On the importance of things: a relational approach to agency

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Mendoza-Collazos
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Distributed Cognition ◽  
Mental Representations ◽  
Extended Mind ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Relational Approach ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThe present review is conceived to be a contribution from the double perspective of a semiotician and a designer to the current debate on the extended mind and on distributed cognition, focusing on the role of things (artefacts, material culture) for the emergence of agency in animate beings. The theory of material engagement as conceived by Lambros Malafouris was formally introduced seven years ago, proposing an idea of boundless cognition and reformulating key notions such as agency, intentionality, and mental representations, philosophically framed with the help of approaches such as postphenomenology (Ihde 2009; Ihde and Malafouris 2019). There is much to commend about a non-hierarchical, interdependent relationship between the world and living organisms — and more specifically between material things and human beings. Nevertheless, a balanced review of the notion of “material agency” is still called for. In this review, I show that an asymmetry can be introduced into the relationship between artefacts and human beings without committing the “sin” of anthropocentrism.

The Mediating Effect of Material Cultures as Human Hybridization

2011 ◽  
pp. 31-53
Author(s):  
L. Magnani
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Distributed Cognition ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Survival And Reproduction ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Common

We already are hybrid humans, fruit of a kind of co-evolution of both our brains and the common, scientific, social, and moral knowledge we have produced by ourselves, starting from the birth of material culture with our ancestors until the recent effects generated by the whole field of information and communication technologies (ICTs). We all are constitutively natural born cyborgs; that is, biotechnological hybrid minds. Our minds should not be considered to be located only in the head; human beings have solved their problems of survival and reproduction, distributing cognitive and ethical functions to external nonbiological sources, props, and aids, which originate cultures. This chapter also illustrates the interplay between cultures and distributed cognition, taking advantage of the so-called disembodiment of mind, and stresses the problem of the co-evolution between brains and cultures. The second part of the chapter is related to the analysis of the interplay between cultures and cognition and of some consequences concerning the problem of intercultural communication in light of the role of moral mediators, docility, and cyberprivacy. Finally, I discuss some suggestions concerning the problem of what I call the principle of isolation of cultures, with respect to the effects of ICTs.

Material Cultures and Moral Mediators in Human Hybridization

2012 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Magnani
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Distributed Cognition ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Moral Principle ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Technological Artifacts ◽  
Survival And Reproduction ◽  
Information And Communication

We already are hybrid humans, fruit of a kind of co-evolution of both our brains and the common, scientific, social, and moral knowledge we have produced by ourselves starting from the birth of material culture with our ancestors until the recent effects generated by the whole field of technological artifacts and of information and communication technologies (ICTs). We all are “constitutively” natural-born cyborgs, that is biotechnological hybrid minds. Our minds should not be considered to be located only in the head: human beings have solved their problems of survival and reproduction, “distributing” cognitive and ethical functions to external non-biological sources, props, and aids, which originate cultures. The paper also illustrates the interplay between cultures and distributed cognition and stresses the role of some technological artifacts as moral mediators. The second part of the paper is related to the analysis of the interplay between cultures, morality, and cognition and of some consequences concerning the problem of intercultural communication in the light of the role of moral mediators, docility, and cyberprivacy. Finally, I discuss some suggestions concerning the problem of what I call the moral principle of isolation of cultures, with respect to the effects of ICTs.

Material Cultures and Moral Mediators in Human Hybridization

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Magnani
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Distributed Cognition ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Moral Principle ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Technological Artifacts ◽  
Survival And Reproduction ◽  
Information And Communication

We already are hybrid humans, fruit of a kind of co-evolution of both our brains and the common, scientific, social, and moral knowledge we have produced by ourselves starting from the birth of material culture with our ancestors until the recent effects generated by the whole field of technological artifacts and of information and communication technologies (ICTs). We all are “constitutively” natural-born cyborgs, that is biotechnological hybrid minds. Our minds should not be considered to be located only in the head: human beings have solved their problems of survival and reproduction, “distributing” cognitive and ethical functions to external nonbiological sources, props, and aids, which originate cultures. The paper also illustrates the interplay between cultures and distributed cognition and stresses the role of some technological artifacts as moral mediators. The second part of the paper is related to the analysis of the interplay between cultures, morality, and cognition and of some consequences concerning the problem of intercultural communication in the light of the role of moral mediators, docility, and cyberprivacy. Finally, I discuss some suggestions concerning the problem of what I call the moral principle of isolation of cultures, with respect to the effects of ICTs.

scholarly journals The Road More Travelled: The Differential Effects of Spatial Experience in Young and Elderly Participants

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 709
Author(s):  
Antonella Lopez ◽  
Alessandro Germani ◽  
Luigi Tinella ◽  
Alessandro Oronzo Caffò ◽  
Albert Postma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Representations ◽  
Spatial Relations ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Road ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors ◽  
Effects Of Aging ◽  
Coordinate Spatial Relations ◽  
Categorical Spatial Relations ◽  
The Relationship

Our spatial mental representations allow us to give refined descriptions of the environment in terms of the relative locations and distances between objects and landmarks. In this study, we investigated the effects of familiarity with the everyday environment, in terms of frequency of exploration and mode of transportation, on categorical and coordinate spatial relations, on young and elderly participants, controlling for socio-demographic factors. Participants were tested with a general anamnesis, a neuropsychological assessment, measures of explorations and the Landmark Positioning on a Map task. The results showed: (a) a modest difference in performance with categorical spatial relations; (b) a larger difference in coordinate spatial relations; (c) a significant moderating effect of age on the relationship between familiarity and spatial relations, with a stronger relation among the elderly than the young. Ceteris paribus, the role of direct experience with exploring their hometown on spatial mental representations appeared to be more important in the elderly than in the young. This advantage appears to make the elderly wiser and likely protects them from the detrimental effects of aging on spatial mental representations.

Pots on mats: mat-impressed salt-extraction pottery at Chalcolithic Provadia-Solnitsata, Bulgaria

Antiquity ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Mila Andonova ◽  
Vassil Nikolov
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Salt Production ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Late Chalcolithic ◽  
South Eastern Europe ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
The Relationship

Evidence for both basket weaving and salt production is often elusive in the prehistoric archaeological record. An assemblage of Middle–Late Chalcolithic pottery from Provadia-Solnitsata in Bulgaria provides insight into these two different technologies and the relationship between them. The authors analyse sherds from vessels used in large-scale salt production, the bases of which bear the impression of woven mats. This analysis reveals the possible raw materials used in mat weaving at Provadia-Solnitsata and allows interpretation of the role of these mats in salt production at the site. The results illustrate how it is possible to see the ‘invisible’ material culture of prehistoric south-eastern Europe and its importance for production and consumption.

scholarly journals The Environmental Dimensions of Islam

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-116
Author(s):  
Soumaya Pernilla Ouis
Keyword(s):  
Human Beings ◽  
Senior Lecturer ◽  
Islamic Studies ◽  
Divine Origin ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The University ◽  
Positive Force

Dr. Mawil Izzi Dien, Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University ofWales, has been writing about Islam and environmental issues for almosttwo decades. The Environmental Dimensions of Islam is a summary of hisprevious writings presented together with new additions. Izzi Dien is oneof the most prominent scholars in the new discourse of Islamic ecotheology,although he himself seldom refers to other Muslim scholars in this field,which somehow gives the wrong impression that he is the only one amongMuslims dealing with environmental issues.After a short introductory chapter, Izzi Dien discusses in chapter 2"The Environment and Its Components in Islam." This chapter gives aninformative introduction to Qur'anic terminology on various environmentalcomponents and their status in Islam, such as water, earth, living organisms,diversity and biogeological cycles.This Qur'anic terminology is further developed in chapter 3, deaLingwith theology pertaining to the environment. This chapter deals with issuessuch as the question of creation and the unseen and the Divine origin ofeverything: constancy, comprehensiveness, balance, and universal laws innature as the Creation. I sympathize with much of the argument presentedregarding the role of human beings in Creation, i.e., their trusteeship, partnershipand responsibility. This chapter would have been strengthened by adiscussion of the accusations from the environmental movement that themonotheistic religions represent an anthropocentric, and thus problematic,view of nature. For instance, the idea expressed in the Qur'an that God madenature subservient 􀀱·akhkhara) to human beings may be criticized (seeQur'anic verses 2:29; 45:12-13; and 14:33-34), but the author chooses notto discuss this concept at all or to refer to other scholars' criticisms.Another problem is his unusual definition of positivism, a philosophyheld accountable for promoting a hegemonic position of science associatedwith a problematic view of nature. He sees positivism as something thatIslam promotes, as in his view, it implies that human beings "are an active,positive force placed on this earth to construct, improve, and reform it." lnthe Qur'an we read about examples of how people who destroyed their ownhabitat were punished by God in the form of ecocatastrophes ...

Revelation and Political Philosophy

1993 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-250
Author(s):  
Charles Butterworth
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Islamic Fundamentalism ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Cultural Origins ◽  
The Relationship

This is a "work in progress" presentation based on mearch I am nowconducting about the development of Islamic political philosophy duringthe classical period of Islam. My contention is that a better understandingof that tradition puts the current debate about Islamic fundamentalism orresurgence into a new perspective. Behind the sensational, popular demandsfor greater adherence to the strictures of the revealed law of Islamlies an issue of fundamental importance: how divine revelation is to beunderstd and interpreted for political guidance. Those who developedIslamic political philosophy spoke directly to this issue and did so in amanner that merits the attention of contemporary Muslim activists, scholarsinterested in Islam, and thoughtful human beings in general. Theythought clearly about the relationship between religious belief andpolitical practice because they addressed the issue ditectly and withoutpreconceptions. Consequently, whatever our religious and cultural origins,we can benefit greatly from their teaching.One of my goals is to refocus current social science scholarship whileengaging Muslim scholars in debate on topics they deem urgent. Lately,there have been many, perhaps too many, reports and prognostics concerningthe success of resurgent Islam as well as the challenges it posesto Middle Eastern and western regimes. Such studies invariably talkabout, rather than with, those calling for greater attention to Islamic preceptsand practices; they presuppose and reinforce an attitude of "us" and"our valued' vetSUS "them" and "their values." Such a posture not onlyfosters antagonism and misunderstanding, it also ignores the way Muslimsare now addressing this complex phenomenon.Indeed, for almost a decade, Muslims trained in the West have beeninvestigating how western learning, especially the social sciences, illuminatestraditional Islamic sciences and vice versa. This task addresses, atthe highest level, the issue behind the call for application of the Shari'ahand offers the best Contemporary possibility of achieving some kind ofintercultural understanding. It offers those interested in western and Islamicculture a unique opportunity to delve mare deeply into another cultureand thereby understand the other and their own culture better.Another goal is to investigate how philosophers within the classicalperiod of Islam understood revelation and its outward manifestationprophecy-to influence political life. While mast scholars recognize the ...

Between Mind and Brain:Final and Efficient Causation in Relation to Neuroplasticity

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-208
Author(s):  
Derrick L. Hassert
Keyword(s):  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Rational Behavior ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Efficient Causation ◽  
Final Causes ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Behavior And Cognition

Reductionism is usually taken for granted in many areas of science, neuroscience and psychology being no exceptions. It is often assumed as scientific orthodoxy that human behavior can be reduced to “what the brain does” without recourse to a consideration of cognition. Although many philosophers and ethicists may seek to reduce or eliminate the concept of mind, other philosophers and ethicists have continually pointed out the logical inconsistencies of such an approach. Via a discussion of efficient and final causes in Aristotelian philosophy, I seek to argue that the understanding of human beings as rational and social creatures has guided and should continue to guide our approach to the care and treatment of the mentally ill. Observations concerning rational behavior and cognition, by necessity, have provided the benchmarks by which clinicians evaluate the effectiveness of somatic/pharmacological or psychological/ behavioral interventions: Eliminative reductionism is inappropriate in this area. In approaching issues pertaining to the relationship between human cognitive functioning and neural functioning, the distinction between capacity and vehicle will be used. However, the fact that mental and behavioral functioning can alter neuronal functioning (and vice versa) necessitates that those working with the mentally ill need to know both the efficient causes—the vehicles of certain capacities—and the role of the capacities themselves and how they relate to possible final causes in giving explanations for behavior. These issues become more significant when considering the ethics of treatment choice for those with mental disorders.

Sex steroids-induced neurogenesis in adult brain: a better look at mechanisms and mediators

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamideh Abotalebi ◽  
Babak Ebrahimi ◽  
Raziyeh Shahriyari ◽  
Reyhaneh Shafieian
Keyword(s):  
Sex Steroids ◽  
Ventricular Zone ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Adult Brain ◽  
Sex Steroid ◽  
Subgranular Zone ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Adult neurogenesis is the production of new nerve cells in the adult brain. Neurogenesis is a clear example of the neuroplasticity phenomenon which can be observed in most of mammalian species, including human beings. This phenomenon occurs, at least, in two regions of the brain: the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus in hippocampus and the ventricular zone of lateral ventricles. Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between sex steroid hormones and neurogenesis of adult brain; of which, mostly concentrated on the role of estradiol. It has been shown that estrogen plays a significant role in this process through both classic and non-classic mechanisms, including a variety of different growth factors. Therefore, the objective of this review is to investigate the role of female sex steroids with an emphasis on estradiol and also its potential implications for regulating the neurogenesis in the adult brain.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Phillip Brown
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Alternative Theory ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Changing Economy ◽  
The Relationship

This introductory chapter outlines an alternative theory of human capital based on job scarcity rather than labor scarcity. This is done in the context of a changing economy, wherein orthodox human capital theory has resulted in credential hyperinflation. The new human capital proposes to address challenges presented by global competition, new technologies, and economic inequalities. To develop an alternative theory, the chapter reexamines the role of human beings and their relationship to capital. It argues that the story of human capital represents a conflict at the very heart of capitalism, where the outcome is yet to be decided. The new human capital involves rethinking supply, demand, and return, and in doing so highlights a fundamental change in the relationship between them.

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