Don’t blame the norms! On the challenges of ecological rationality

Enlightenment thinkers viewed logic and mathematical probability as the hallmarks of rationality. In psychological research on human (ir)rationality, human subjects are typically held accountable to this arcane ideal of Reason. If people fall short of these traditional standards, as indeed they often do, they are biased or irrational. Recent work in the program of ecological rationality, however, aims to rehabilitate human reason, and to upturn our traditional conception of rationality in the process. Put bluntly, these researchers are turning the tables on the traditionalist, showing that human reasoning often outperforms complex algorithms based on the traditional canons of rationality. If human reason still appears paltry from the vantage point of capital-R Rationality, then so much the worse for Rationality. Maybe the norms themselves are in need of revision. Perhaps human reasoning is better than rational. Though we welcome the naturalization of human reason, we argue that this backlash against the classical norms of rationality is uncalled for. Ecological rationality presents two apparent challenges to the traditional canons of rationality. In both cases, we contend, the norms emerge unscathed. In the first category, norms of rationality that appear violated by individual reasoners, re-emerge at the level of evolutionary adaptation. In the second category, the norms under challenge simply turn out to be not applicable to the case at hand. Moreover, we should keep in mind that, when they are assessing the efficiency of human reasoning, advocates of ecological rationality still use the traditional norms of rationality as a benchmark. We conclude that, even if we accept all the fascinating findings garnered by the advocates of ecological rationality (and there is ample reason to do so), we need not be taken in by the rhetoric against classical rationality, or the false opposition between logical and ecological rationality. When the dust has settled, the norms are still standing

Quantification of GSTpi and JNK protein-protein interactions using backscatter interferometry

Protein-protein interactions play a critical role in sustaining life and diseases can often result from mis-regulation of these protein-protein interactions. The interaction between glutathione S-transferase pi (GSTpi) and c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) is such a system that has been linked to cancer. GSTpi normally functions in the body to detoxify cells by removing foreign compounds, and JNKs participate in the Mitogen Activated Protein (MAP) kinase cascade, whose effects range from cell proliferation to programmed cell death (i.e., apoptosis). GSTpi is known to inhibit the apoptotic behavior of JNK proteins, which in turn can lead to cancer. It is hypothesized that GSTpi does so by binding directly to JNKs, and that this interaction depends upon factors such as the haplotype of GSTpi, or whether the JNKs are phosphorylated. It is then believed that such variables affect the affinity of these proteins for one another. However, these interactions have only been identified qualitatively. Thus, understanding quantitatively the interactions of GSTpi with JNKs in regards to these factors provides crucial insight towards manipulating the pathway for chemotherapies. This project is aimed at determining the binding affinity constants of GSTpi and JNK proteins with relations to the above variables. To achieve this goal, we will use Backscatter Interferometry (BSI), a very sensitive technique that utilizes very small amount of sample and does not require labeling. We have successfully expressed and purified a number of the necessary proteins to complete the study. Namely, we have purified GSTpi and the inactive (unphosphorylated) forms of JNK1α2 and JNK2α2, which are two isoforms that have been shown to bind to GSTpi. We have also obtained the active/phosphorylated form of JNK1α2 and JNK2α2, referred to as pJNK1α2/pJNK2α2 as we plan to study the effect of phosphorylation levels of JNKs on binding to GSTpi. We are currently in the process of purifying pJNKs. We were also able to obtain preliminary BSI data with GSTpi and JNK1α2 alone in solution, demonstrating the efficacy of BSI for use with small quantities of proteins. More testing is underway with GSTpi and the phosphorylated version of JNK1α2 and JNK2α2

Religion and morality

The relationship between religion and morality has long been hotly debated. Does religion make us more moral? Is it necessary for morality? Do moral inclinations emerge independently of religious intuitions? These debates, which nowadays rumble on in scientific journals as well as in public life, have frequently been marred by a series of conceptual confusions and limitations. Many scientific investigations have failed to decompose “religion” and “morality” into theoretically grounded elements; have adopted parochial conceptions of key concepts—in particular, sanitized conceptions of “prosocial” behavior; and have neglected to consider the complex interplay between cognition and culture. We argue that to make progress, the categories “religion” and “morality” must be fractionated into a set of biologically and psychologically cogent traits, revealing the cognitive foundations that shape and constrain relevant cultural variants. We adopt this fractionating strategy, setting out an encompassing evolutionary framework within which to situate and evaluate relevant evidence. Our goals are twofold: to produce a detailed picture of the current state of the field, and to provide a road map for future research on the relationship between religion and morality

A computational model of the Capgras delusion

A brief outline of a computational model to explain the formation of delusional beliefs in Capgras syndrome

Psychological factors in retrograde amnesia: self-deception and a broken heart

We explored potential contributing psychological factors in a patient (‘XF’) with focal retrograde amnesia, within the framework proposed by Kopelman (2000). In particular, we investigated the psychological trait of self-enhancement. We constructed a self-report questionnaire measure of self-enhancement and compared XF’s score on this measure with the scores of 61 control participants. XF was found to have a significantly greater level of self-enhancement than the entire control group, and also than a smaller sample of age- and sex-matched controls. We propose that heightened self-enhancement may reflect a premorbid tendency that potentially predisposes individuals to develop retrograde amnesia

Scaling Up Local Development Initiatives: Brazil's Food Acquisition Programme

__Abstract__ Global poverty largely remains a rural phenomenon. Close to 70 per cent of the developing world’s 1.4 billion people living in extreme poverty inhabit rural areas (IFAD, 2011). Further, agriculture is found to be a source of livelihood for over 80 per cent of rural people, highlighting the importance of supporting this activity as a means to fight poverty (World Bank, 2007; IFAD, 2011). This is darkly ironic: rural areas are where most of the world’s food is produced and also where the majority of the world’s extreme poor and malnourished reside. Poverty in rural areas stems from a diverse set of shortcomings such as: lack of adequate public investments in infrastructure, storage and market facilities coupled with disadvantages rooted in historical inequities, agricultural, land tenure and credit policies and economic factors that have a bearing on the distribution of assets, productive resources and access to credit and markets. Rural livelihoods are also based on a wide range of activities ranging from agricultural production to off-farm wage labour, and these vary across agro-climatic zones, land tenure arrangements, regions and cultures. The growing frequency of extreme weather events and recent increases in global financial and commodity price volatility—with sharp price rises particularly since 2006 (FAO et. al., 2011: 8)—have heightened the obstacles that rural producers, particularly poor, already face in many regions and have also contributed to severe localised food insecurity

The 'State' of Food Sovereignty in Latin America: Political Projects and Alternative Pathways in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia

__abstract__ The concept of food sovereignty has been enshrined in a number of countries’ Constitutions around the world without any clear consensus around what state-sponsored ‘food sovereignty’ initiatives might entail given the complexity and interconnectedness of the global food system. In the vanguard of this movement at the national level has been the so-called ‘pink tide’ of Latin America – namely Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia. As a constitutional right, food sovereignty presents a significant opening to promote a citizen’s revolution of the food system, but is such a proposal possible or desirable as a top-down initiative? The concept itself is inherently peopleled as it implies constructing (or deconstructing) a food system that is defined, led, controlled, and accessed in a culturally appropriate and ecologically sustainable way by local people in a given territory. At the same time, state intervention is a necessary function to confront the global food system, dismantle unequal agrarian structures, and recognize the autonomy of people and communities in defining and controlling their food and agricultural systems. In different geographies and societies of food sovereignty, it is necessary to evaluate how state and social actors interact in the pursuit of a national food sovereignty strategy, with particular attention to the relations of control and access to decision-making and physical resources