Stroud, Austin, and Radical Skepticism

Is ruling out the possibility that one is dreaming a requirement for a knowledge claim? In “Philosophical Scepticism and Everyday Life” (1984), Barry Stroud defends that it is. In “Others Minds” (1970), John Austin says it is not. In his defense, Stroud appeals to a conception of objectivity deeply rooted in us and with which our concept of knowledge is intertwined. Austin appeals to a detailed account of our scientific and everyday practices of knowledge attribution. Stroud responds that what Austin says about those practices is correct in relation to the appropriateness of making knowledge claims, but that the skeptic is interested in the truth of those claims. In this paper, we argue that Stroud’s defense of the alleged requirement smuggles in a commitment to a kind of internalism, which asserts that the perceptual justification available to us can be characterized independently of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. In our reading of Austin, especially of Sense & Sensibilia, he rejects that kind of internalism by an implicit commitment to what is called today a “disjunctive” view of perception. Austin says that objectivity is an aspect of knowledge, and his disjunctivism is part of an explanation of why the alleged requirement is not necessary for a knowledge claim. Since both Stroud and Austin are committed to the objectivity of knowledge, Stroud may ask which view of perceptual knowledge is correct, whether the internalist or the disjunctive. We argue that by paying closer attention to what Austin says about our practices of knowledge attribution, one can see more clearly that it is grounded not only on a conception of objectivity, but also on a conception of ourselves as information agents, a conception that is as deeply rooted as that of the objectivity of knowledge. This gives us moral and practical reasons to favor the disjunctive view of perception

INDICADORES DE AVALIAÇÃO DE DESEMPENHO ECONÔMICO EM COOPERATIVAS AGROPECUÃRIAS: UM ESTUDO EM COOPERATIVAS PAULISTAS

The objective of this work was to identify the main economic and financial indicators which should be considered in the evaluation of the performance of agricultural cooperatives. Cooperatives have two dimensions, social and economic, and studies have shown that, in agricultural cooperatives, the social performance is a consequence of the economic performance. Therefore, the performance of these entities was evaluated using economic and financial indicators. Applying the Factor Analysis statistical technique to 150 financial statements of agricultural cooperatives from São Paulo state, from 2001 to 2006, it was possible to find out the level of correlation among several indicators, as well as to group them into factors. Four main factors were found by combining indicators. It can be concluded that the application of factorial analysis made the choice of the key indicators more objective. Grouping these indicators into factors made it possible to analyze simultaneously various indicators and the classification and comparison of the performance of the agricultural cooperatives was more objective.economical indicators, factor analysis, performance., Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Industrial Organization,

Stress in Organizations: between Efficiency and the Institutionalization of Fear

Sometimes organizations described as benevolent, focusing on stable procedures and cordial relations are regarded as examples of collective indolence and likely to be out-competed by aggressive, merciless and stress-prone organizations. In this paper we suggest that some managers and organizations follow a requisite stress principle, according to which stress inside organizations is treated as a variable to be equated to the stress level perceived to prevail in the institutionalized environment the organization operates. We thus predict the relationship between stress-inducing practices, individual responses and performance to be recursively explained. When organizations induce stress at levels that are different from those admitted institutionally as normal levels, there will be a negative response to this induction. When induced stress levels are considered excessive, activities will be inhibited because fear will control the capacity of people to deal with situations and act in an appropriate manner. The validity of this principle implies that control of stress in organizations is as complex as the level of stress in society: it will depend on the control of stress levels coming from society. The principle consequently puts an end to any management aspirations to use stress as a managing mechanism and for inducing behavior

SAÚDE E SEUS ATRAVESSAMENTOS

A saúde e seu campo de atuação apresentam umarealidade de atravessamento amplo, sendo demarcadopela Organização Mundial da Saúde como um conjunto defatores físico, mental e social que, por si, se expressam emum ambiente e demarca uma interdisciplinaridade. Esteartigo enfoca a importância da saúde vinculada ao ambiente,a interdisciplinaridade e alguns conceitos, a área de saúdee também a formação de profissionais de saúde com umavisão que considere o ambiente em suas diversas realidades.Foi realizado um levantamento bibliográfico, leitura e analisede artigos e livros. O tema se justificativa pela importânciada ampla ação e intervenção da área de saúde vinculadadiretamente ao ambiente. Observa-se que saúde é um fatorque está entrelaçado ao meio ambiente, seja da naturezaambiental local ou global, econômico, social ou da realidadesubjetiva que envolve o individuo e, por esse motivo, éessencialmente uma realidade de entendimento e práticainterdisciplinar. Ao se negar esta visão, se nega a saúde.Considera-se, portanto, que o capitalismo possa excitar adisputa de poder e reserva de mercado comprometendoa interdisciplinaridade, a formação de profissionais e oentendimento da saúde e ambiente

Textos Selecionados de Filosofia das Emoções

Esse volume consiste em traduções de verbetes da Enciclopédia Stanford de Filosofia que dizem respeito à Filosofia das Emoções. Trata-se de um volume de orientação história, que visa desfazer o mito de que emoções foram objetos menores de análise filosófica antes da contemporaneidade, resgatando assim a grande riqueza de teorias e reflexões sobre emoções e afetos na filosofia antiga, medieval, renascentista, moderna e indiana

Carotenoids in Yellow Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkins and Yellow Sweet Cassava

Carotenoids are the most widespread pigments in nature, extremely important for human health, but are highly unstable molecules especially when exposed to light, oxygen and heat. Many authors report the carotenoid\u27s importance, mainly its pro‐vitamin A (α‐ and β‐carotene) and, additionally, the antioxidant capacity of some of them. Currently, more than 600 carotenoids are known and characterized by their chemical structures. In vegetables, common pro‐vitamin A carotenoids include β‐carotene and its 9, 13 and 15 isomers, α‐carotene and β‐cryptoxanthin. Other common carotenoids such as lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin do not have pro‐vitamin A activity but serve as natural antioxidants. They are found in many fruits and vegetables such as carrots, yellow sweet potatoes, yellow sweet cassava and pumpkins. Normally, in these plant materials, the β‐carotene is the most abundant. It is still used as natural food coloring, which is not very expensive, since enough 3–5 g of β‐carotene is used to impart a yellow color characteristic of a ton of margarine. There is also a description of its importance in the formation of compounds responsible for flavors that are of interest fragrance and food industries. The purpose of this chapter is to report the presence of pro‐vitamin A carotenoids, mainly the β‐carotene in pumpkins, yellow sweet potato and yellow sweet and bitter cassava

Intralenticular Metal Foreign Body: Case Report.

Intralenticular foreign bodies comprise about 5% to 10% of all intraocular foreign bodies and can result in serious complications. The management depends on some factors like size, location, material type and the risk of infection. We present a patient with an intralenticular metal foreign body in the left eye that, following initial treatment with topical steroid and antibiotic, underwent lens aspiration with removal of the intralenticular foreign body and insertion of a posterior chamber intraocular lens with good visual outcome.69749-5