo la tradición de la revolución mexicana era otra, y también la historia latinoamericana muestra que los Estados han sido más fuertes que las naciones (J. Aricó). De tal modo es i..

La doctrtna de Tomás de Aquinorespecto de la delimitación ·entre e! ámbito de lo"natural" - entendiendo por tal la naturaleza"Inferior", esta.. es, e! · ámbito de lo. máterial,corporal y sensible - y el ámbito de lo humanopuede ser reconstruida entres momentos: a) unaintegración inicial dei hombre ai ámbito de lonatural - en particular por la doctrina de launidad esencial de alma y cuerpo; b) una relativaemergencia o trascendencia dei hombre respectodei lo material - en especial por · 1a subsistenciadei alma (...) racional humana y la trascendencia desu fin último; c) una slntesis que marca lacontinuatio entre naturaleza. y hombre, en lamedida en que éste es concebido como "fin detàda la generación". La orientación teleológica dela naturaleza que tiende hacia el hombre, puedeadvertirse en la creciente perfección dei disefiodei orden de las formas naturales, en lascondiciones físicas propias de la corporalidad.humana, y el en proceso generativo dei embriónhumano. En cada caso, ai tender hacia elhombre, la naturaleza busca, en forma mediata,trascenderse a sí misma. (shrink)

El pensamiento politico medieval concibe a la ley como esencialmente ligada a un concepto de justicia superior y objetivo. El trabajo procura zanjar las divergencias en tomo del concepto ley en Marsilio de Padua. Para ella, se efectua un analisis de la ecuacion entre las facultades cognoscitivas y volitivas que aparecen en el tratamiento del fin de la ley, de las cualidades personales requeridas para el juez, y de la idoneidad dellegislador humano. La ley debe poseer un contenido de justicia (...) que es objeto de una captacion racional y de un recto querer. Sin embargo, ese concepto de justicia adquiere en Marsilio una definicion estrictamente politica: se trata del "equilibria" o la "medida" que deben alcanzar los actos transitivos de los hombres, can el fin de preservar la comunidad politica. (shrink)

Nos últimos anos, cada vez mais os "ismos" estão sendo deixados de lado. Neste sentido, quando se fala de aristotelismo ou de averroísmo de Marsílio de Pádua, torna-se necessário examinar o que se entende precisamente por tais atributos e, depois, até que ponto, mesmo de forma aproximativa, eles podem ser aplicados a Marsílio.

Resumen La educación superior se ha constituido en un objeto de creciente interés en la literatura especializada. A pesar de lo anterior, la mayor parte de la investigación disponible se concentra en estudios de corte descriptivo y evaluativo, sin conectar sus desarrollos con las reflexiones de la teoría sociológica. El presente ensayo identifica las principales posibilidades teóricas y epistemológicas de la teoría de sistemas sociales para el análisis de la educación superior, examinando los rendimientos de la noción de diferenciación de (...) planos de formación sistémica (interacción, organización y sociedad) y la idea de diferenciación de sistemas parciales especializados. Abstract Higher education has become an object of growing interest in the specialized literature. Despite this, most of the available research concentrates on descriptive and evaluative studies, without connecting its developments with the reflections of general sociological theory. This essay identifies the main theoretical and epistemological possibilities of social systems theory for the analysis of higher education, examining the uses of the notion of differentiation of systemic formation planes (interaction, organization, and society) and the idea of differentiation of specialized partial systems. (shrink)

This article has as its theme the democracy as fundamentalism, or the democratic fundamentalism. Its main objective is the recognition that the thinking about democracy can itself be fundamentalist, implying that not only religious fundamentalisms are a threat to contemporary democracy. Its method and object are the interpretation of texts by two contemporary philosophers who do not usually talk to each other, the Italian Gianni Vattimo and the French Jean-Luc Nancy. The essay's thesis is the affirmation of democratic thinking as (...) a form of fundamentalism, insofar as it fulfills certain conditions established by the two thinkers analyzed. These conditions are, in the language of the aforementioned philosophers, the framing of democracy under the so-called strong thought, or its subsumption to a metaphysical way of thought, so that it becomes incapable of self-criticism and its necessary reinvention. Thus, it is expected to contribute to the construction of a self-critical vision of democracy through dialogue with aspects of thought little known of important philosophers and also through the dialogue between philosophy and theology as emancipatory ways of knowing. (shrink)

This article provides a critical reading of the ‘Parecer CNE-CES 60, de 2014’, from the Ministry of education, Brazil, which defines the curriculum guidelines for courses of Baccalaureate in Theology. In its first section it discusses the theoretical background of the ‘Parecer’, questioning its illuminist orientation, as well as its pedagogical theory focused on contents and not on the students activities. It aims to show that are two opposed educational paradigms in the ‘Parecer’, the illuminist and the constructivist, although the (...) illuminist is the dominant one. It also question the view of the theologian present in the ‘Parecer’, marked by significant absences from the professional field of religious work. In the second section, the article presents a sample of particular interpretation of the ‘Parecer’, indicating the guidelines of a curriculum based on the constructivist paradigm. It dedicates special attention to the occult dimension of the curriculum and to an articulation of the student’s activities in relationship to the disciplines of the course. (shrink)

El déjà vu es problemático en el fin de siglo (XIX), no por la ensoñación poética que trae consigo, sino por la perturbación que le causa a la vida. De allí la preocupación de los “savants” por entenderlo, controlarlo y “curarlo”. El déjà vu irrumpe en la vida cotidiana del sujeto, lo perturba, lo desconcierta. De allí que Bodei lo relacione con el eterno retorno de Nietzsche. Más que un caso aislado o “patológico” ligado a individuos “pa(de)cientes” como los epilépticos, (...) o una “válvula de escape de la realidad”, el déjà vu sería para Bodei, la irrupción (la erupción) de una ilusión frente a la realidad “operante”. El déjà vu pone en crisis la supuesta identidad “absoluta” del sujeto, su dimensión del tiempo y su “confianza” en la continuidad de la personalidad. Para hablar de él es necesario, como sugiere Bodei, referirse al tema del “doble” en la literatura del siglo XIX. (Dostoievski más que Stevenson). (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Kant-Studien Jahrgang: 105 Heft: 3 Seiten: 336-371.

This article considers distinct ways of understanding the world, referred to in psychology as Functions of Consciousness or as Cognitive Modes, having as the scope of interest epistemology and natural sciences. Inspired by C.G. Jung's Simile of the Spectrum, we consider three basic cognitive modes associated to: (R) embodied instinct, experience, and action; (G) reality perception and learning; and (B) concept abstraction, rational thinking, and language. RGB stand for the primary colors: red, green, and blue. Accordingly, a conceptual map between (...) cognitive modes and primary and secondary colors is built based on the physics and physiology of color perception and epistemological characteristics of the aforementioned cognitive modes, leading to logical relations structured as an Hexagon of Opposition. Finally, this model of cognitive modes is applied to the analysis and interpretation of some important episodes in the historical development of physics and technology. (shrink)

Comments presented at the 35th International Seminar on the -- New Institutional Economics -- Empirical Methods for the Law; Syracuse, 2018.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

: It is often argued that while Kant grounds practical freedom in the idea of transcendental or absolute freedom in the Dialectic of the First Critique, he would have explicitly dissociated these concepts in the Canon. For, in contradiction with the Dialectic, Kant claims in the Canon that through experience we know practical freedom to be one of the natural causes and that the transcendental freedom could be left aside as irrelevant. These claims are usually interpreted in the light of (...) the socalled “patchwork theory” as evidence of an inconsistency between the two sections of the First Critique and of a defense of a mere comparative, compatibilistic or even psychological concept of freedom by Kant in the Canon. In contradistinction to this widespread interpretation, I intend to provide an alternative interpretation of the Canon by showing that the concept of practical freedom contained in it is a genuinely incompatibilistic one and that this section can be reconciled with the Dialectic. Moreover, I intend to show that Henry Allison’s allegedly alternative interpretation is entirely misguided. (shrink)

In this paper I mainly draw attention to the largely discussed § 244 of the Philosophical Investigations of Ludwig Wittgenstein. I begin by providing what I take to be a right reconstruction of the argument in it, in which Wittgenstein maintains that, in contradistinction to the presup-positions of the supporter of a private language, we learn words for sen-sations, like “pain”, for example, not by correlating the sign directly with the corresponding sensation. Instead, “pain” is learned in connection with the (...) natural expression of pain, with pain-behavior, so that the word takes the place of the natural expression. Next, I develop two lines of criticism on Wittgenstein’s argument. First, I argue that Wittgenstein does not explain how the learner substitutes the conventional expression for the natural one. Second, I maintain that, in his explanation of how we learn words for sensations, Wittgenstein shares one of the most impor-tant presuppositions of the private language, the very one that he wanted to discard once and for all, namely, that one can know from her own case what pain is. (shrink)

Neste artigo, faço críticas às críticas tecidas por John Rawlscontra o utilitarismo, compreendido como teoria política, em seu livroA Theory of Justice. Esforçar-me-ei por mostrar que, ainda que outilitarismo considere a maximização da felicidade como o critério dedistinção das instituições políticas corretamente ordenadas, isso nãosignifica que ele seja indiferente a questões de justiça distributiva.Buscarei mostrar que o utilitarismo incorpora tais princípios de justiça,porque o modo como a felicidade é distribuída determina a proporçãoem que ela pode ser produzida. Além disso, como (...) veremos, as críticasfeitas por Rawls estão fundadas numa concepção extremamenteempobrecida do princípio da prudência racional, a qual ele injustamenteatribui ao seu opositor. Não obstante, também buscarei mostrar quedeterminadas críticas feitas por Rawls estão na direção correta, a saberaquelas que, em oposição ao utilitarismo, apresentam a liberdade, enão a felicidade, como constituidora do bem incondicional que deveser justamente distribuído.In this paper, I criticize the criticisms that John Rawls developsagainst the Utilitarianism, understood as a political theory, in his bookA Theory of Justice. I would like to show that, although theUtilitarianism takes the maximization of happiness as the criterion ofrightly ordered political institutions, it does not mean that it cannot bevery sensitive to questions of distributive justice. I will show that theUtilitarianism embeds such principles of justice, because the way happiness is distributed determines the proportion in which it can beproduced. Moreover, as we will see, Rawls criticisms are based on avery poorly conception of rational prudence that he then unfairlyattributes to his opponent. Nevertheless, I will also show that Rawlscriticism is in the right way, when he asserts, in opposition to theUtilitarianism, that freedom, instead of happiness, is the unconditionalgood that should be rightly distributed. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to critically examine Rawls’ discussions of the method of a moral theory spread through his book A Theory of Justice. First, Kant’s reasons for rejecting the attempt to employ in philosophy a method inspired in mathematics, respectively, in geometry are considered. This provides a basis for rejecting the interpretation given by Maria Carolina and Zeljko Loparic, according to which Rawls would have allegedly followed Kant’s indications, and applied methodological developments of the Greek geometry to (...) the solution of philosophical problems. Second, a brief analysis of some passages in Rawls’ book is given from which it becomes clear that despite his references to several methodological guidelines his real inspiration comes from Chomsky’s linguistics. The aims and method of Chomsky’s linguistics is then discussed to show the parallelism between them and Rawls’ own statements on the aims and method of his moral theory. Finally, it is argued that the purported parallelism collapses because, among other things, the data of a philosophical moral theory are completely different in nature from the data in linguistics. (shrink)

El texto reflexiona sobre el vaciamiento neoliberal de la política, despolitizando la vida y cuantificando la realidad. El neoliberalismo enaltece la libertad individual, llevando a un individualismo extremo que amenaza el tejido social. La destrucción creativa moldea cuerpos y subjetividades, promoviendo competencia y autosacrificio. La exterioridad neoliberal afecta a los individuos, enfocándolos en su propia libertad y bloqueando su capacidad de actuar con otros. La crítica se centra en recuperar la sensibilidad y el deseo para restaurar la vida colectiva, explorando (...) la relación entre el cuerpo entristecido y la lógica neoliberal de acumulación y autorresponsabilidad, sugiriendo que puede generar cuerpos tristes y descontentos -todo esto en atención a una ontología spinozista-. Se critica, así, el culto a la vida en la sociedad neoliberal y cómo se marginaliza a los cuerpos vulnerables, abogando por abrazar la vulnerabilidad y la interdependencia para superar la lógica destructiva y la obsesión por la acumulación. (shrink)

1. Modern science in historical perspective -- On the origins of modern science -- The post-Renaissance revolution : the New Science -- Frank Sherwood Taylor : the man who was converted by Galileo -- The limits of science -- Proofs and demonstrations -- On the intelligibility of Quantum Mechanics -- Uncertainty, incompleteness, chance, and design -- A Finite, Open and Contingent Universe -- 2. On the origin and development of life -- A brief history of evolutionary thought -- Life's intelligible (...) design -- What are the contributions of Genetics to the understanding of life? -- On the Human Genome in contrast to the Great Apes Genome -- On The Evolution Controversy -- Scientific critiques of Darwinism -- 3. Beyond nature and history -- The religion of Darwinism -- On the riddle of man's origin -- On science, history and free will -- Science and Faith -- Concluding remarks. (shrink)

This paper has three main objectives: (a) Discuss the formal analogy between some important symmetry-invariance arguments used in physics, probability and statistics. Specifically, we will focus on Noether’s theorem in physics, the maximum entropy principle in probability theory, and de Finetti-type theorems in Bayesian statistics; (b) Discuss the epistemological and ontological implications of these theorems, as they are interpreted in physics and statistics. Specifically, we will focus on the positivist (in physics) or subjective (in statistics) interpretations vs. objective interpretations that (...) are suggested by symmetry and invariance arguments; (c) Introduce the cognitive constructivism epistemological framework as a solution that overcomes the realism-subjectivism dilemma and its pitfalls. The work of the physicist and philosopher Max Born will be particularly important in our discussion. (shrink)

Randomization is an integral part of well-designed statistical trials, and is also a required procedure in legal systems. Implementation of honest, unbiased, understandable, secure, traceable, auditable and collusion resistant randomization procedures is a mater of great legal, social and political importance. Given the juridical and social importance of randomization, it is important to develop procedures in full compliance with the following desiderata: (a) Statistical soundness and computational efficiency; (b) Procedural, cryptographical and computational security; (c) Complete auditability and traceability; (d) Any (...) attempt by participating parties or coalitions to spuriously influence the procedure should be either unsuccessful or be detected; (e) Open-source programming; (f) Multiple hardware platform and operating system implementation; (g) User friendliness and transparency; (h) Flexibility and adaptability for the needs and requirements of multiple application areas (like, for example, clinical trials, selection of jury or judges in legal proceedings, and draft lotteries). This paper presents a simple and easy to implement randomization protocol that assures, in a formal mathematical setting, full compliance to the aforementioned desiderata for randomization procedures. (shrink)

Although logical consistency is desirable in scientific research, standard statistical hypothesis tests are typically logically inconsistent. To address this issue, previous work introduced agnostic hypothesis tests and proved that they can be logically consistent while retaining statistical optimality properties. This article characterizes the credal modalities in agnostic hypothesis tests and uses the hexagon of oppositions to explain the logical relations between these modalities. Geometric solids that are composed of hexagons of oppositions illustrate the conditions for these modalities to be logically (...) consistent. Prisms composed of hexagons of oppositions show how the credal modalities obtained from two agnostic tests vary according to their threshold values. Nested hexagons of oppositions summarize logical relations between the credal modalities in these tests and prove new relations. (shrink)

The main goal of this article is to use the epistemological framework of a specific version of Cognitive Constructivism to address Piaget’s central problem of knowledge construction, namely, the re-equilibration of cognitive structures. The distinctive objective character of this constructivist framework is supported by formal inference methods of Bayesian statistics, and is based on Heinz von Foerster’s fundamental metaphor of objects as tokens for eigen-solutions. This epistemological perspective is illustrated using some episodes in the history of chemistry concerning the definition (...) or identification of chemical elements. Some of von Foerster’s epistemological imperatives provide general guidelines of development and argumentation. (shrink)

This article discusses some continuous limit cases of Susan Haack’s crossword puzzle metaphor for the coherent development and foundation of science. The main objective of this discussion is to build a bridge between Haack’s foundherentism and the epistemological framework of objective cognitive constructivism, including its key metaphor of objects as tokens for eigen-solutions. The historical development of chemical affinity tables is used to illustrate our arguments.

In this paper epistemological, ontological and sociological questions concerning the statistical significance of sharp hypotheses in scientific research are investigated within the framework provided by Cognitive Constructivism and the FBST (Full Bayesian Significance Test). The constructivist framework is contrasted with the traditional epistemological settings for orthodox Bayesian and frequentist statistics provided by Decision Theory and Falsificationism.

In this article, we discuss some issues concerning magical thinking—forms of thought and association mechanisms characteristic of early stages of mental development. We also examine good reasons for having an ambivalent attitude concerning the later permanence in life of these archaic forms of association, and the coexistence of such intuitive but informal thinking with logical and rigorous reasoning. At the one hand, magical thinking seems to serve the creative mind, working as a natural vehicle for new ideas and innovative insights, (...) and giving form to heuristic arguments. At the other hand, it is inherently difficult to control, lacking effective mechanisms needed for rigorous manipulation. Our discussion is illustrated with many examples from the Hebrew Bible, and some final examples from modern science. (shrink)