Human beings have always been captivated by the desire for immortality. Thus, in many different c... more Human beings have always been captivated by the desire for immortality. Thus, in many different cultural traditions we find reflections on the possibility of human longevity. From a philosophical point of view, we locate in Francis Bacon´s work the first modern systematic development of the issue. The English philosopher believes that, unlike the ancients, he discovered a method "to introduce young spirits into an old body" and, in his important History of Life and Death, conjectured scenarios for the physical regeneration of human beings. In line with this, he introduced the possibility of human beings exercising dominion over nature, where this domination is practiced not only on external nature, but also on themselves, indeed, on their own bodies. Bacon opened the door to the modern dream of increasingly numerous and effective techniques for the "improvement" of individuals: Must we extend human life? What are the "costs" of this extension? Since Ba...
History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, 2020
There is a vast literature dealing with the progress of transfusion techniques and investigations... more There is a vast literature dealing with the progress of transfusion techniques and investigations of senescence. However, in general, there is little interest in the metaphysical, philosophical, and even political factors that have led to the use of these techniques and the connection of blood with aging. We do not propose a new linear historical description of transfusion techniques or the origins of the human struggle against aging, but rather a historical-epistemological reflection of concrete contexts in which blood transfusions were associated with the fight against senescence. We will highlight a common element to the historical cases analyzed here. It is the application of what we call the “Baconian program” of nature’s research. The first concerns the metaphysical-theological aspirations present at the origin of the Baconian program of research, and then indicating the reasons that led to its abandonment. The second historic case will discuss some ideas and practices carried out by the Russian doctor and philosopher Alexander Alexandrovich Malinovsky-Bogdanov. Here we shall see arise an ethical collectivist foundation. Finally, our third historical case deals with the problem of blood in the contemporary world, especially in the scope of the philosophical movement known as transhumanism, which diverges clearly from Bacon and Boyle’s theological-metaphysical motivations and from those of Bogdanov’s collectivist project. It is now an individualistic aspiration towards the natural limits of the human condition.
This work proposes that a historically delimited study can offer teachers the opportunity to prob... more This work proposes that a historically delimited study can offer teachers the opportunity to problematize with students the historicity of scientific knowledge and its social, economic, pedagogical, and philosophical implications. The authors intend to draw attention to the centrality of chemical knowledge in modern scientific culture and how chemistry teaching is a manifestation of that social interest. Francis Bacon’s new program for natural history in the seventeenth century, more specifically his view of the history of arts, was adopted as the core idea of the work.
Resumo: Em 1640, quando Robert Boyle tinha 13 anos de idade, ele passou por uma singular experiên... more Resumo: Em 1640, quando Robert Boyle tinha 13 anos de idade, ele passou por uma singular experiência religiosa que marcou toda a sua vida e propiciou a sua conversão. A partir dessa época, Boyle conduzirá sua vida no seio da prática cristã. Essa profunda religiosidade, piedade e humildade do pensador irá refletir em toda a sua obra. Dentro desta perspectiva, pretendemos analisar a influência dessa religiosidade e da teologia no seu empreendimento epistemológico. Aqui veremos que seu interesse pela filosofia natural tinha um objetivo mais amplo: conhecer Deus através de suas obras. Assim, sendo um cristão virtuoso, Boyle construiu seu projeto epistemológico levando em consideração o bem estar do próximo, a estrutura do mundo natural e, acima de tudo, o plano divino da criação. Aqui a idéia de curso ordinário da natureza é fundamental, pois nosso filósofo abre lugar para a contingência, o possível e o milagre no âmbito da filosofia natural. Por isso ele aponta limites claros para o en...
During the last decades, increasing attention has been paid in Latin America to the history and p... more During the last decades, increasing attention has been paid in Latin America to the history and philosophy of biology. As attested by the creation and growth of many specialized journals, many scholars have actively engaged in this field, producing high-quality research. Although several authors regularly publish in English, most of them still prefer to write in Spanish or in Portuguese, and, for this reason, their ideas have barely crossed the boundaries of the continent. This book aims to remedy this state of affairs, by offering to the international reader a collection of original articles by some of the most skillful historians and philosophers of biology currently working in Latin American universities.
In the present paper we wish to discuss Nietzsche’s concept of “truth” as a fiction. For this pur... more In the present paper we wish to discuss Nietzsche’s concept of “truth” as a fiction. For this purpose the author uses Nietzsche’s criticism to logic, science, grammar and language. The work also aims at suggesting that the pressupositions of this atack are linked to a physiology perspective. Key-words: truth – fiction – subject – pragmatism – physiology Zaterka, L., cadernos Nietzsche 1, p. 83-92, 1996 91
The objective of this paper is to discuss some aspects of the polemic between Boyle and Spinoza. ... more The objective of this paper is to discuss some aspects of the polemic between Boyle and Spinoza. We will analyze a small physical-chemistry essay written by Boyle in 1660: A physicochymical essay containing an experiment with some considerations touching the differing parts and redintegration of salt-pete. In this text, Boyle shows how the salitre can be decomposed by the fire in volatile nitre and fixed nitre and, still, how those parts can been able to join for form the original substance again. So, Boyle believed that the salitre was a heterogeneous substance constituted by two * Doutorando do Departamento de Filosofia da Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas da Universidade de São Paulo – FFLCH/USP, e bolsista FAPESP. Cad. Hist. Fil. Ci., Campinas, Série 3, v. 11, n. 1, p. 63-80, jan.-jun. 2001.
Ao lado das imagens já conhecidas de Nietzsche como “precursor do nazismo”, “racista”, “pós-moder... more Ao lado das imagens já conhecidas de Nietzsche como “precursor do nazismo”, “racista”, “pós-moderno”, “pensador perigoso e irracionalista”, em tempos recentes acrescentou-se à imagem de “precursor do transhumanismo”. Ao apresentarmos aqui alguns elementos do transhumanismo, em especial aqueles ligados às mais recentes biotecnologias, bem como alguns conceitos do pensamento de Nietzsche, em especial o além-do-homem e a ontologia da imanência do vir-a-ser, visamos ampliar esse debate, enfatizando que, para Nietzsche, o ideal transhumanista não seria mais do que um sintoma do ideal ascético, tão presente ainda na nossa contemporaneidade.
O conceito de empirismo evoca tanto uma tradição histórica quanto uma rede de questões filosófica... more O conceito de empirismo evoca tanto uma tradição histórica quanto uma rede de questões filosóficas. Ambas frequentemente associadas a nomes como os de Francis Bacon (1561-1626), John Locke (1632-1704), George Berkeley (1685-1753) e David Hume (1711-1776). Porém, lembremos que nenhum desses filósofos utilizaram o termo empirismo, e nem compartilharam de uma única escola epistemológica. Do ponto de vista histórico é comum encontrarmos estudos de História e Filosofia da Ciência que relacionam o conceito de ‘empirismo’ com a chamada Escola Empírica Médica, desenvolvida na Grécia Antiga (século III a.C.). Porém, mais uma vez, temos que ter cautela com essas simplificações históricas, afinal se por uma Escola médica compreendemos um número de médicos que se reconhecem como pertencentes a um grupo que defendem exatamente as mesmas ideias e conceitos, a Escola Empírica Médica é simplesmente uma invenção histórica. De fato, observaremos alguns elementos comuns dentro dessas escolas, mas não ...
RESUMO Objetivamos discutir os principais argumentos que estão envolvidos no debate sobre a cient... more RESUMO Objetivamos discutir os principais argumentos que estão envolvidos no debate sobre a cientificidade do Princípio de Equivalência Substancial (PES), que afirma serem os OGM quimicamente equivalentes aos organismos selecionados pelas técnicas tradicionais de melhoramento, não requerendo, portanto, estudos toxicológicos adicionais. Problematizamos a cientificidade do PES, especialmente no que diz respeito à questão propriamente química. De fato, o PES estrutura-se conceitualmente na comparação quantitativa entre alguns componentes químico-biológicos da planta transgênica e os da não transgênica. Nesse sentido, as análises químicas propostas não conseguem relacionar sozinhas os possíveis efeitos bioquímicos, toxicológicos e imunológicos dos alimentos transgênicos, pois o princípio restringe as análises à composição química, molecular e analítica dos transgênicos. Emerge assim o problema do locus da incerteza científica, seja como questão epistemológica, seja como questão normativ...
Principia: an international journal of epistemology, 2021
In recent years, besides the increased interest in philosophy of chemistry, we have witnessed a &... more In recent years, besides the increased interest in philosophy of chemistry, we have witnessed a "material turn" in philosophy and the history of sciences with an interest in putting instruments, objects, materials and practices at the core of historical reports. Since its alchemic past, chemistry has worked with and on materials, so that its history is also a "material history". Thus, in the wake of this "material turn", it is up to philosophy and the history of chemistry to perceive the chemical substances, the chemists that create them and the industries that produce them as part of culture, society and politics. This overlap between chemical reasoning and materiality as well as the artificial character of its products makes chemistry an eminently technoscientific science. In this context, we will analyze the most general aspect that led us to identify it as "technoscientific", the hybrid that exists between chemistry and society. With that,...
Human beings have always been captivated by the desire for immortality. Thus, in many different c... more Human beings have always been captivated by the desire for immortality. Thus, in many different cultural traditions we find reflections on the possibility of human longevity. From a philosophical point of view, we locate in Francis Bacon´s work the first modern systematic development of the issue. The English philosopher believes that, unlike the ancients, he discovered a method "to introduce young spirits into an old body" and, in his important History of Life and Death, conjectured scenarios for the physical regeneration of human beings. In line with this, he introduced the possibility of human beings exercising dominion over nature, where this domination is practiced not only on external nature, but also on themselves, indeed, on their own bodies. Bacon opened the door to the modern dream of increasingly numerous and effective techniques for the "improvement" of individuals: Must we extend human life? What are the "costs" of this extension? Since Ba...
History, Philosophy and Theory of the Life Sciences, 2020
There is a vast literature dealing with the progress of transfusion techniques and investigations... more There is a vast literature dealing with the progress of transfusion techniques and investigations of senescence. However, in general, there is little interest in the metaphysical, philosophical, and even political factors that have led to the use of these techniques and the connection of blood with aging. We do not propose a new linear historical description of transfusion techniques or the origins of the human struggle against aging, but rather a historical-epistemological reflection of concrete contexts in which blood transfusions were associated with the fight against senescence. We will highlight a common element to the historical cases analyzed here. It is the application of what we call the “Baconian program” of nature’s research. The first concerns the metaphysical-theological aspirations present at the origin of the Baconian program of research, and then indicating the reasons that led to its abandonment. The second historic case will discuss some ideas and practices carried out by the Russian doctor and philosopher Alexander Alexandrovich Malinovsky-Bogdanov. Here we shall see arise an ethical collectivist foundation. Finally, our third historical case deals with the problem of blood in the contemporary world, especially in the scope of the philosophical movement known as transhumanism, which diverges clearly from Bacon and Boyle’s theological-metaphysical motivations and from those of Bogdanov’s collectivist project. It is now an individualistic aspiration towards the natural limits of the human condition.
This work proposes that a historically delimited study can offer teachers the opportunity to prob... more This work proposes that a historically delimited study can offer teachers the opportunity to problematize with students the historicity of scientific knowledge and its social, economic, pedagogical, and philosophical implications. The authors intend to draw attention to the centrality of chemical knowledge in modern scientific culture and how chemistry teaching is a manifestation of that social interest. Francis Bacon’s new program for natural history in the seventeenth century, more specifically his view of the history of arts, was adopted as the core idea of the work.
Resumo: Em 1640, quando Robert Boyle tinha 13 anos de idade, ele passou por uma singular experiên... more Resumo: Em 1640, quando Robert Boyle tinha 13 anos de idade, ele passou por uma singular experiência religiosa que marcou toda a sua vida e propiciou a sua conversão. A partir dessa época, Boyle conduzirá sua vida no seio da prática cristã. Essa profunda religiosidade, piedade e humildade do pensador irá refletir em toda a sua obra. Dentro desta perspectiva, pretendemos analisar a influência dessa religiosidade e da teologia no seu empreendimento epistemológico. Aqui veremos que seu interesse pela filosofia natural tinha um objetivo mais amplo: conhecer Deus através de suas obras. Assim, sendo um cristão virtuoso, Boyle construiu seu projeto epistemológico levando em consideração o bem estar do próximo, a estrutura do mundo natural e, acima de tudo, o plano divino da criação. Aqui a idéia de curso ordinário da natureza é fundamental, pois nosso filósofo abre lugar para a contingência, o possível e o milagre no âmbito da filosofia natural. Por isso ele aponta limites claros para o en...
During the last decades, increasing attention has been paid in Latin America to the history and p... more During the last decades, increasing attention has been paid in Latin America to the history and philosophy of biology. As attested by the creation and growth of many specialized journals, many scholars have actively engaged in this field, producing high-quality research. Although several authors regularly publish in English, most of them still prefer to write in Spanish or in Portuguese, and, for this reason, their ideas have barely crossed the boundaries of the continent. This book aims to remedy this state of affairs, by offering to the international reader a collection of original articles by some of the most skillful historians and philosophers of biology currently working in Latin American universities.
In the present paper we wish to discuss Nietzsche’s concept of “truth” as a fiction. For this pur... more In the present paper we wish to discuss Nietzsche’s concept of “truth” as a fiction. For this purpose the author uses Nietzsche’s criticism to logic, science, grammar and language. The work also aims at suggesting that the pressupositions of this atack are linked to a physiology perspective. Key-words: truth – fiction – subject – pragmatism – physiology Zaterka, L., cadernos Nietzsche 1, p. 83-92, 1996 91
The objective of this paper is to discuss some aspects of the polemic between Boyle and Spinoza. ... more The objective of this paper is to discuss some aspects of the polemic between Boyle and Spinoza. We will analyze a small physical-chemistry essay written by Boyle in 1660: A physicochymical essay containing an experiment with some considerations touching the differing parts and redintegration of salt-pete. In this text, Boyle shows how the salitre can be decomposed by the fire in volatile nitre and fixed nitre and, still, how those parts can been able to join for form the original substance again. So, Boyle believed that the salitre was a heterogeneous substance constituted by two * Doutorando do Departamento de Filosofia da Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas da Universidade de São Paulo – FFLCH/USP, e bolsista FAPESP. Cad. Hist. Fil. Ci., Campinas, Série 3, v. 11, n. 1, p. 63-80, jan.-jun. 2001.
Ao lado das imagens já conhecidas de Nietzsche como “precursor do nazismo”, “racista”, “pós-moder... more Ao lado das imagens já conhecidas de Nietzsche como “precursor do nazismo”, “racista”, “pós-moderno”, “pensador perigoso e irracionalista”, em tempos recentes acrescentou-se à imagem de “precursor do transhumanismo”. Ao apresentarmos aqui alguns elementos do transhumanismo, em especial aqueles ligados às mais recentes biotecnologias, bem como alguns conceitos do pensamento de Nietzsche, em especial o além-do-homem e a ontologia da imanência do vir-a-ser, visamos ampliar esse debate, enfatizando que, para Nietzsche, o ideal transhumanista não seria mais do que um sintoma do ideal ascético, tão presente ainda na nossa contemporaneidade.
O conceito de empirismo evoca tanto uma tradição histórica quanto uma rede de questões filosófica... more O conceito de empirismo evoca tanto uma tradição histórica quanto uma rede de questões filosóficas. Ambas frequentemente associadas a nomes como os de Francis Bacon (1561-1626), John Locke (1632-1704), George Berkeley (1685-1753) e David Hume (1711-1776). Porém, lembremos que nenhum desses filósofos utilizaram o termo empirismo, e nem compartilharam de uma única escola epistemológica. Do ponto de vista histórico é comum encontrarmos estudos de História e Filosofia da Ciência que relacionam o conceito de ‘empirismo’ com a chamada Escola Empírica Médica, desenvolvida na Grécia Antiga (século III a.C.). Porém, mais uma vez, temos que ter cautela com essas simplificações históricas, afinal se por uma Escola médica compreendemos um número de médicos que se reconhecem como pertencentes a um grupo que defendem exatamente as mesmas ideias e conceitos, a Escola Empírica Médica é simplesmente uma invenção histórica. De fato, observaremos alguns elementos comuns dentro dessas escolas, mas não ...
RESUMO Objetivamos discutir os principais argumentos que estão envolvidos no debate sobre a cient... more RESUMO Objetivamos discutir os principais argumentos que estão envolvidos no debate sobre a cientificidade do Princípio de Equivalência Substancial (PES), que afirma serem os OGM quimicamente equivalentes aos organismos selecionados pelas técnicas tradicionais de melhoramento, não requerendo, portanto, estudos toxicológicos adicionais. Problematizamos a cientificidade do PES, especialmente no que diz respeito à questão propriamente química. De fato, o PES estrutura-se conceitualmente na comparação quantitativa entre alguns componentes químico-biológicos da planta transgênica e os da não transgênica. Nesse sentido, as análises químicas propostas não conseguem relacionar sozinhas os possíveis efeitos bioquímicos, toxicológicos e imunológicos dos alimentos transgênicos, pois o princípio restringe as análises à composição química, molecular e analítica dos transgênicos. Emerge assim o problema do locus da incerteza científica, seja como questão epistemológica, seja como questão normativ...
Principia: an international journal of epistemology, 2021
In recent years, besides the increased interest in philosophy of chemistry, we have witnessed a &... more In recent years, besides the increased interest in philosophy of chemistry, we have witnessed a "material turn" in philosophy and the history of sciences with an interest in putting instruments, objects, materials and practices at the core of historical reports. Since its alchemic past, chemistry has worked with and on materials, so that its history is also a "material history". Thus, in the wake of this "material turn", it is up to philosophy and the history of chemistry to perceive the chemical substances, the chemists that create them and the industries that produce them as part of culture, society and politics. This overlap between chemical reasoning and materiality as well as the artificial character of its products makes chemistry an eminently technoscientific science. In this context, we will analyze the most general aspect that led us to identify it as "technoscientific", the hybrid that exists between chemistry and society. With that,...
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