Whither Evidentialist Reliabilism?

Evidentialism and Reliabilism are two of the main contemporary theories of epistemic justification. Some authors have thought that the theories are not incompatible with each other, and that a hybrid theory which incorporates elements of both should be taken into account. More recently, other authors have argued that the resulting theory is well- placed to deal with fine-grained doxastic attitudes (credences). In this paper I review the reasons for adopting this kind of hybrid theory, paying attention to the case of credences and the notion of probability involved in their treatment. I argue that the notion of probability in question can only be an epistemic (or evidential) kind of probability. I conclude that the resulting theory will be incompatible with Reliabilism in one important respect: it cannot deliver on the reductivist promise of Reliabilism. I also argue that attention to the justification of basic beliefs reveals limitations in the Evidentialist framework as well. The theory that results from the right combination of Evidentialism and Reliabilism, therefore, is neither Evidentialist nor Reliabilist

Gas separation membranes made through thermal rearrangement of ortho methoxypolyimides

Producción CientíficaOrtho-methoxypolyimides were prepared by the classical chemical imidization method and also by azeotropic imidization, using 3,3’-dimethoxybenzidine (DMAB) and hexafluoroisopropylidene diphthalic anhydride (6FDA) as monomers. High molecular weights were achieved by both methods, and the physical properties of the materials were investigated by spectroscopic and thermal analytical techniques. Polymers exhibited excellent thermal properties and film-forming ability, which allowed them to be tested as dense membranes for gas separation after a convenient treatment at high temperature (450 °C) to promote thermal rearrangement (TR). Spectroscopic evidences indicated that the final composition of the TR materials seemed not to correspond to TR-polibenzoxazoles, as it is the case when ortho-hydroxypolyimides are exposed to similar thermal treatments. A detailed study was carried out with the purpose of elucidating the actual mechanism of rearrangement, comparing ortho-hydroxypolyimides and ortho-acetylpolyimides with the ortho-methoxypolyimides obtained in this work. Results led to the conclusion that the chemical nature of the final TR materials attained from ortho-methoxypolyimides is rather complex because imide, cyclolactam and benzoxazole groups seems to be formed under thermal treatment, and the proportion of the different moieties greatly depends on the ortho-substituent, on the synthesis route used to prepare the polyimide and on the time-temperature schedule applied in the thermal rearrangement. The gas permeation properties exhibited by thermally treated ortho-methoxypolyimides compared very well with those of other TR-PBOs reported so far, showing O2 permeability of 94 barrers and CO2 permeability of 540 Barrers.Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación – Ref. VA302U13

Gas permeability, fractional free volume and molecular kinetic diameters: The effect of thermal rearrangement on ortho-hydroxy polyamide membranes loaded with a porous polymer network

Producción CientíficaMixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) consisting of an ortho-hydroxy polyamide (HPA) matrix, and variable loads of a porous polymer network (PPN) were thermally treated to induce the transformation of HPA to polybenzoxazole (β-TR-PBO). Two different HPAs were synthesized to be used as a matrix, 6FCl-APAF and tBTpCl-APAF, while the PPN used as a filler was prepared by reacting triptycene and trifluoroacetophenone. The permeability of He, H2, N2, O2, CH4 and CO2 gases through these MMMs are analyzed as a function of the fraction of free volume (FFV) of the membrane and the kinetic diameter of the gas, allowing for the evaluation of the free volume. Thermal rearrangement entails an increase in the FFV. Both before and after thermal rearrangement, the free volume increases with the PPN content very similarly for both polymeric matrices. It is shown that there is a portion of free volume that is inaccessible to permeation (occluded volume), probably due to it being trapped within the filler. In fact, permeability and selectivity change below what could be expected according to densities, when the fraction of occluded volume increases. A higher filler load increases the percentage of inaccessible or trapped free volume, probably due to the increasing agglomeration of the filler. On the other hand, the phenomenon is slightly affected by thermal rearrangement. The fraction of trapped free volume seems to be lower for membranes in which the tBTpCl-APAF is used as a matrix than for those with a 6FCl-APAF matrix, possibly because tBTpCl-APAF could approach the PPN better. The application of an effective medium theory for permeability allowed us to extrapolate for a 100% filler, giving the same value for both thermally rearranged and non-rearranged MMMs. The pure filler could also be extrapolated by assuming the same tendency as in the Robeson’s plots for MMMs with low filler content.Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación/Agencia Estatal de Investigación/10.13039/501100011033 y Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) - (projects PID2019- 109403RBC21, PID2019-109403RBC22 y EQC2019-006481-P)Junta de Castilla y León y Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) - (grant CLU2017-09, UIC082, VA088G19)Universidad de Valladolid - (PROYEMER-2021-05

Metacognition as Evidence for Evidentialism

Metacognition is the monitoring and controlling of cognitive processes. I examine the role of metacognition in ‘ordinary retrieval cases’, cases in which it is intuitive that via recollection the subject has a justified belief. Drawing on psychological research on metacognition, I argue that evidentialism has a unique, accurate prediction in each ordinary retrieval case: the subject has evidence for the proposition she justifiedly believes. But, I argue, process reliabilism has no unique, accurate predictions in these cases. I conclude that ordinary retrieval cases better support evidentialism than process reliabilism. This conclusion challenges several common assumptions. One is that non-evidentialism alone allows for a naturalized epistemology, i.e., an epistemology that is fully in accordance with scientific research and methodology. Another is that process reliabilism fares much better than evidentialism in the epistemology of memory

New aromatic polyamides and polyimides having an adamantine bulky group

Producción CientíficaThis paper reports the synthesis and characterization of a new rigid diamine monomer, having a spiro carbon moiety and an adamantane bulky group in its structure; namely spiro-(adamantane-2,9′(2',7'-diamino)-fluorene) (SADAF). After its synthesis, using a straightforward methodology, a novel family of aromatic polyimides (PIs) and polyamides (PAs) has been attained by reaction of SADAF with three aromatic dianhydrides and two diacid chlorides, respectively. Two of the polyimides were obtained through the formation of the corresponding polyamic acid and subsequent thermal cycloimidization, whereas the other one, the polyimide from SADAF and 2,2-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane dianhydride (6FDA), could be synthesized by chemical imidization from the polyamic precursor. Regarding polyamides, two new ones, made from SADAF and isophthaloyl chloride (IPC) and the diacid chloride of 2,2-bis(4-carboxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane (6FC) could be obtained. All the polymers showed high Tg, above 350 ºC, and excellent thermal resistance, with onset degradation temperatures higher than 450 ºC. Polymers formed by the combination of SADAF with 6FDA and 6FC were prepared as dense films with good mechanical properties and their permselectivity properties were measured.Junta de Castilla y León (programa de apoyo a proyectos de investigación – Ref. VA302U13

The Gender Congruency Effect across languages in bilinguals: A meta-analysis

In the study of gender representation and processing in bilinguals, two contrasting perspectives exist: integrated vs. the autonomous (Costa, Kovacic, Fedorenko, & Caramazza, 2003). In the former, cross-linguistic interactions during the selection of grammatical gender values are expected; in the latter, they are not. To address this issue, authors have typically explored the cross-linguistic Gender Congruency Effect (GCE: a facilitation on the naming or translation of second language [L2] nouns when their first language [L1] translations are of the same gender, in comparison to those of a different gender). However, the literature suggests that this effect is sometimes difficult to observe and might vary as a function of variables such as the syntactic structure produced to translate or name the target (bare nouns vs. noun phrases), the phonological gender transparency of both languages (whether or not they have phonological gender cues associated with the ending letter [e.g., “–a” for feminine words and “–o” for masculine words in Romance languages]), the degree of L2 proficiency, and task requirements (naming vs. translation). The aim of the present quantitative meta-analysis is to examine the robustness of the cross-linguistic GCE obtained during language production. It involves 25 experiments from 11 studies. The results support a bilingual gender-integrated view, in that they show a small but significant GC effect regardless of the variables mentioned above.This paper was funded through the state budget with reference IF / 00784/2013 / CP1158 / CT0013. The study has also been partially supported by the FCT and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653). Government of Spain—Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports—through the Training program for Academic Staff (Ayudas para la Formación del Profesorado Universitario, FPU grant BOE-B-2017-2646), the research project (reference PSI2015-65116-P) granted by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and the grant for research groups (reference ED431B 2019/2020) from the Galician Government, as well as by the FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology, Portugal) through the state budget (reference IF / 00784/2013 / CP1158 / CT0013). Finally, the study has also been partially supported by the FCT and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653

The adaptation of the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW) for European Portuguese

This study presents the adaptation of the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW; Bradley & Lang, 1999a) for European Portuguese (EP). The EP adaptation of the ANEW was based on the affective ratings made by 958 college students who were EP native speakers. Participants assessed about 60 words by considering the affective dimensions of valence, arousal, and dominance, using the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) in either a paper-and-pencil and a web survey procedures. Results of the adaptation of the ANEW for EP are presented. Furthermore, the differences between EP, American (Bradley & Lang, 1999a), and Spanish (Redondo, Fraga, Padrón, & Comesaña, 2007) standardizations were explored. Results showed that the ANEW words were understood in a similar way by EP, American, and Spanish subjects, although some sex and cross-cultural differences were observed. The EP adaptation of the ANEW is shown to be a valid and useful tool that will allow researchers to control and/or manipulate the affective properties of stimuli as well as to develop cross-linguistic studies. The normative values of EP adaptation of the ANEW can be downloaded at http://brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.COMPETE - Programa Operacional Factores de CompetitividadeFundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional - FEDERQuadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional - QRENFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - research project “Procura Palavras (P-Pal ): A software program for deriving objective and subjective psycholinguistic indices for European Portuguese words