The nature of the animacy organization in human ventral temporal cortex

The principles underlying the animacy organization of the ventral temporal cortex (VTC) remain hotly debated, with recent evidence pointing to an animacy continuum rather than a dichotomy. What drives this continuum? According to the visual categorization hypothesis, the continuum reflects the degree to which animals contain animal-diagnostic features. By contrast, the agency hypothesis posits that the continuum reflects the degree to which animals are perceived as (social) agents. Here, we tested both hypotheses with a stimulus set in which visual categorizability and agency were dissociated based on representations in convolutional neural networks and behavioral experiments. Using fMRI, we found that visual categorizability and agency explained independent components of the animacy continuum in VTC. Modeled together, they fully explained the animacy continuum. Finally, clusters explained by visual categorizability were localized posterior to clusters explained by agency. These results show that multiple organizing principles, including agency, underlie the animacy continuum in VTC.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, code+data at - https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/VXWG9 Update - added supplementary results and edited abstrac

Паттерны и механизмы лексических изменений в языках симбиотических сообществ: термины родства в Карашево (Банат, Румыния)

This article deals with the ethnolinguistic situation in one of the most archaic areas of language and cultural contact between South Slavic and Eastern Romance populations — the Karashevo microregion in Banat, Romania. For the first time, the lexical-semantic group of kinship terms in the Krashovani dialects from the Slavic-speaking village of Carașova and the Romanian-speaking village of Iabalcea is being analysed in a comparative perspective as two separate linguistic codes which “serve” the same local culture. The main goal of the research was to investigate patterns of borrowing mechanisms which could link lexical (sub)systems of spiritual cultureunder the conditions of intimate language contact in symbiotic communities. It will be shown that, in such situations, the equivalent translation becomes relevant as a specific strategy of linguistic code interrelationships. Even though kinship terminology in closely contacting dialectshas the potential to help linguists trace back the socio-historical conditions and outcomes of language contact (such as marriage patterns), linguistic methods have their limitations in the case of poorly documented vernaculars. These limitations could be overcome by compiling more data on “isocontacting” communities and, possibly, by analysing this data using quantitative tools.DOI: 10.31168/2305-6754.2020.9.1.14Статья посвящена этнолингвистической ситуации в зоне древнего языкового и культурного контакта южнославянского и восточнороманского населения — микрорегионе Карашево в Банате, Румыния. Впервые лексико-семантические группы терминов родства в карашевских диалектах славяноязычного с. Карашево и румыноязычного с. Ябалча анализируются в сравнительной перспективе как два различных языковых кода, которые «обслуживают» единую локальную кульуру. Основная цель исследования — выяснить, какие паттерны и механизмы заимствования могут связывать лексические (под)системы духовной культуры в условиях тесного языкового контакта в симбиотических сообществах. Сообщается, что в таких ситуациях релевантно выделение эквивалентного перевода в качестве особой стратегии взаимодействия языковых кодов. Терминология родства в языках тесно контактирующих сообществ в большинстве случаев может помочь лингвистам проследить социо-исторические условия и последствия языкового контакта (например, брачные стратегии), однако чисто лингвистические методы обладают некоторыми ограничениями в случае плохо задокументированных идиомов. Эти ограничения могут быть преодолены с помощью привлечения большего количества данных из «изоконтактирующих» сообществ, а также, возможно, с помощью методик количественного анализа.DOI: 10.31168/2305-6754.2020.9.1.1

Socio-technocratic discourse of technoscience

The paper is focused on specific features of social science development on new stage defined as postnonclassical paradigm of social sciences. Specific features of knowledge acquiring and development in postnonclassical paradigm of social sciences are revealed. It is highlighted that postnonclassical paradigm of scientificity correlates with the stage called “technoscience”. It is proved that in frames of the present system of scientific knowledge classification (classical, nonclassical and postnonclassical scientific paradigms) that includes natural, social and technical sciences, technoscience cannot be referred to any of these types of knowledge. Technoscience represents new concept of knowledge production, new socio-technocratic discourse. The specific character of technoscience is in the fact that its objects are not objective reality in Cartesian dualistic worldview, but so called “human-dimension” objects. New stage of integration of science and society is characterized by new methodology of transdisciplinary research. Transdisciplinary research in comparison with interdisciplinary are distinguished by gateway to life practice; it is socially allocated production of knowledge. Knowledge is produced not only in context of inventions and fundamental rationales, but as well in context of assessment of application consequences (social assessment of technology). In is highlighted that technoscience refers to activity in frames of which science and technology make a sort of mixture or hybrid. Technoscience can be interpreted as specifically contemporary phenomenon, social technology in its own way