Some reflections on the methodology of philosophy

Se defiende la tesis metafilosófica de que las tres principales áreas de cualquier reflexión filosófica son: la ontología, la epistemología y la semántica (filosófica). Hasta cierto punto, ellas pueden ser tratadas independientemente las unas de las otras, pero a partir de cierto nivel de complejidad en el análisis, hay que tomar en cuenta sus relaciones mutuas.The metaphilosophical thesis is put forth that the three main areas of any serious philosophical reflection are: ontology, epistemology, and (philosophical) semantics. To some extent, they can be dealt with independently from each other, but on a certain level of sophistication in the analysis, their mutual relationships have to be taken into account

Carta abierta a los Directores de Isegoría

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A natureza e a estrutura das teorias científicas

In philosophy of science two questions become central in the discussion of the nature of empirical science: 1) What is a (scientific) theory, i.e. how is it built up, how does it work? And: 2) How does a theory relate to its corresponding experiential basis? To deal with these two questions modern philosophy of science has devised various (meta-theoretical) ‘models’ on the nature and working of scientific theories. Some aspects of these models are widely held within the community of philosophers of science, but others are still being discussed quite controversially. In this paper, we will consider both kinds of aspects. Particularly, we will analyze how the meaning of scientific concepts is determined; the axiomatic construction of a scientific theory; the idea of model building views as a bridge between theory and experience; the holistic semantic thesis of science; the question about the truth of scientific theories and, finally, the hierarchic structure of theories.Na filosofia da ciência duas questões tornam-se centrais na discussão da natureza da ciência empírica: 1) o que é uma teoria (científica)? Ou seja, como é construída, como funciona? E, 2) como é que uma teoria se relaciona com sua base experiencial correspondente? Para lidar com estas duas questões, a moderna filosofia da ciência concebeu vários “modelos” (metateóricos) sobre a natureza e o funcionamento das teorias científicas. Alguns aspectos desses modelos são amplamente aceitos pela comunidade de filósofos da ciência, mas outros ainda estão sendo discutidos de forma bastante controversa. Neste artigo, vamos considerar ambos tipos de aspectos. Particularmente, analisaremos como o significado dos conceitos científicos é determinado; a construção axiomática de uma teoria científica; a ideia de construção de modelos como uma ponte entre a teoria e a experiência; a tese semântica holística da ciência; a questão sobre a verdade das teorias científicas e, finalmente, a estrutura hierárquica das teorias

Crispaciones hispánicas (Reflexiones en torno a la terapia antinacionalista de Aurelio Arteta)

This is a reply to the criticisms made by Aurelio Arteta in his article «Un nacionalista en apuros» to my essay «Manifiesto nacionalista», both published in this same journal. I answer in detail to the objections laid out by Arteta and I identify this author’s position as a kind of «counter-nationalism» (in the sense defined in my essay): Arteta has to acknowledge the empirical reality of nations (as entities different from States) and, consequently, his rejection of nationalism may only be founded on his rejection of the positive value of cultural diversity (which includes national diversity). Against Arteta, I argue that cultural pluralism, and in particular nationalism is not incompatible with a democratic spirit, nor does it imply any sort of relativism. In the final part of my article I make some brief remarks on the roots of nationalism within the Spanish State.Ésta es una respuesta a la crítica que Aurelio Arteta hace en su artículo «Un nacionalista en apuros» a mi ensayo «Manifiesto nacionalista», ambos aparecidos en esta misma revista. Respondo detalladamente a las objeciones presentadas por Arteta e identifico la posición del autor como la de un «contranacionalista» (en la acepción definida en mi ensayo): Arteta tiene que admitir la realidad empírica de las naciones (como entidades diferentes de los Estados) y, por tanto, su rechazo del nacionalismo sólo puede estar fundado en un rechazo del valor positivo de la diversidad cultural (que contiene la diversidad nacional). Arguyo, en contra de Arteta, que el pluralismo cultural, y en particular el nacionalismo, ni es incompatible con un espíritu democrático, ni conlleva relativismo alguno. En la parte final de mi artículo hago unas breves observaciones sobre las raíces del nacionalismo en el seno del Estado español

Principios-guía y leyes especiales: Una distinción muy fructífera (y muy difícil de elucidar)

La finalidad de este trabajo es revisar una de las nociones centrales de la metateoría estructuralista, la noción de principio-guía, mostrar su fecundidad para abordar algunas cuestiones centrales tanto de filosofía general como de filosofía especial de la ciencia, así como de historia de la filosofía de la ciencia, y, por último, revisar y valorar algunas propuestas de elucidación de la misma. La conclusión es que se trata de una noción tan fructífera como difícil de analizar.O objetivo deste trabalho é revisar uma das noções centrais da metateoria estruturalista, a noção de princípio-guia, mostrar sua fecundidade para abordar algumas questões centrais tanto da filosofia geral quanto da filosofia especial da ciência, bem como da história da filosofia da ciência, e, finalmente, rever e avaliar algumas propostas para sua elucidação. A conclusão é que esta é uma noção tão frutífera quanto difícil de analisar

Time series prediction via aggregation : an oracle bound including numerical cost

We address the problem of forecasting a time series meeting the Causal Bernoulli Shift model, using a parametric set of predictors. The aggregation technique provides a predictor with well established and quite satisfying theoretical properties expressed by an oracle inequality for the prediction risk. The numerical computation of the aggregated predictor usually relies on a Markov chain Monte Carlo method whose convergence should be evaluated. In particular, it is crucial to bound the number of simulations needed to achieve a numerical precision of the same order as the prediction risk. In this direction we present a fairly general result which can be seen as an oracle inequality including the numerical cost of the predictor computation. The numerical cost appears by letting the oracle inequality depend on the number of simulations required in the Monte Carlo approximation. Some numerical experiments are then carried out to support our findings

Changes in salivary estradiol predict changes in women’s preferences for vocal masculinity

Although many studies have reported that women’s preferences for masculine physical characteristics in men change systematically during the menstrual cycle, the hormonal mechanisms underpinning these changes are currently poorly understood. Previous studies investigating the relationships between measured hormone levels and women’s masculinity preferences tested only judgments of men’s facial attractiveness. Results of these studies suggested that preferences for masculine characteristics in men’s faces were related to either women’s estradiol or testosterone levels. To investigate the hormonal correlates of within-woman variation in masculinity preferences further, here we measured 62 women’s salivary estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone levels and their preferences for masculine characteristics in men’s voices in five weekly test sessions. Multilevel modeling of these data showed that changes in salivary estradiol were the best predictor of changes in women’s preferences for vocal masculinity. These results complement other recent research implicating estradiol in women’s mate preferences, attention to courtship signals, sexual motivation, and sexual strategies, and are the first to link women’s voice preferences directly to measured hormone levels