2,344 research outputs found
Ethos hacker e hackerspaces: práticas e processos de aprendizagem, criação e intervenção
No full textDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Urbanismo, História e Arquitetura da Cidade, Florianópolis, 2014.Essa dissertação busca, através da investigação e da compreensão de aspectos da cultura hacker e do emergente fenômeno dos hackerspaces, levantar e explorar possibilidades para a arquitetura e o urbanismo, no que diz respeito aos processos projetuais, de aprendizagem e de intervenção. Para alcançar esse objetivo a pesquisa aliou estudos teóricos a uma abordagem prática baseada em duas experiências empíricas intrinsecamente relacionadas: a participação na formação e consolidação do primeiro hackerspace de Florianópolis, Tarrafa Hacker Clube (Tarrafa HC), e a proposição, implementação e desenvolvimento da disciplina optativa Ateliê Livre - Tecnologias Interativas e Processos de Criação dentro do curso de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC) realizada em associação com esse mesmo hackerspace. Após uma fundamentação teórica em que se investigou o ethos hacker, a pesquisa se aproxima do movimento dos hackerspaces - lugares físicos operados comunitariamente onde pessoas se encontram e realizam projetos frequentemente vinculados à tecnologia - contrapondo um panorama histórico e analítico e exemplos representativos à experiência prática com o hackerspace Tarrafa HC. Na sequência, ao analisar exemplos concretos de intervenções urbanas através da transposição de estratégias do hacking para o espaço público, o estudo se aproxima de preocupações inerentes à atuação da arquitetura. Por fim, é apresentada a experiência exploratória com a disciplina, em que a infraestrutura híbrida gerada a partir da associação entre o hackerspace Tarrafa HC e o ateliê de projeto demonstrou estimular a aprendizagem, a colaboração e a autonomia dos estudantes em seus processos criativos, e contribuir para a incorporação e desmistificação de novas ferramentas e tecnologias que possibilitam a exploração de interações espaciais. Com isso o presente trabalho introduz questões relevantes e perspectivas promissoras para uma revisão de posicionamentos frente a uma realidade cada vez mais tecnologicamente mediada e especialmente às mudanças paradigmáticas a ela relacionada.Abstract : Through the understanding of the hacker culture and the emerging phenomenon of hackerspaces, this thesis aims to explore possibilities for architecture and urbanism related to the processes of design, learning and intervention. To achieve this goal the research combined theoretical studies and a practical approach based on two intrinsically related empirical experiments. The fi rst experiment was our participation in the creation of the fi rst hackerspace in the city of Florianópolis - the Tarrafa Hacker Clube (Tarrafa HC). The second experiment was the development of the design studio Ateliê Livre - Tecnologias Interativas e Processos de Criação within the Department of Architecture and Urbanism of the Federal University of Santa Catarina held in association with the hackerspace. After establishing a theoretical framework that investigated the hacker ethos, this research focused the hackerspace movement - community-operated physical places where people meet and work on projects often related to technology. The structured related a historical and analytical overview and relevant precedents to the practical experience of the hackerspace Tarrafa HC. Following, the study highlights inherent concerns of architecural practice through analyses of current urban interventions that transposes hacking strategies to the public space. Finally, the exploratory experience with the design studio was presented. In this experience the hybrid infrastructure generated from the association between the hackerspace Tarrafa HC and the design studio demonstrated stimulate students s learning, collaboration and autonomy in their creative processes and contribute to demystify and incorporate new tools and technologies that enable the exploration of spatial interactions. Thus, this study introduces relevant issues and promising prospects for a review of positions against an increasingly technologically mediated reality and specifi cally to its paradigmatic changes
Contribuição do hacker para o desenvolvimento tecnológico da informática
No full textDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Computação.Dada a enorme importância política, econômica e social da Internet, urge realizar-se um estudo sobre a evolução das formas de invasão dos chamados piratas eletrônicos. Para tal, buscou-se primeiramente classificá-los de acordo com a terminologia empregada no ambiente virtual, resgatando a origem do termo hacker, o qual tem sofrido mutações devido ao uso equivocado pela mídia. Na seqüência, as falhas que são exploradas pelos piratas eletrônicos são apresentadas, seus modus operandis e as tecnologias de defesa e de prevenção, as quais são divulgadas e passíveis de conhecimento, embora sejam ignoradas ou desconhecidas por muitos administradores e desenvolvedores de sistemas, já que a insegurança nos sistemas é decorrente de falhas amplamente conhecidas com soluções já determinadas. Por fim, buscou-se resgatar a contribuição que tais piratas exercem no desenvolvimento e no aprimoramento tecnológico, evidenciado em suas habilidades, agregadas à dedicação e ao trabalho cooperativo, exigindo assim qualidade nos produtos e serviços oferecidos. Uma maneira de minimizar a insegurança dos sistemas, é manter um conhecimento detalhado e atualizado das tecnologias existentes, característica inerente aos piratas eletrônicos. Assim, reconhecendo suas habilidades e incentivando-os a aprimorarem os sistemas de segurança, os esforços que hoje são despendidos nestes sistemas, poderão ser transferidos para outros desafios
Hacker Wars
No full textThis chapter develops an analytical framework for new forms of information warfare that may threaten commercial and government computing systems by using e-collaboration in new ways. The framework covers (a) a strategic model, (b) a strategic arena, (c) e-collaboration, and (d) ethics and law. The framework is then used to compare two recorded instances of major hacker wars that erupted in the shadow of kinetic conflicts. In both cases, the hacker war appears to have been a grassroots collaborative enterprise led by loosely organized civilians, with neither government control nor permission. Collaborating across networks to coordinate their attacks, such hacker wars can attack both government and commercial computer networks without warning. The analysis shows how hacker wars demonstrate characteristics found in the frameworks, and that there are forms of e-collaboration that represent a potentially difficult new source of threat for globalized information systems.</jats:p
Novel Oligomeric Biodegradable Crosslinkers For Hybrid Biomaterial Fabrication For Regenerative Purposes
No full textINTRODUCTION
Increasing age of population is a great success of numerous breakthroughs in life science and improved health care. For a child born in 2015, for example, an average global life expectancy of meanwhile 71.4 years is assumed which increased by around 8% in the last decade [1]. In accordance with enhanced life expectancy, however, age-related health problems continuously rise. In this regard, the gap between patients awaiting transplantation and appropriate donors consequently will get larger in the future [2]. To this end, there is a need for new strategies in regenerative medicine [3]. Biomaterial matrices were developed to foster tissue regeneration by mimicking the key characteristics of the extracellular matrix (ECM) [4]. Modern biomaterial research focuses on 3D scaffolds, which can be adequately adapted toward specific requirements of the target tissue [5]. In this regard, flexible material platforms are wanted, whose properties can be adjusted over a wide range and independently of each other [6].
In this context, the macromer-based material concept is promising due to the high flexibility of macromers in chemical design and processability [7]. Macromers are reactive oligo- or polymeric molecules which act as monomers and can therefore be polymerized/cross-linked into a polymeric network [8]. The key principle of this approach is the synthesis of chemically well-defined structures which allows for a more precise control over the resulting properties of the cross-linked polymeric network when compared to conventional polymers. For example, macromer chemistry can be adjusted in terms of chemical macromer composition, valence, content of cross-linkable functionalities and molecular weight. The versatility of macromer-derived materials greatly increases when different macromer types are combined which potentially enables precise material tunability on multiple levels. The design flexibility of macromer-based networks motivated the investigation of two different macromer-based material concepts with regard to macromer processability and material adjustability.
The following objectives were proposed:
1) To synthesize two sets of biodegradable, multi-valent macromers by using free-radical polymerization and ring-opening polymerization combined with established activation strategies. The synthesis setups will be tuned toward high macromer yields which will be required for processing into biomaterials with relevant sizes.
2) To physico-chemically characterize oligomeric macromers with regard to chemical composition, molecular weight and reactivity in order to yield well-defined macromer structures. NMR spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and wet chemistry will be applied.
3) To characterize macromer processability into covalently cross-linked hybrid matrices. This work will focus on a soft macromer-cross-linked gelatin-derived hydrogel system for versatile biomedical applications as well as a rigid macromer/sol-gel glass hybrid material for hard tissue regeneration. Sets of different formulations will be investigated in order to characterize the range of macromer processability and to establish structure-property relationships.
4) To investigate strategies for the adjustment of material porosity. Besides the adaption via cross-linking density, porogen-leaching and 3D-printing approaches will be followed in order to introduce macroporosity and to enable a decoupling of porosity and chemical (nano)structure of the cross-linked network.
5) To determine key material properties relevant for regenerative applications, including mechanical properties by compression tests and oscillation rheology, in vitro matrix degradability, as well as material cytocompatibility in indirect and direct contact experiments.
6) To identify strategies for covalent functionalization of the hybrid materials. Post-fabrication functionalization via specifically introduced chemical functionalities is favored as it enables effective material decoration (almost) independent of the physico-chemical matrix properties.
SUMMARY OF DISSERTATION
The first material concept was based on anhydride-containing macromers which can be processed into hydrogel matrices by covalent cross-linking of amine-bearing macromolecules, such as gelatin [9–11]. The innovative aspect of this work was to decouple material functionalization from the physico-chemical properties of the cross-linked hydrogel network. To this end, a second chemical functionality was introduced which remained reactive in the hydrogel state and was therefore available for covalent post-fabrication functionalization strategies. Specifically, dual-functional macromers were synthesized by free-radical polymerization of maleic anhydride (MA) with diacetone acrylamide (DAAm) and pentaerythritol diacrylate monostearate (PEDAS) to yield oligo(PEDAS-co-DAAm-co-MA) (oPDMA) [12]. Amphiphilic oligomers (molecular weight (Mn) < 7.5 kDa) with anhydride contents of 7-20% were obtained. Fractions of chemically intact anhydrides of around 70% enables effective cross-linking with low molecular-weight gelatinous peptides (Collagel® type B, 11 kDa). Rigid two-component hydrogels (elastic modulus (E) = 4-13 kPa) with adjustable composition and physicochemical properties were formed. Reactivity of the incorporated methyl ketone functionality toward hydrazides and hydrazines was shown on the macromer level and in the cross-linked hydrogel by different strategies. Firstly, pre-fabricated hydrogels were successfully reinforced by secondary cross-linking with adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH). Secondly, pH-dependent immobilization of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) to acid-soluble macromer derivatives as well as cross-linked oPDMA/COL matrices was demonstrated. Thirdly, reversible immobilization of a fluorescent hydrazide (AFH) was shown which was controlled by hydrogel ketone content, hydrazide ligand concentration and medium pH. This triple-tunability of hydrazide immobilization holds promise for adjustable and cost-effective hydrogel modification. Lastly, proof-of-concept experiments with hydrazido-functionalized hyaluronan (ATTO-hyHA) demonstrated the potential for covalent post-fabrication hydrogel decoration with ECM components. Hydrogel cytocompatibility was demonstrated and the introduction of DAAm into the hydrogel system resulted in superior cell material interactions when compared with previously established analogous ketone-free gels [13].
Limited ability of cells to migrate into deeper regions of these macromer-cross-linked gelatin-based gels further motivated the investigation of two different strategies to enhance hydrogel porosity [10,14]. On the one hand, the introduction of macropores was attempted by hydrogel fabrication in presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (Mn = 8000 Da, P8k). This polymer acted as porogen by phase separation during hydrogel formation. It was found that P8k was effectively extracted from the cross-linked matrix, while physico-chemical hydrogel properties remained unchanged. The second approach aimed at increasing mesh size of the cross-linked network by using hydrogel building blocks with increased molecular weights. In particular, high molecular-weight gelatin (160 Bloom, G160) was cross-linked by macromers with low MA content. Homogeneous and mechanically stable hydrogels were obtained and physico-chemical properties were determined. Successful optimization of hydrogel porosity was functionally shown by enhanced cell migration and improved release profile of incorporated nanoparticles [15].
In the second macromer-based material, hydrolytically degradable multi-armed macromers were covalently introduced into a tetraethoxysilane(TEOS)-derived silica sol in order to address the insufficient degradability of glass-based materials [16]. In detail, oligo(D,L-lactide) units were introduced into three- (TMPEO, Tx) and four-armed (PETEO, Px) ethoxylated alcohols by ring-opening polymerization, followed by activation with 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane (ICPTES) to yield TxLAy-Si and PxLAy-Si macromers [17,18]. A series of 18 oligomers (Mn: 1100-3200 Da) with different degrees of ethoxylation and varying length of oligoester units was synthesized. Applicability of a previously established indirect rapid prototyping method enabled fabrication of macromer/sol-gel-glass-derived class II hybrid scaffolds with controlled porosity [19]. Successful processability of a total of 85 different hybrid scaffold formulations allowed for identification of relevant structure-property relationships. In vitro degradation was analyzed over 12 months and a continuous linear weight loss (0.2-0.5 wt%/d) was detected which was controlled by oligo(lactide) content and matrix hydrophilicity. Compressive strength (2-30 MPa) and compressive modulus (44-716 MPa) were determined and total content, oligo(ethylene oxide) content, oligo(lactide) content and molecular weight of the oligomeric cross-linkers as well as material porosity were identified as the main factors determining hybrid mechanics by multiple linear regression. Cell migration into the entire scaffold pore network was indicated in cell culture experiments with human adipose tissue-derived stem cells (hASC) and continuous proliferation over 14 days was found.
Overall, two macromer-based material platforms were established in which material versatility was realized by three main principles: I) synthesis of macromers with different chemical composition, II) combination of macromers with a second oligomeric building block, and III) flexible processability of these dual-component hybrid formulations into porous scaffold materials. Precise adjustability of material properties as demonstrated in both concepts offers potential for application of these hybrid materials for a wide range of regenerative purposes.
REFERENCES
(1) World Health Statistics of the WHO. http://www.who.int/gho/publications/world_health_statistics/en/ 2017.
(2) OPTN/UNOS Public Comment. https://optn.transplant.hrsa.gov/ 2017.
(3) Puppi, D.; Chiellini, F.; Piras, a. M. M.; Chiellini, E. Prog. Polym. Sci. 2010, 35 (4), 403–440.
(4) Patterson, J.; Martino, M. M.; Hubbell, J. A. Mater. Today 2010, 13 (1–2), 14–22.
(5) Picke, A.-K.; Salbach-Hirsch, J.; Hintze, V.; Rother, S.; Rauner, M.; Kascholke, C.; Möller, S.; Bernhardt, R.; Rammelt, S.; Pisabarro, M. T.; Ruiz-Gómez, G.; Schnabelrauch, M.; Schulz-Siegmund, M.; Hacker, M. C.; Scharnweber, D.; Hofbauer, C.; Hofbauer, L. C. Biomaterials 2016, 96, 11–23.
(6) Loth, R.; Loth, T.; Schwabe, K.; Bernhardt, R.; Schulz-Siegmund, M.; Hacker, M. C. Acta Biomater. 2015, 26, 82–96.
(7) DeForest, C. A.; Anseth, K. S. Nat. Chem. 2011, 3 (12), 925–931.
(8) Nic, M.; Jirát, J.; Košata, B.; Jenkins, A.; McNaught, A.; Wilkinson, A. IUPAC, Research Triangle Park, NC 2014.
(9) Loth, T.; Hennig, R.; Kascholke, C.; Hötzel, R.; Hacker, M. C. React. Funct. Polym. 2013, 73 (11), 1480–1492.
(10) Loth, T.; Hötzel, R.; Kascholke, C.; Anderegg, U.; Schulz-Siegmund, M.; Hacker, M. C. Biomacromolecules 2014, 15 (6), 2104–2118.
(11) Kohn, C.; Klemens, J. M.; Kascholke, C.; Murthy, N. S.; Kohn, J.; Brandenburger, M.; Hacker, M. C. Biomater. Sci. 2016, 4, 1605–1621.
(12) Kascholke, C.; Loth, T.; Kohn-Polster, C.; Möller, S.; Bellstedt, P.; Schulz-Siegmund, M.; Schnabelrauch, M.; Hacker, M. C. Biomacromolecules 2017, 18 (3), 683–694.
(13) Sülflow, K.; Schneider, M.; Loth, T.; Kascholke, C.; Schulz-Siegmund, M.; Hacker, M. C.; Simon, J.-C.; Savkovic, V. J. Biomed. Mater. Res. A 2016, 104 (12), 3115–3126.
(14) Loth, T. Diss. Univ. Leipzig, Fak. für Biowissenschaften, Pharm. und Psychol. 2016.
(15) Schwabe, K.; Ewe, A.; Kohn, C.; Loth, T.; Aigner, A.; Hacker, M. C.; Schulz-Siegmund, M. Int. J. Pharm. 2017, 526 (1–2), 178–187.
(16) Rahaman, M. N.; Day, D. E.; Sonny Bal, B.; Fu, Q.; Jung, S. B.; Bonewald, L. F.; Tomsia, A. P. Acta Biomater. 2011, 7 (6), 2355–2373.
(17) Schulze, P.; Flath, T.; Dörfler, H.-M.; Schulz-Siegmund, M.; Hacker, M.; Hendrikx, S.; Kascholke, C.; Gressenbuch, M.; Schumann, D. Ger. Pat. No. DE102014224654A1 2016.
(18) Kascholke, C.; Hendrikx, S.; Flath, T.; Kuzmenka, D.; Dörfler, H.-M.; Schumann, D.; Gressenbuch, M.; Schulze, F. P.; Schulz-Siegmund, M.; Hacker, M. C. Acta Biomater. 2017, 63, 336–349.
(19) Hendrikx, S.; Kascholke, C.; Flath, T.; Schumann, D.; Gressenbuch, M.; Schulze, P.; Hacker, M. C.; Schulz-Siegmund, M. Acta Biomater. 2016, 35, 318–329
Resting state network estimation in individual subjects
No full textResting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to study brain networks associated with both normal and pathological cognitive functions. The objective of this work is to reliably compute resting state network (RSN) topography in single participants. We trained a supervised classifier (multi-layer perceptron; MLP) to associate blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) correlation maps corresponding to pre-defined seeds with specific RSN identities. Hard classification of maps obtained from a priori seeds was highly reliable across new participants. Interestingly, continuous estimates of RSN membership retained substantial residual error. This result is consistent with the view that RSNs are hierarchically organized, and therefore not fully separable into spatially independent components. After training on a priori seed-based maps, we propagated voxel-wise correlation maps through the MLP to produce estimates of RSN membership throughout the brain. The MLP generated RSN topography estimates in individuals consistent with previous studies, even in brain regions not represented in the training data. This method could be used in future studies to relate RSN topography to other measures of functional brain organization (e.g., task-evoked responses, stimulation mapping, and deficits associated with lesions) in individuals. The multi-layer perceptron was directly compared to two alternative voxel classification procedures, specifically, dual regression and linear discriminant analysis; the perceptron generated more spatially specific RSN maps than either alternative. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Frequency-specific electrophysiologic correlates of resting state fMRI networks
No full textResting state functional MRI (R-fMRI) studies have shown that slow (< 0.1Hz), intrinsic fluctuations of the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal are temporally correlated within hierarchically organized functional systems known as resting state networks (RSNs) (Doucet et al., 2011). Most broadly, this hierarchy exhibits a dichotomy between two opposed systems (Fox et al., 2005). One system engages with the environment and includes the visual, auditory, and sensorimotor (SMN) networks as well as the dorsal attention network (DAN), which controls spatial attention. The other system includes the default mode network (DMN) and the fronto-parietal control system (FPC), RSNs that instantiate episodic memory and executive control, respectively. Here, we test the hypothesis, based on the spectral specificity of electrophysiologic responses to perceptual vs. memory tasks (Klimesch, 1999, Pfurtscheller and Lopes da Silva, 1999), that these two large-scale neural systems also manifest frequency specificity in the resting state. We measured the spatial correspondence between electrocorticographic (ECoG) band-limited power (BLP) and R-fMRI correlation patterns in awake, resting, human subjects. Our results show that, while gamma BLP correspondence was common throughout the brain, theta (4-8Hz) BLP correspondence was stronger in the DMN and FPC, whereas alpha (8-12Hz) correspondence was stronger in the SMN and DAN. Thus, the human brain, at rest, exhibits frequency specific electrophysiology, respecting both the spectral structure of task responses and the hierarchical organization of RSNs
Chemical Macrocyclization of Peptides Fused to Antibody Fc Fragments
No full textTo extend the plasma half-life of a bicyclic peptide antagonist, we chose to link it to the Fc fragment of the long-lived serum protein IgG1. Instead of chemically conjugating the entire bicyclic peptide, we recombinantly expressed its peptide moiety as a fusion protein to an Fc fragment and subsequently cyclized the peptide by chemically reacting its three cysteine residues with tris-(bromomethyl)benzene. This reaction was efficient and selective, yielding completely modified peptide fusion protein and no side products. After optimization of the linker and the Fc fragment format, the bicyclic peptide was fully functional as an inhibitor (K(i) = 76 nM) and showed an extended terminal half-life of 1.5 days in mice. The unexpectedly clean reaction makes chemical macrocyclization of peptide-Fc fusion proteins an attractive synthetic approach. Its good compatibility with the Fc fragment may lend the bromomethylbenzene-based chemistry also for the generation of antibody-drug conjugates
An evaluation resource for geographic information retrieval
No full textIn this paper we present an evaluation resource for geographic information retrieval developed within the Cross Language Evaluation
Forum (CLEF). The GeoCLEF track is dedicated to the evaluation of geographic information retrieval systems. The resource
encompasses more than 600,000 documents, 75 topics so far, and more than 100,000 relevance judgments for these topics. Geographic
information retrieval requires an evaluation resource which represents realistic information needs and which is geographically
challenging. Some experimental results and analysis are reported
Wabisabi
No full textThis is one of hundreds of 60-second radio spots created by the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) for Kansas Public Radio (KPR). The purpose of this outreach program is to introduce the people of Kansas to the culture and current issues of East Asia.Broadcast Transcript: This is a pop quiz. What is wabisabi? a) Easy. That stuff you eat with sushi that clears your sinuses right up to your frontal lobes b) A character from a Miyazaki anime film. c) The name Tonto called the Lone Ranger. d) None of the above. And the answer is... d) Wabisabi is, in fact, a centuries old Japanese philosophy that embraces the transience of the physical world. It is a celebration of the cycle of nature: growth, decay, death. It is the finding of beauty in impermanence. In building, it is the choice of wood over plastic or rice paper over glass. It is the acceptance that all things must pass... even that feeling that the top of your head's gonna explode because of the wasabi you just ate... kemosabe. #hacker #japan #cea
The Cognitive View in Cognitive Science
No full textI believe that there are only a select few topics, which arouse a similar level of interest and curiosity among academics and laymen alike, as does the study of mind and brain. Although mind and brain have been capturing the attention of philosophers for centuries, it is the "scientific investigation" of age old philosophical queries by socalled cognitive scientists, which is distinctive of the developments of the last few decades and which, in times to come, may well be considered the hallmark of the study of mind in the 20th and early 21st centuries. In the past, advances in the natural sciences underlay or boosted a plethora of developments in the technological, economic and political spheres that not only improved the standard of living and prolonged the average life span for a vast number of people, but also fuelled hopes that a new and improved understanding of the nature of man was also within reach. Despite all the benefits mankind derived from scientific and technological progress past and present, the success of the natural sciences also helped spread and foster a virulent and nowadays quasi-ubiquitous and unquestioned believe in the omnipotence of science and technology. In the context of the study of mind, in particular, it fostered the widespread (mis-)conception that in order for an investigation leading to insight and understanding a "scientific" approach is a sine qua non.
This thesis highlights the danger of such an approach. By investigating the framework of explanation adopted by cognitive scientists, the cognitive view, and by examining its inherent conceptions of mind and thought, it will be shown that the scientific, or rather scientistic, approach inherent in the views depicted above is highly questionable, and in the case of the study of mind and brain, does not further insight and understanding, but rather prevents it. In the 20th century, Ludwig Wittgenstein has been one of the few philosophers who recognized the fallaciousness of these ideas and who opposed the inherent scientism. His later philosophy, which provides the philosophical mise en scène for the following investigations, provides a much-needed antidote against the misconceptions common among cognitive scientists today. Although, many of the shortcomings of the ideas and views of cognitive scientists have, with a certain regularity, been discussed by philosophers working in the tradition of the later Wittgenstein (e.g. Kenny, Hanfling, Hacker, Hyman and Glock) their criticisms, more often than not, fell on deaf ears.
I believe that one of the main reasons underlying the imperviousness of the community of cognitive scientists to the criticism of the kind of analytic philosophy inspired by the later Wittgenstein, is that it mainly focused on select misconceptions inherent in the cognitive view, but regularly failed to point out their place in the overall framework of thought for cognitive scientists. As a result, it was easy to dismiss these criticisms with excuses of the sort "but that does not bear any direct relevance to the work I do ...".
For this reason, this thesis aimed to portray and examine the cognitive view in its entirety, i.e. to depict the intricate interconnections existing between the premises that provide the foundation of the cognitive view, and to point out their disastrous consequences for our understanding not only of a select view aspects of mental phenomena, but to our understanding of the mind (and consequently of human nature) in its entirety. In order to provide such a "big picture", and to describe the numerous often very subtle interconnections between the various ideas making up the cognitive view in all their breadth and depth, a lot of well-trodden ground had to be revisited and reviewed. Thus, Anthony Kenny's and Peter Hackers' discussions of the mereological fallacy (Chapter 3, Chapter 4 first half) will provide the "base camp" from which we will visit less familiar aspects of the cognitive view via novel routes on our way to the peak of this "philosophical mountain". Where required, my indebtedness to the works of these philosophers will be highlighted throughout the text
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