11 research outputs found
Feyerabend’s Formative Years. Volume 2. Feyerabend on Logical Empiricism, Bohm & Kuhn
No full textThe authors Matteo Collodel and Eric Oberheim take the reader on a journey through the early life of the famous Austrian philosopher Paul Feyerabend, whose groundbreaking work Against the Method forged new paths in the philosophical understanding of science.
Collodel and Oberheim's book contains the translated correspondence of Feyerabend (1924-1994) with equally influential philosophers and scientists of the time, including Rudolf Carnap, Herbert Feigl, Carl G. Hempel, J.J.C. Smart, David Bohm, and Thomas Kuhn.
This book offers an entirely unique approach to the philosopher Paul Feyerabend. Informative, challenging and profound, it immerses the reader deeply in the mind of a truly revolutionary philosopher of science.
The main focus lies on the explanation of Paul Feyerabend's ideas on logical empiricism and quantum mechanics, which he developed especially in the 1960s. In order to appreciate the celebrated work of the philosopher, it is important to create an understanding of these formative years in Feyerabend's life and work.
Anyone who knows similar discussions, like the paradigm shift of Thomas Kuhn, or has a passion for history, philosophy and science will be fascinated by the works of Paul Feyerabend. As scientists and followers of Feyerabend, Collodel and Oberheim strive to pay respect to the philosopher and to make his work accessible to a whole new generation
Was Feyerabend a Popperian? Methodological issues in the History of the Philosophy of Science
No full textFor more than three decades, there has been significant debate about the relation between Feyerabend and Popper. The discussion has been nurtured and complicated by the rift that opened up between the two and by the later Feyerabend's controversial portrayal of his earlier self. The first part of the paper provides an overview of the accounts of the relation that have been proposed over the years, disentangles the problems they deal with, and analyses the evidence supporting their conclusions as well as the methodological approaches used to process that evidence. Rather than advancing a further speculative account of the relation based on Feyerabend's philosophical work or autobiographical recollections, the second part of the paper strives to clarify the problems at issue by making use of a wider range of evidence. It outlines a historical reconstruction of the social context within which Feyerabend's intellectual trajectory developed, putting a special emphasis on the interplay between the perceived intellectual identity of Feyerabend, Feyerabend's own intellectual self-concept, and the peculiar features of the evolving Popperian research group. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Are F2-isoprostanes a better marker of semen lipid peroxidation than MDA in reproductive pathologies with inflammatory basis?
No full textMany male reproductive pathologies and a part of undiagnosed infertility share an oxidative stress (OS) etiology with high reactive oxygen species and cytokine concentrations. The lack of reliable biomarkers to quantify oxidative injury is a crucial problem in the field of male infertility. In this observational study, IL-1 beta and the OS markers malondialdehyde (MDA) and F-2-isoprostanes (F-2-IsoPs) were quantified in seminal plasma of 46 infertile patients with varicocele, genitourinary infections, idiopathic infertility, and 11 fertile men. Semen analysis was performed following WHO guidelines, IL-1 beta was determined by ELISA, MDA was quantified by HPLC, and F-2-IsoPs by GC/NICI-MS analysis. F-2-IsoPs were immunolocalized in spermatozoa of fertile and infertile subjects. Results indicated that F-2-IsoP, MDA, and IL-1 beta seminal levels positively correlated pairwise (p < 0.001) and showed negative correlations with sperm parameters (p < 0.001). Then, the studied population was grouped following the cause of infertility and the variables were compared between the different groups and a control sample. Seminal IL-1 beta, F-2-IsoPs, and MDA were significantly higher in varicocele (p < 0.001, for MDA p < 0.01) and genitourinary infections (p < 0.001, for IL-1 beta p < 0.01) groups than those observed in fertile subjects. F-2-IsoPs seemed to discriminate more accurately than MDA the different conditions, in particular idiopathic infertility. ROC curves demonstrated that the three analyzed indices were able to discriminate fertile and infertile patients. The immunofluorescence studies showed a low presence of F-2-IsoPs in spermatozoa of fertile men and an evident labeling in the tail, and cytoplasmic residues of spermatozoa from infertile patients. In conclusion, this data confirmed that F-2-IsoP level is a suitable marker of OS in seminal plasma, even more accurate than MDA and can be proposed for measuring OS in the clinical setting. © 2025 The Author
Antioxidants, Dietary Fatty Acids, and Sperm: A Virtual Reality Applied Game for Scientific Dissemination
No full textFatty acid (FA) profile appears to be critical to infertility, and the effects of dietary FAs on sperm FA content are a current focus of studies in the field of nutrition and reproduction. Starting from a validated “OXISTRESS” model in which modification of FA content results to influence reactive oxygen species, antioxidants, isoprostanes, cytokines, sperm kinetic, and acrosome reaction, we developed a virtual reality game where the player, in order to improve the health of some virtual spermatozoa, is called to take dietary choices and then discover their consequences on the main biological aspects. In the LabVR of the University of Siena, a team of VR environment designer and developer used Unity development engine to make the experience run on Oculus Quest and a wireless 6DOF (six degrees of freedom of movement in 3D space) VR Headset. In the game, the player is immersed in the epididymis and observes closer how dietary n-3 may change the sperm plasma membrane and consequently modify sperm traits. A simulation game in the virtual reality may represent a tool to give greater visibility to scientific data in the relevance of appropriate dietary habits in the human health
"Rational zu sein war damals für uns eine Lebensfrage" -- Studien zu Paul Feyerabends Wiener Lehrjahren
No full textDie Wirkung des Philosophen Paul Feyerabend (1924–1994) ist unlöslich mit der Rezeptionsgeschichte seines Werkes Against Method (AM) verbunden, zu deutsch Wider den Methodenzwang. Das 1975 erschienene Buch hat die Sicht auf das Gesamtwerk des Wissenschaftsphilosophen entscheidend geprägt: Es hat ihm de facto eine große Isolierung – wenn nicht gar einen Ausschluss aus – der akademischen wissenschaftstheoretischen Gemeinschaft eingebracht, die dazu führte, dass seine früheren Schriften, mit ein paar Ausnahmen, nicht weiter beachtet wurden. Against Method hat seinem Autor allerdings ein außerakademisches Publikum hinzugewonnen, das sich jedoch ebensowenig für seine früheren Arbeiten interessierte, nicht zuletzt, weil Feyerabend selbst mit rhetorischen Gesten davon abriet. So wurde AM zum privilegierten Bezugspunkt, an dem wie selbstverständlich Feyerabends spätere Schriften gemessen und bewertet werden sollten. Ein vergleichender Rückblick auf seine frühere schriftliche Produktion stand nicht auf der Tagesordnung, war doch der Bruch, nicht die Kontinuität, das Markenzeichen des "Post-Positivisten" Feyerabend. Diese Einschätzung erfährt in jüngster Zeit eine Veränderung. Aus mehreren Richtungen erhebt sich ein wachsendes Interesse für das Werk des "frühen" Feyerabend: Die so genannte History of Philosophy of Science (HOPOS) hat begonnen, Feyerabends Bezüge zum logischen Empirismus zu untersuchen; hier sind die Untersuchungen von Friedrich Stadler und Matteo Collodel hervorzuheben. Die klassische philosophiegeschichtliche Forschung hat ebenfalls einige Arbeiten zum Umfeld des frühen Feyerabend hervorgebracht; hier ist vor allem die Dissertation von Jan Radler zu nennen, die den "konstruktiven Empirismus" Viktor Krafts rekonstruiert, Feyerabends Lehrer an der Universität Wien. Inzwischen wächst eine spezielle Feyerabend-Forschung heran, die verschiedene Phasen in seiner philosophischen Arbeit genauer untersucht und erste Versuche unternimmt, eine Gesamtsicht von Feyerabends Werk und Wirkung zu geben; hier sind vor allem die Arbeiten von John Preston, Eric Oberheim und Robert Farrell zu nennen. Die vorliegende Arbeit möchte einen Beitrag zu dieser Feyerabend-"Renaissance" leisten. Sie wird eine historisch orientierte Untersuchung des "frühen" Feyerabend vornehmen, mit Schwerpunkt auf seinen "Lehrjahren" als Student in Wien (1946-1951), sowie auf punktuellen Analysen seiner ersten schriftlichen Produktion. In diesem Sinne geht unsere Arbeit uber die spezialisierte Feyerabend-Forschung hinaus, mit dem Ziel, Feyerabend in der Tradition der wissenschaftlichen Philosophie zu situieren
Chronicle (Paterson, NJ), Vol. 24, No. 5, Feb. 3, 1952
No full textLocal information pertaining to Paterson, N.J. and surrounding Passaic County. Issues may include events, government, business, political cartoons, engagement and marriage announcements, and birth announcements.The Chronicle of the Week -- Just a Column of Comment --Your Child Is a Victim of Cerebral Palsy --In the Mailbag --That Man Called Wildebush --Editorials --The Editor Speaks --Graduates of Schools Nos. 4, 5, 9 and 20 --Money Talks --Graduates of Grammar School Nos. 12, 13, 15, 18, 21 --Lip Service --St. Boniface Church to Present Elaborate Production For Lenten Pageant -- The New "Dutch" Cleanup -- Your Home -- Visiting Friends Made Easy -- The Woman's Viewpoint --TV Shows This Week --The Big Blue Convertible -
Black holes, gravitational waves and fundamental physics: a roadmap
No full textWhite Paper for the COST action "Gravitational Waves, Black Holes, and Fundamental Physics", 272 pages, 12 figures; v4: updated references and author list. Overall improvements and corrections. To appear in Classical and Quantum GravityInternational audienceThe grand challenges of contemporary fundamental physics—dark matter, dark energy, vacuum energy, inflation and early universe cosmology, singularities and the hierarchy problem—all involve gravity as a key component. And of all gravitational phenomena, black holes stand out in their elegant simplicity, while harbouring some of the most remarkable predictions of General Relativity: event horizons, singularities and ergoregions. The hitherto invisible landscape of the gravitational Universe is being unveiled before our eyes: the historical direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration marks the dawn of a new era of scientific exploration. Gravitational-wave astronomy will allow us to test models of black hole formation, growth and evolution, as well as models of gravitational-wave generation and propagation. It will provide evidence for event horizons and ergoregions, test the theory of General Relativity itself, and may reveal the existence of new fundamental fields. The synthesis of these results has the potential to radically reshape our understanding of the cosmos and of the laws of Nature. The purpose of this work is to present a concise, yet comprehensive overview of the state of the art in the relevant fields of research, summarize important open problems, and lay out a roadmap for future progress. This write-up is an initiative taken within the framework of the European Action on ‘Black holes, Gravitational waves and Fundamental Physics’
Diatribas en torno a la Racionalidad Científica: Claves para una Comprensión Especulativa de la Deuda y el Distanciamiento Intelectual de Feyerabend respecto a Popper
No full textThe discussions that Paul Feyerabend held with Popper, allowed him to discover the flaws and limitations of an univocal notion of scientific rationality. Feyerabend realized how those mythical or metaphysical elements –that Popper recognized as pre-scientific– constitute, paradoxically, the heart of the scientific work. This criticism to Popper allowed him understands, imperfectly, what is not science and, therefore, the need to undertake a new vision or theory of science. Then, these discussions with Popper show him the way or the direction in which he should think his positive understanding of science. His understanding of the science is nothing but an attempt to refute dialectically the Popper ´s project to define science as opposed to metaphysics. Our purpose is to analyze the intellectual debt and subsequent detachment of Feyerabend regarding Popper, from his progressive understanding of scientific rationality.Las discusiones que Paul Feyerabend mantuvo con Popper le permitieron descubrir las falencias y limitaciones de una noción unívoca de racionalidad científica. Feyerabend da cuenta cómo aquellos elementos míticos o metafísicos que Popper reconoce como pre-científicos constituyen paradójicamente el seno del quehacer científico. Esta crítica a Popper le permitió al vienés entender de una manera imperfecta lo que no es la ciencia y, por tanto, la necesidad de emprender una nueva visión o teoría acerca de la ciencia. Luego, fueron estas discusiones con Popper las que le señalaron el camino o la dirección por la cual debía pensar su comprensión positiva acerca de la ciencia. Su comprensión positiva de la racionalidad ciencia no es sino un intento de refutar dialécticamente el proyecto popperiano de definir la ciencia en contraposición con la metafísica. Nuestro propósito es analizar la deuda intelectual y el posterior distanciamiento de Feyerabend respecto a Popper, desde su progresiva comprensión de la racionalidad científica
