The naturalisation of the mind and neurosciences: a reform of anthropology?

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Aracne editrice via the DOI in this recordNaturalisation of mind and neurosciences seem to propose a new an-thropology, since man is identified more and more to an automaton and thought in continuation with the animal. In this article we highlight some of the defining characteristics of this research programme and we pro-pose some theoretical reflections on it, concluding that materialistic monism not only ends up being self-refuting, by presenting itself as a conception – thus as a system of ideas – of reality and of man, but also, by bracketing the principle of consciousness, it abstracts also from the principle of responsibility, with potential ill-fated consequences at the anthropological level

A Novel Ultrasound-based Measure of the Liver among Diabetes Mellitus Type II Patients

Diabetes mellitus type II (DM II) or adult onset diabetes is due to the inefficient use of insulin, which affects various organs and tissues. Patients with DM II are at risk of suffering non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that can later develop into more life threating forms such as hepatomegaly, cirrhosis or liver cancer. Following the logic of the non-inferiority trial test, we aim to establish a more accurate anatomical measure of the right liver lobe (RLL) to facilitate close monitoring of liver size with ultrasound (US). We hypothesize that US is not unacceptably worse than computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to accurately and reliably measure the size of the RLL when the measure is taken in the midaxillary line and craniocaudal plane (MAL-CC). Therefore, the objective of this study is to conduct a non-inferiority trial to test our novel MAL-CC measure. To meet this aim, US measure of the RLL was taken from DM II (n=7) and non-DM II (n=5) patients, whom were recruited from 2 endocrinology clinics at SoM-UPR. Preliminary data shows that MAL-CC measure of the RLL from non-DM II patients is 13.99 + 2.53 cm whereas the same measurement among DM II patients is 15.25 + 3.25 cm (Mann-Whitney U test, p= 0.42). It is concluded that there is a non-significant trend for large RLL sizes among DM II patients. Future work aims to increase sample size and to validate our novel measurement with MRI

Sulla non originarietà della relazione. Replica a G. Goggi

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Mimesis Edizioni via the link in this recordOn the non-primacy of the relation. Reply to G. Gogg

Towards a unity of sense: A critical analysis of the concept of relation in methodological individualism and holism in Economics

This is the final version. Available on open access from Episciences.org via the DOI in this recordIn social sciences and, in particular, in economics the debate on the most adequate model of explanation of social phenomena has been centred around two models: Methodological Individualism and Holism. While Methodological Individualism claims to be the most rigorous attempt to explain social phenomena by reducing them to their ultimate components, Holism stresses the primacy of the social relation, outside of which individuals cannot be understood as analytical units. In the analysis, we will refer to the way the debate has influenced economics education too through the debate on microfoundations and the role of individual preferences. In synthesis, we aim to show that the two explanatory models, rather than being opposed, need to be integrated, because they need each other. But for this to be done, we need to reflect on the role that the concept of “relation” plays in our understanding of the social structure and of the dynamics that characterises it. Indeed, the holistic-systemic model, though privileging the relation, must acknowledge that the relation needs some ultimate elements (the individuals), which in turn are prioritised by methodological individualism. But these entities, the individuals, in order to be what they are, i.e., each a determinate identity, need each to be referred to other individuals, which are essential to determine the single determinate identity. This means that each individual needs the relation. To prevent a circular explanation, we claim that a correct methodology should understand both the individual and society in the light of the unity of sense that emerges at the end of the process, rather than focusing on its starting point

La relazione di coscienza e oggetto nell’Introduzione alla Fenomenologia dello spirito di Hegel

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Fabrizio Serra editore via the DOI in this recordThe relation between concept and object in the Introduction to Hegel’s Phenomenology of SpiritThe relation between consciousness and object in the Introduction to the Phenomenology of Spirit synthetises two fundamental Hegelian concepts: that of “relation” and that of “absolute”. In this article we show that Hegel not always interprets the relation as a medium between extremes, because in some very significant passages he intends it as an act. Furthermore the absolute is not only interpreted as determined but also as emergent beyond the universe of determinations, that is beyond the relation/contraposition of determined and undetermined

The concept of relation and the explanation of the phenomenon of Entanglement

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordWe investigate from a philosophical point of view the concept of relation that is used to explain the physical phenomenon of Entanglement. If the concept of relation is understood in the ordinary sense of the mono-dyadic construct, which requires a middle term between the two extremes, it is aporetic and, thus, incapable of explaining the phenomenon. To the contrary, we propose to think the relation as the act of self-referring of related terms, which is unique and identical for both terms. In the unity of this act, the duality of terms disappears, so that the authentic unity is obtained. Moving from this concept of unity, the phenomenon of Entanglement becomes intelligible, since the two particles emerge as the two abstract sections of a unique reality

La coscienza in Sulla natura umana

This is the final version. Available from Giubilei Regnani via the ISBN in this recor

Reciprocal determination and the unity of distinct determinations in The Primal Structure of Emanuele Severino

This is the final version. Available on open access from Pensa Multimedia via the DOI in this recordThe concept of “reciprocal determination” is constituted by two moments: “knownthrough-itself” and “known-not-through-something-else” that are referred to Being and give rise to two judgements in which these two terms are assumed as subject and predicate. These judgments are reciprocal and complementary and show the unity that substantiate them, which is interpreted as a synthesis, so that the identity of distinct determinations counts as identification: duality is not abolished in it. On the contrary, if one claims that a term is essential to the other, as with reciprocal determination, one must acknowledge that the latter constitutes the former, so that each one is in itself the other: each term is its selfcontradicting. To prevent this conclusion, one must acknowledge that the pretended co-essentiality is only apparent and the identity of the distinct determinations is not authentic, for duality has not really been resolved in unity

Circular Economy as Fictional Expectation to Overcome Societal Addictions. Where do We Stand?

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this record.Circular economy thinking has become the subject of academic enquiry across several disciplines recently. Yet whilst its technical and business angles are more widely discussed, its philosophical underpinnings and socio-economic implications are insufficiently investigated. In this article, we aim to contribute to their understanding by uncovering the circular economy role in shaping a new vision, highlighting the social and economic dimensions of future imaginaries and the mechanisms that can enable them to bring about change in the social context. We believe that defining the vision that the circular economy is contributing to shape is key to explain its conceptual framework and activities. Drawing on the concept of fictional expectations, we uncover one of the plausible social dimensions inherent to the circular economy thinking thereby opening up a new perspective on the current debate in the circular economy literature wherein authors, by contrast, are emphasising the lack of an explicit social dimension. Fictional expectations are introduced to refer to those imaginaries of the future that can catalyse social action in the present and counteract societal addictions, in which modern society seems to be trapped. We show how a circular economy inspired vision can be instrumental to the emergence of a fictional expectation that can provide therapies to the current societal addiction of wasteful production and consumption systems. This philosophical background allows us to provide, in conclusion, a new conceptualisation of the circular economy as a cognitive framework instrumental to the emergence of a future imaginary

Metaphysical Realism and Objectivity: Some Theoretical Reflections

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this record.In this paper we aim to show an intrinsic contradiction of contemporary Metaphysical Realism by focusing on the relation between the subject and the object. Metaphysical Realism considers facts and objects as being empirical, and therefore they are considered in relation to the subject, while at the same time facts are assumed to belong to an autonomous and independent reality. However, if a real object is considered to be independent from the subject, once it enters in a relation with the latter, a real object must undergo an intrinsic transformation. However, since an object cannot avoid this transformation then recovering the real or “absolute” object from the perceived object is not possible. In this way, the inherent contradiction of the “absolute” as being determined, i.e., defined by virtue of a limit, is revealed