- Philosophy
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- Projects funded by the Universidad Austral
Projects funded by the Universidad Austral
Longitudinal study of values for positive adolescent development and their impact on the quality of friendship.
This research is a longitudinal quantitative study whose general objective is to understand the effect of values for positive adolescent development on the quality of friendship at different time points (3 years) during adolescence. Specific objectives include evaluating the trajectory of both groups of variables (values and friendship) at the three time points, as well as evaluating the influence of values for positive adolescent development (Time Points 1 and 2) on the dimensions of friendship quality (Time Points 2 and 3). A sample of 500 adolescents aged 13 to 18 from Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina, will be selected. The instruments used for data collection are the Values for Positive Adolescent Development Scale and the Friendship Quality Scale.
Director: Lucas Rodriguez
Financing: $2.300.000
Duration: 2025-2026
The metaphysics of Providence
This project addresses the relationship between divine provident action and natural contingency, with the aim of proposing a revision of Thomas Aquinas's metaphysics in this regard. The guiding research question will question the relationship between the natural contingent events described by the natural sciences and the rule of divine providence, examining to what extent these contingent, random, or indeterminate events fall under the action of divine providence and, if so, how they can be considered truly contingent. The motivation for this project comes from the proposals of some contemporary theologians who have attempted to confront this problem by proposing to find spaces within nature for God to act, without interrupting or interfering with natural processes. These theologians have found in the indeterministic character of quantum mechanics the conceptual framework for locating God's provident activity. It will be proposed that these proposals, however, tend to assume that God depends on the created natural order to act if he does not want to compromise the autonomy of nature. The project will therefore address concepts such as the philosophical concepts of creation; the distinction between primary and secondary causality; the nature of natural causality; and the philosophical possibility of contingency in nature, with its implications for the doctrine of providence.
Director: Ignacio Silva
Fellows and members in training: Carlos Cuervo and David Matto Neyra
Duration: 2021-2022
Project code: 2021-IFUA-LAM07
Bullying, cyberbullying, and psychosocial correlates in adolescents and knowledge of the phenomenon among primary and secondary school teachers
To date, a sample of 400 adolescents has been formed, who completed measures on bullying, cyberbullying, emotional correlates, and social phobia. A sample of university students was also formed, who also completed a measure of bullying in the university environment. In addition, nearly 350 teachers have been assessed using the questionnaire on attitudes and knowledge of bullying.
Director: Santiago Resset
Duration: 2021-2022
Religiosity and spirituality across the life cycle, in adolescents, emerging adults and older adults
This paper aims to analyze religiosity and spirituality across the life span in three age groups: adolescents, emerging adults, and older adults. Its specific intent is to psychometrically validate the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale, as well as to describe the religious beliefs and practices of these three groups and determine whether they vary by sex. Finally, to compare religiosity and spirituality across the life span among the three age groups. The sample will consist of 700 participants of both sexes, who will form three groups: the first of 250 adolescents aged 13 to 17 years; the second of 250 emerging adults aged 18 to 28 years; and the third of 200 older adults aged 60 to 90 years. The instruments used will be a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Brief Multidimensional Assessment of Religiosity and Spirituality, and the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale. In addition, to study the construct validity, the Life Satisfaction Scale and the Revised Hope-Hopelessness Test will be taken.
Director: María Emilia Oñate
Duration: 2021-2022
Positive development of children, adolescents and adults in different areas of interactions
The objective of this research project is to study the functional development of positive emotions, cognitions, and behaviors throughout a person's developmental stage, from late childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. The project includes the study of Attachment, Inequity Aversion, Psychological Capital, Personal Growth, Perseverance, Religiosity, Happiness, Motivation, Resilience, Socioemotional Competencies, and Work-Family Balance. The development of these variables is studied in different contexts in which participants operate, such as family, educational, and work environments.
Director: Measured Bethlehem
Co-investigators:
Santiago Resset and Florencia Daura
Duration: 2020-2023
Project code: 2020-IFUA-DES06
The ontological argument as an argument for the existence of God
The arguments for the existence of God have been of central importance throughout the history of philosophy. Among them, the ontological argument stands out for its uniqueness and influence, even in our time. The dispute surrounding its formulations and the contemporary objections against it are strongly influenced by the formulations and objections coined in German rationalism. For this reason, the research proposal for this project will focus on the critical analysis of, on the one hand, the formulations of the ontological argument by Leibniz, Wolff, and Baumgarten and, on the other, the objections to them by Crusius and Kant, to determine the main characteristics of the former and the impact the latter has on them. As a methodology, based on a bibliographic review of these authors, a critical analysis of their works will be conducted. The results will be presented in a conference paper, an article, and a book.
Director: Ignacio Garay
Co-investigator: Ignacio Silva
Duration: 2021-2022
Financing:
$156.000
Project code: 2019-IFUA-ARG05
Epistemology of interdisciplinary research between philosophy and science
The objective of this project is to explore a cognitive explanation for interdisciplinary research. Its main hypothesis is that to reverse the excessive specialization that leads to cross-fertilization between disciplines, it is necessary to migrate from the existing epistemic plurality to a collaborative process of social cognition. To this end, the psychological phenomenon of joint attention will be explored, seeking to extend it to the consideration of a "joint intellectual attention" that can account for interdisciplinary research. The second-person relationship established between researchers and the required intellectual dispositions will be analyzed. First, the hypotheses will be substantiated from the philosophy of knowledge. Second, the proposed notions will be operationalized to develop an empirical evaluation tool for joint intellectual attention in interdisciplinary research.
Director: Claudia E. Vanney
Co-investigators:
Belén Mesurado, Juan José Sanguineti and Ivana Anton Mlinar
Duration: 2019-2021
Financing:
$156.000
Project code: 2019-IFUA-EPI04
Philosophical and psychological study of the individuality of the personal being
This project addresses, in an interdisciplinary manner, one aspect of the problem of personal identity, namely the irreplaceable nature of each human person, both conceptually from a philosophical perspective and from a psychological perspective through a qualitative study. Instead of the classic question of the permanence of personal identity despite changes, the guiding question of this project is a complementary one: Is there some perception of each person's individuality even when all other aspects, physical and mental, are indistinguishable? That is, would it make any difference to us if all the characteristics of one person were reproduced in another? From a philosophical perspective, we will seek to renew the discussion around personal identity, in which the main positions are identified: complex views (e.g., animalism, psychologism), the simple view, and the so-called Person-Life-View. The use of psychology is due to the hypothesis that its methods can yield valuable information about our understanding of our personal selves and that of others. A qualitative study will be conducted in a population of young adults using focus group methodology to explore the experience of the unrepeatable nature of the individual. The study will also allow for the formulation of hypotheses about the variables that may influence this experience, hypotheses that can be subsequently tested. Psychology will also benefit from using its own methodology to study a problem that is often the subject of philosophical discussion.
Director: Juan F. Franck
Co-investigators: Lucas Rodríguez and Mariano Asla
Duration: 2019-2021
Financing:
$ 180.000 (Universidad Austral) and USD 10.195,50 (Blueprint 1543)
Project code: 2019-IFUA-EST03
Transhumanism, ethics and human nature
The transhumanist program proposes the technological modification of human biology in order to enhance our natural capacities (physical, psychological, intellectual, and moral), eliminate disease, and radically extend life expectancy. This research consists of two parts. The first will analyze the usual division between radical and moderate transhumanist approaches (Göcke 2018). Both will then be critiqued in light of Thomistic anthropology. The second part consists of a philosophical analysis of a particular transhumanist proposal, which involves the elimination of sleep as a way of obtaining more time for active life (Istvan 2019). The project's results will be reflected in two articles for publication in scientific journals, two presentations at international conferences, two international seminars for teachers, and two outreach talks.
Director: Mariano Asla
Co-investigators: Juan Francisco Franck and Soledad Paladino
Duration: 2019-2021
Financing:
$180.000
Project code: 2019-IFUA-TRA02
Intertheoretical relations between quantum mechanics and other theoretical domains
The project is framed within the scope of the links between the general philosophy of science and the philosophies of the particular sciences. From the general philosophy of science, we will draw on the theoretical frameworks of reductionism and ontological pluralism and compare their suitability to specific cases within the field of philosophies of the particular sciences, in our case, physics and chemistry.
The general objectives are to analyze certain philosophical problems that arise in the fields of physics and chemistry, as well as in the area of intertheoretical relationships within each of these disciplines and the interdisciplinary relationships between them. The work plan is thus organized around two themes:
Relationships between quantum mechanics and classical mechanics: The overall objective is to clarify the conceptual aspects of the Modal-Hamiltonian interpretation, in particular, by developing the type of classical limit that derives from it. Furthermore, the conceptual unification of this interpretation with our previous approach to the classical limit based on the use of non-unitary evolutions in open and closed systems will be addressed. To this end, a logical characterization of the classical limit will be provided from a formal-mathematical point of view. This formalism will be applied to the description of specific phenomena such as the Loschmidt echo.
Relationships between chemistry and quantum mechanics: Building on previous work in this field, we will advance in the study and analysis of the ontology of quantum chemistry. In particular, we intend to analyze in detail how quantum chemistry models integrate conceptual and qualitative assumptions from different, and sometimes incompatible, theories. To this end, we will address the problem of 3N dimensions in molecular chemistry. In turn, we will extend our study to solid-state substances and analyze the ontological status of phonons.
Director: Olimpia Iris Lombardi
Co-investigators:
Sebastian E. Fortin, Federico Holik, Juan Camilo Gonzalez, Martin G. Labarca, Maria Jose Ferreira, Cristian A. Lopez, Hernan L. Accorinti, Jesus A. Jaimes Arriaga.
Duration: 2019-2021
Financing:
$180.000
Project code: 2019-IFUA-REL01
Hero: A virtual intervention program to promote prosocial behaviors in adolescents
The objective of this research project is to study the effectiveness of a virtual intervention program in promoting prosocial behaviors, variables linked to them, and in inhibiting aggressive behaviors in adolescents. The sample selection will be non-probabilistic and intentional, although the assignment to the groups (experimental and control) will be done randomly. The population will consist of 200 adolescents, of both sexes between 13 and 15 years old. To evaluate the variables, the Prosocial Behavior Questionnaire towards different targets (Padilla-Walker and Christensen, 2011), the Physical and Verbal Aggression Scale (Caprara and Pastorelli, ), the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980), the Forgiveness Scale (Rye et al., 2001), the GQ-6 Gratitude Questionnaire (McCullough et al., 2002), and the Flourishing Life Scale (Mesurado, et al., 2016) will be used. Statistically significant changes are expected to be found in all the variables studied in the experimental group, while no changes are expected in the variables assessed in the control group. The changes achieved through the intervention are expected to be stable.
Director: Dr. Belén Mesurado
Co-director: Dr. Claudia Vanney
Collaborating group: Dr. Gabriela Robiolo – Lic. María José Distefano – Lic. Paulina Guerra
Duration: 2018-2020
Financing:
$120.000
Determinism and indeterminism: From cognitive sciences to philosophy
The project addressed the problem of determinism or indeterminism in the field of human decision-making, as it arises in neuroscience and in the philosophical debates to which it has given rise, primarily over the last 30 years. Its objectives were: a) to clarify the epistemological level of neuroscience in relation to cognitive science, psychology, and philosophy; b) to analyze the possibility of human freedom within the framework of a deterministic or indeterministic nature; c) to study the compatibility of the existence of a personal human soul with the neurobiological approach. It included a monthly research seminar and an "Interdisciplinary Research Week," which aimed both to unify specific technical vocabulary and to consolidate the network of Spanish-speaking researchers working on these topics.
Director: Dr. Juan F. Franck
Co-investigators:
Dr. Claudia Vanney (Universidad Austral), Dr. Juan José Sanguineti (University of Santa Croce, Rome), Dr. Gabriel Zanotti (Universidad Austral), Dr. José Ignacio Murillo (University of Navarra), Dr. Ignacio Silva (University of Oxford).
Assistant Researchers:
Mariano Asla (Universidad Austral), Agustina Lombardi (Universidad Austral).
Duration: 2014-2015
Financing:
$ 20.200
Determinism and indeterminism: From physics to philosophy
This project investigated a traditionally philosophical topic, the debate on determinism, from new perspectives opened by contemporary physics, also considering its theological implications. The project sought to: 1) clarify the notions of determinism/indeterminism in physics, distinguishing their ontological and epistemological implications; 2) evaluate the conditions under which some current physical theories, particularly quantum mechanics and chaos theory, propose an indeterministic paradigm of nature; 3) show that contemporary physics does not exclude the existence of a creator and provident God. Through a "Monthly Research Seminar" and an "Interdisciplinary Research Week," a network of Spanish-speaking researchers working on these topics was consolidated.
Director: Dr. Claudia Vanney
Co-investigators:
Dr. Juan Francisco Franck (University of Montevideo), Olimpia Lombardi (Conicet, University of Buenos Aires), Dr. Alejandro Clausse (Conicet, National University of the Center of the Province of Buenos Aires), Dr. Juan José Sanguineti (University of Santa Croce, Rome), Dr. Ignacio Silva (University of Oxford), Dr. Juan Arana (University of Seville).
Assistant Researchers:
Mariano Asla, Esq. (Universidad Austral), Lic. Alan Heiblum (Universidad Austral), Lic. Ignacio del Carril (Universidad Austral).
Duration: 2013-2014
Financing:
$ 20.000
Determinism and freedom: physical determinism and its consequences
This research aimed to: 1) discern the meaning of the terms causality, contingency, determination, effectiveness, necessity, predictability and freedom in the literature; 2) based on the debate on determinism, evaluate the cognitive status of various physical-mathematical theories, in order to determine the scope of scientific realism; 3) advance in the formulation of a new modal-Hamiltonian interpretation of quantum mechanics that allows providing an adequate answer to the measurement problem, addressing the problems of contextuality and quantum indistinguishability in terms of an ontology of properties and relations that accounts for the uncertainty principle.
Since this is a theoretical investigation of a philosophical nature, the general method was a detailed study and critical analysis of the problems posed and the various solutions proposed in the literature, as well as the use of standard procedures in theoretical physics. The study of determinism was approached by taking into account current knowledge on the subject, both in the philosophical and physical-mathematical fields.
Director: Dr. Claudia Vanney
Co-investigators:
Dr. Alejandro Clausse (Conicet, National University of the Center of the Province of Buenos Aires), Dr. Roberto Bosca (Universidad Austral), Dr. Emiliano Hong (Universidad Austral), Dr. Gustavo Bitocchi (Universidad Austral).
Duration: 2009-2010
Financing:
$ 15.600
Epistemological and anthropological foundations of science and technology
This research aimed to delve into the epistemological and anthropological foundations of science and technology, guiding the inquiry in two directions. The epistemological study sought to determine the cognitive status of the mathematical objects used by contemporary science to determine their connection with reality. The anthropological study analyzed human free agency to account for its practical and technical intervention in its natural environment, highlighting the social responsibility of its actions and delving into the destiny of its actions.
The anthropology of Ortega y Gasset and the theory of knowledge of Leonordo Polo were particularly studied, contrasting their proposals with those of other contemporary thinkers from diverse philosophical traditions.
Director: Dr. Claudia Vanney
Co-investigators: Dr. Alejandro Clausse (Conicet, National University of the Center of the Province of Buenos Aires), Dr. Olimpia Lombardi (Conicet, University of Buenos Aires).
Duration: 2008
Financing:
$ 15.600