Spinoza’s Monism I: Ruling Out Eternal-Durational Causation

In this essay, I suggest that Spinoza acknowledges a distinction between formal reality that is infinite and timelessly eternal and formal reality that is non-infinite (i. e., finite or indefinite) and non-eternal (i. e., enduring). I also argue that if, in Spinoza’s system, only intelligible causation is genuine causation, then infinite, timelessly eternal formal reality cannot cause non-infinite, non-eternal formal reality. A denial of eternal-durational causation generates a puzzle, however: if no enduring thing – not even the sempiternal, indefinite individual composed of all finite, enduring things – is caused by the infinite, eternal substance, then how can Spinoza consistently hold that the one infinite, eternal substance is the cause of all things and that all things are modes of that substance? At the end of this essay, I sketch how Spinoza could deny eternal-durational causation while still holding that an infinite, eternal God is the cause of all things and that all things are modes. I develop the interpretation more in the companion essay.1 1 In “Spinoza’s Monism II,” in the next issue of this journal.

Berkeley and Spinoza

There is a widespread assumption that Berkeley and Spinoza have little in common, even though early Jesuit critics in France often linked them. Later commentators have also recognized their similarities. This chapter focuses on how Berkeley’s comments on the Arnauld–Malebranche debate regarding objective and formal reality, and on his treatment of God’s creation of finite minds within nature relate his theory of knowledge to his doctrine in a way similar to that of Spinoza.

The Enduring Importance of Roman Ingarden for Reception Theory

There have been few philosophers in the 20th century more creative and profound and yet more obscure than Roman Ingarden. He anticipated many of the major philosophical questions that would dominate literary theory in the 1960s and 70s in Germany, France, and the United States. In this paper, I argue that his primary contribution to literary theory is an ontology that arcs deftly between the poles of idealism and realism with a nuanced way of upholding both the formal reality of the literary work of art and the subjective assessment of aesthetic value, all the while preserving the fundamental meaning-making function of language. It was this philosophical foundation that proved to be a fertile ground for later philosophers, like Hans Robert Jauss and Wolfgang Iser, who wanted to push back on what they saw as analogous forces to idealism and realism in the rigidity of formalism and Marxist materialism and the ostensible epistemological nihilism of the psychological hermeneutics.

Animal-Assisted Therapy as a Non-Pharmacological Approach in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Retrospective Study

Recently, many efforts have been made to assess the effectiveness of non-pharmacological therapies as an alternative or supportive option to conventional approaches. Specifically, animal-assisted therapy (AAT) has recently raised a great interest and large research efforts. This work represents a retrospective study carried out over seven years (from 2012 to 2019) in 127 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The patients were divided into three groups: an experimental group that received AAT interventions adapted to the formal reality orientation therapy (ROT), a group receiving a formal ROT, and a control group that did not perform any of the previous therapies. All sessions, for all patient groups, were held weekly for a total period of six months. The evaluation of cognitive function was performed through the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), while the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) assessed the depressive state. Test administration to all patients was performed before the start of the first session (T0) and after the last session (T1). The results obtained showed an improvement in the values in the GDS and MMSE tests. The variations between the average MMSE values between T1 and T0 were 0.94 ± 0.9 (SD), 0.15 ± 0.62, and −0.42 ± 0.45 in the AAT group, ROT group, and control (CTRL) group, respectively. The variations between the average GDS values between T1 and T0 were −1.12 ± 1.17 (SD), −0.42 ± 1.21, and 0.12 ± 0.66 in the AAT group, ROT group, and CTRL group, respectively. Based on our findings, we can therefore affirm how the study carried out confirms the potential of AAT performed by Federico II Model of Healthcare Zooanthropology, and particularly its efficacy in the treatment of cognitive deficits deriving from Alzheimer’s disease.

The Problem of Mind and Reason and Its Philosophical and Educational Solution by V.V. Davydov

The article considers the philosophical and educational solution to the problem of mind and reason in the work of V.V. Davydov. The authors’ attention is focused on the dialectic of the correlation of the categories of ‘reason’ and ‘mind’. It is argued that reason and mind appear not just as levels, but also as ways of thinking, ways of human world-relation. The basis for distinguishing between mind and reason is the presence in human activity of two levels: adaptive-using and creative-transformative. Reason works in opposition to the subject-object, while the mind has an attitude towards reality as a ‘subject’. External reason applies its scheme to the object, while mind transforms the form of its movement so that it corresponds to the essence of the matter. Reason is a formal culture of thinking, mind is entirely substantial. Reason as a way of thinking is generated by a practice that does not need to master its substantial (primarily social-historical, human) content — the practice of adaptation and use. It flourishes most magnificently in the conditions of reification of social relations, when they are separated from individuals and confront them as an external, alien, formal reality. V.V. Davydov’s achievment is the allocation of two types of generalization in educational activity: rational-empirical and reasonablе-theoretical, and the justification of the possibility and necessity of such a transformation of all didactics so that the teaching would contribute to the development of theoretical thinking. Only in this case can one seriously talk about developmental education.

A educação de pessoas privadas de liberdade numa perspectiva inclusiva e ressocializadora: limites e contradições

Este trabalho se propõe tecer reflexões teóricas sobre a educação no contexto de privação de liberdade, dando visibilidade para uma temática a ser enfrentada pelos educadores na academia. A educação das pessoas em situação de privação da liberdade enfrenta inúmeros desafios quer no âmbito político, quer no âmbito pedagógico. No âmbito político verifica-se as contradições voltadas para o conflito existente sobre a finalidade da educação do apenado, se serve promover a socialização ou a redução penal. No âmbito pedagógico, os desafios perpassam principalmente o nível da qualidade e da função educativa dentro do sistema penitenciário. Uma realidade tipicamente não-formal como é a prisão na maioria das vezes, possui como modelo educativo a reprodução de uma educação formal. A prisão e as unidades de cumprimento de medidas socioeducativas, são caracterizadas pela superpopulação, práticas continuadas de tortura contra os internos (as), espaço de descumprimento da legislação nacional e internacional de garantia dos direitos dos apenados (as) e de adolescentes em conflitos com a lei, espaços esses dominados pelo crime, pela promiscuidade de valores, de corrupção entre internos, agentes do Estado e demais elementos que compõem as relações nesses espaços. Frente a esses problemas identificou-se a urgência na adequação curricular com ênfase na reformulação e na formação inicial e em serviço dos professores. As instituições de ensino superior devem desenvolver um currículo que contemple satisfatoriamente discussões teóricas e práticas no âmbito de atuação no campo de estágios, bem como na sistematização de disciplinas voltadas às questões didático-pedagógicas que possibilitem refletir sobre a atuação docente neste contexto. A emergência de uma proposta curricular eficaz que atenda às necessidades educativas da pessoa privada de liberdade, contextualizada a sua realidade sociocultural, deve partir do pressuposto da existência de uma cultura carcerária que necessita ser considerada. O trabalho apresentou críticas epistêmicas às instituições de ensino superior que invisibilizam através de suas ações acadêmicas, realidades educativas semelhantes às do presídio. Os sistemas de ensino são desafiados a desenvolver articulações que rompam com a cultura de violência, e passem a se fundamentar numa educação em direitos humanos, a ser discutida e viabilizada dentro das unidades prisionais. Pontua-se que já existem algumas publicações de autores/as brasileiros/as que discutem a importância da educação prisional na modalidade EJA numa dimensão voltada à legitimação dos Direitos Humanos de detentos e as representações docentes neste campo educativo. Educação Prisional. Direitos humanos. Formação de educadores.Educação Prisional. Direitos humanos. Formação de educadoresAbstractThe education of persons deprived of their liberty in an inclusive and resocialising perspective: limits and contradictionsThis work proposes to weave theoretical reflections on education in the context of deprivation of liberty, giving visibility to a thematic to be faced by the educators in the academy. The education of people in situations of deprivation of liberty faces numerous challenges both in the political sphere and in the pedagogical field. In the political sphere, there are contradictions related to the existing conflict about the purpose of the education of the convicteds, whether it is useful to promote socialization or the reduction of penalties. In the pedagogical context, the challenges mainly cover the level of quality and the educational function within the penitentiary system. A typically non-formal reality such as imprisonment most often has as its educational model the reproduction of a formal education. Prison and socio-educational compliance units are characterized by overpopulation, continued practices of torture against the prison inmates, a breach of national and international legislation to guarantee the rights of the convicteds and of adolescents in conflicts with the law, spaces dominated by crime, the promiscuity of values, corruption among inmates, agents of the State and other elements that make up the relationships in these spaces. Faced with these problems, it was identified the urgency of curricular adequacy, with emphasis on reformulation and initial and in-service teacher training. Higher education institutions should develop a curriculum that satisfactorily contemplates theoretical and practical discussions within the field of internships, as well as in the systematization of disciplines focused on didactic-pedagogical issues that make it possible to reflect on the teaching performance in this context. The emergence of an effective curricular proposal that meets the educational needs of the person deprived of liberty, contextualized to their socio-cultural reality, must start from the presumption of the existence of a prison culture that needs to be considered. The work presented epistemic critiques to higher education institutions that erase, through their academic actions, educational realities similar to those of the prison. Education systems are challenged to develop articulations that break with the culture of violence, and begin to be based on human rights education, to be discussed and made feasible within the prisons. It is noted that there are already some publications of Brazilian authors that discuss the importance of prison education in the EJA (Adults and Young Adults Education) modality in a dimension focused on the legitimation of the Human Rights of detainees and the teaching representations in this educational field.Prison Education. Human rights. Training of educators.

Degradation, restitution and the elusive culture of rural-urban thinking

Despite fierce criticisms, ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ still constitute powerful narratives around which our society is structured. The ‘formal reality’, however, frequently disregards the cultural nature of these concepts, elevating them to the role of objective spaces apt to serve as acceptable guiding perspectives. While the analytical inadequacy of rural-urban ideations is well-documented, the phenomenon of formal-cultural conflation remains much less explored. Acknowledging that ideational space of social representations can only exist through the practices of discursive interaction, this paper’s objective is to lay bare the phenomenon of rural-urban thinking when externalized through the little-known practices of ‘degradation’ and ‘restitution’ in Poland. Using conceptual methods, including discourse analysis and historical deconstruction, this paper assays the hidden architectures of formal-cultural conflation by means of a richly contextualized analysis. The findings, presented in four discursive openings, reveal embedded elements of hierarchy, loss, injustice and self-victimization, which may create a divisive culture spawned by elusive promises of development at the cost of misinterpretations of history, local disappointment and cultural segmentation. In conclusion, formal appropriation of historical concepts is likely to engender a cultural geography of discord spun around a largely insignificant division, especially when development-oriented aspects of urbanization become entwined with emotional issues.

Causal Principles, Degrees of Reality, and the Priority of the Infinite

Descartes’ version of the Cosmological Argument in the Third Meditation is usually considered a failure, not because its conclusion doesn't follow from its premises, but because the truth of two of its premises is doubtful. One of these premises is that the objective reality of an idea is derived from a cause in which there is at least as much formal reality; the other, that only a being that possesses the qualities normally attributed to God could be responsible for the idea of God. Typically there are two objections made in response to the first of these premises. First, we don't understand the concepts of formal and objective reality well enough to know whether or not the premise commands our assent.