The social sciences rely on assumptions of a unified self for their explanatory logics. Recent work in the new multidisciplinary field of social neuroscience challenges precisely this unproblematic character of the subjective self as basic, well-defined entity. If disciplinary self-insulation is deemed unacceptable, the philosophical challenge…

It is argued that the correct answer to the three questions in the title is "no": that the theses being denied derive from traditional philosophy, not from the way the quantum theories are used. For example, the calculation of the energy spectrum of an atom assumes the autonomous existence of the atom, rather than its dependence upon the observer.…

Our purpose in this paper is to try to make a significant contribution to the analysis of cognitive capabilities of the organization of active social systems such as the business enterprise by re-examining the concepts of organizational intelligence, organizational memory and organizational learning in light of the findings of modern neuroscience.…

Bunge's writings on the mind-body problem provide a rigorous, analytical antidote to the persistent anti-materialist tendency that has characterized the history of philosophy and science. Bunge gives special attention to dualism and its shortcomings, and this attention is welcome in view of the resurgence of the doctrine today. However, I focus my…

In this paper, I present and discuss critically the main elements of Mario Bunge's philosophy of mathematics. In particular, I explore how mathematical knowledge is accounted for in Bunge's systemic emergent materialism.

Mario Bunge is one of the most prolific philosophers of our time. Over the past sixty years he has written extensively about semantics, ontology, epistemology, philosophy of science and ethics. Bunge has been interested in the philosophical and methodological implications of modern psychology and more specifically in the philosophies of the…

This paper presents and comments on Mario Bunge's scientific realism. After a brief introduction in Sects. 1 and 2 outlines Bunge's conception of realism. Focusing on the case of quantum mechanics, Sect. 3 explores how his approach plays out for problematic theories. Section 4 comments on Bunge's project against the background of the current…

In this short paper we discuss Mario Bunge's definition of system boundary. It is quickly discovered that Bunge's definition of system and system boundary are both deficient. We thus propose new definitions, which (hopefully) improve the situation. Our definition of system boundary works off the same intuition behind Bunge's.

The Bungian philosophical system, with its constant focus on the demarcation between concepts and coherent material systems, is particularly helpful for introducing scientists and students to the ontology of biological systems. We illustrate this with the case of the debate about "species as individuals," largely a concern for philosophers of…

This paper defends the view that metaphysical naturalism is a constitutive ontological principle of science in that the general empirical methods of science, such as observation, measurement and experiment, and thus the very production of empirical evidence, presuppose a no-supernature principle. It examines the consequences of metaphysical…

In this paper it is argued that virtual processes are dispensable fictions. The argument proceeds by a comparison with the phenomenon of quantum tunnelling. Building on an analysis of Levy-Leblond and Balibar, it is argued that, although the phenomenon known as quantum tunnelling certainly occurs and is at the basis of many paradigmatic quantum…

The paper describes the mechanics of cherry pit projectiles and ends with showing the similarity between cherry pit launching and chameleon tongue projecting mechanisms. The whole story is written as an investigation, following steps that resemble those typically taken by scientists and can therefore serve as an illustration of scientific…

With the start of the LHC, the new particle collider at CERN, the ATLAS experiment is also providing high-energy particle collisions for educational purposes. Several education projects--education scenarios--have been developed and tested on students and teachers in several European countries within the Learning with ATLAS@CERN project. These…

This paper describes a secondary school experience which is intended to help students to think profoundly about some energy-related concepts. It is quite different to other experiences of mechanics because the focus is not on the quantitative calculation of energy conservation but on the qualitative understanding of energy degradation. We first…

Constant technological advancement has facilitated access to digital cameras and cell phones. Involving students in a video production project can work as a motivating aspect to make them active and reflective in their learning, intellectually engaged in a recursive process. This project was implemented in high school level physics laboratory…