Znaczenie empirii jako podstawy wyjaśniania, prognozowania i praktyki w naukach społecznych

The considerations presented in the article are to be an impulse to reflect on the foundations on which modern scientific discoveries are based. The aim of the analysis is to present a number of doubts as to the accuracy and perfection of contemporary research results in social sciences, in particular in the discipline of political science. In social reality there are still many limitations both on the part of the human being as the subject examining reality and the imperfections of the tools he uses. The article discusses attitudes towards scientific dispute consisting in the clash of the scientific paradigm based on empiricism and positivism with postmodern interpretivism within the hermeneutic paradigm will soon end.

What Does it Mean to be a Woman in Sports? An Analysis of the Jurisprudence of the Court of Arbitration for Sport

ABSTRACT This article explores the definition of ‘sportswoman’ as put forward in the Caster Semenya case (2019) and the Dutee Chand case (2015) before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). It analyses the structural and discursive factors that made it possible for the CAS to endorse a definition that reduces sex and gender to a matter concerning testosterone. By relying on the concept of intersectionality and analytical sensibilities from Critical Legal Studies, the article shows that framing the cases as a matter of scientific dispute, instead of as concerning human rights, significantly influenced the CAS decisions. Moreover, structural elements of international sports law, such as the lack of knowledge of human rights among CAS arbitrators and a history of institutionalising gendered and racialised body norms through sporting regulations, further aided the affirmation of the ‘testosterone rules’.

The 1869 controversy of cellular theory: Goodsir versus Virchow

The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland’s national academy of science and letters and has been in existence since the eighteenth century. On 23 November 1868, a general meeting was held by the RSE at which members nominated the German academic, Professor Rudolf Virchow, as an Honorary Fellow in recognition of his key contributions to cellular theory. This nomination was opposed by the Reverend Joseph Taylor Goodsir, brother of the late Professor of Anatomy at Edinburgh University, John Goodsir. Reverend Goodsir went on to accuse the German professor of plagiarising his late brother’s pioneering work in the formulation of cell theory. The resultant furore created by the Reverend Goodsir led to an acrimonious scientific dispute in the Edinburgh medical establishment, then one of the leading centres of medical education. The current work describes the history of cellular theory as it pertains to John Goodsir and Rudolf Virchow, discusses the history behind the scientific dispute and interprets Reverend Joseph Taylor Goodsir’s role relating his actions to his continuing battle with mental illness, and the aftermath of the dispute as it affected the reputation of John Goodsir.

Curare: The Poisoned Arrow that Entered the Laboratory and Sparked a Moral Debate

Summary Curare, a paralysing poison derived from South American plants, fascinated European explorers with its deadly powers. Generations of travellers were perplexed by how animals affected by curare showed no signs of suffering. British experimenters relabelled curare as an anaesthetic and used it to restrain animals during experiments. But during the 19th century, doubts started to appear: can a paralysed animal feel pain but be unable to express it? A scientific dispute emerged as not all British physiologists accepted Claude Bernard’s claim that curare affected only the motor nerves. The scientific controversy over curare reached the British parliament, and the Cruelty to Animals Act (1876) stated that curare would not be considered an anaesthetic. Nevertheless, antivivisection advocates continued to contest its use for decades. The article reveals new aspects of colonial import of bioactive plants in a case that reshaped the production of medical knowledge and presented epistemological and moral challenges.

1 ML Wetting Layer upon Ga(As)Sb Quantum Dot (QD) Formation on GaAs Substrate Monitored with Reflectance Anisotropy Spectroscopy (RAS)

III/V semiconductor quantum dots (QD) are in the focus of optoelectronics research for about 25 years now. Most of the work has been done on InAs QD on GaAs substrate. But, e.g., Ga(As)Sb (antimonide) QD on GaAs substrate/buffer have also gained attention for the last 12 years. There is a scientific dispute on whether there is a wetting layer before antimonide QD formation, as commonly expected for Stransky-Krastanov growth, or not. Usually ex situ photoluminescence (PL) and atomic force microscope (AFM) measurements are performed to resolve similar issues. In this contribution, we show that reflectance anisotropy/difference spectroscopy (RAS/RDS) can be used for the same purpose as an in situ, real-time monitoring technique. It can be employed not only to identify QD growth via a distinct RAS spectrum, but also to get information on the existence of a wetting layer and its thickness. The data suggest that for antimonide QD growth the wetting layer has a thickness of 1 ML (one monolayer) only.

NIILISMO REPAGINADO?

O corpo é objeto de disputa política, religiosa, artística e, mais recentemente, científica. Neste sentido, este ensaio trás uma linha histórica apontando como o tema é encarado, bem como delineando o conjunto de significados, mitos e interditos relacionados ao corpo. No processo, tendo por bases autores da filosofia e sociologia clássicas de diferentes épocas, aponta para a possibilidade de uma retomada do niilismo, na busca de um ideal de corpo. Isso porque, ao se utilizar de técnicas ascéticas, os sujeitos envoltos na dinâmica dão uma dimensão sagrada ao corpo, além de negar certos aspectos da vida, como a decrepitude e a impermanência, condições inalienáveis à dimensão humana. De acordo com a proposta do ensaio e baseado em diversos autores, o corpo volta a ocupar lugar central na sociedade – como já ocorreu na Grécia Clássica –, só que agora esvaziado de sua dimensão política e social. PALAVRAS-CHAVES: Corpo; niilismo; fotografía; ensaio. ABSTRACT The body is the object of political, religious, artistic and, more recently, scientific dispute. In this sense, this essay draws a historical line pointing out how the theme is viewed, as well as delineating the set of meanings, myths and interdicts related to the body. In the process, based on classical philosophical and sociological authors of different epochs, it points to the possibility of a resumption of nihilism in the search for an ideal of the body. This is because, when using ascetic techniques, the subjects involved in the dynamics give a sacred dimension to the body, besides denying certain aspects of life, such as decrepitude and impermanence, conditions inalienable to the human dimension. According to the proposal of the essay and based on several authors, the body returns to occupy central place in the society - as already occurred in Classical Greece -, but now emptied of its political and social dimension. KEYWORDS: Body; nihilism; photography; essay. RESUMEN El cuerpo es objeto de disputa política, religiosa, artística y, más recientemente, científica. En este sentido, este ensayo tras una línea histórica apuntando como el tema es encarado, así como delineando el conjunto de significados, mitos e interditos relacionados al cuerpo. En el proceso, teniendo por bases autores de la filosofía y sociología clásicas de diferentes épocas, apunta a la posibilidad de una retomada del nihilismo, en la búsqueda de un ideal de cuerpo. Por eso, cuando se utilizan técnicas ascéticas, los sujetos envueltos en la dinámica dan una dimensión sagrada al cuerpo, además de negar ciertos aspectos de la vida, como la decrepitud y la impermanencia, condiciones inalienables a la dimensión humana. De acuerdo con la propuesta del ensayo y basado en diversos autores, el cuerpo vuelve a ocupar un lugar central en la sociedad -como ya ocurrió en la Grecia Clásica-, sólo que ahora vaciado de su dimensión política y social. PALABRAS CLAVES: Cuerpo; niilismo; fotografia; ensayo.

“Counting votes” in public responses to scientific disputes

Publicized disputes between groups of scientists may force lay choices about groups’ credibility. One possible, little studied, credibility cue is vote-counting (proportions of scientists on either side): for example, “97%” of climate scientists believe in anthropogenic climate change. An online sample of 2600 Americans read a mock article about a scientific dispute, in a 13 (proportions: 100%–0%, 99%–1%, … 50%–50%, … 1%–99%, 0%–100% for Positions A and B, respectively) × 8 (scenarios: for example, dietary salt, dark matter) between-person experiment. Respondents reported reactions to the dispute, attitudes toward the topic, and views on science. Proportional information indirectly affected judged agreement but less so topic or science responses, controlling for scenarios and moderators, whether by actual proportions or differing contrasts of “consensus” versus “near-consensus.” Given little empirical research with conflicting findings, even these low effect sizes warrant further research on how vote-counting might help laypeople deal with scientific disputes.

The crisis of social market economy in the context of globalisation processes

In the context of globalisation processes, the social market economy (SME) is in crisis. A reflection on the features of this model is closely related to the scientific dispute over its designation. It could be perceived as a theory, a political programme, a sort of economic order, a structure, a model or a system of economic and social development. Sometimes it is perceived as an idealistic vision or even a political utopia (Niklas Luhmann). Others (e.g.: Peter Koslowski) argue that this system has come to an end. To support this thesis, they refer to various arguments: a lack of consensus on redistribution, a demographic crisis, the depletion of solidarity resources, an intergenerational imbalance that threatens retirement systems and many others. Despite the range of these arguments, it appears that the SME still has a certain potential that could be freed. Combating difficulties associated with globalisation processes, such as the dominance of the economy over politics, ‘tax starvation’ of the welfare state, marginalisation of trade unions, dispersion of ownership and its detachment from responsibility, “financialisation” of economy, or dominance of ‘casino capitalism’, could help to heal the SME. The crisis in financial markets might be paradoxically an opportunity to return to the ethical foundations of the SME.