Ontogenetic Theory Research Articles

Gesture, meaning, and intentionality: from radical to pragmatist enactive theory of language

AbstractThe article argues in favour of a pragmatist enactive interpretation of the emergence of the symbolic and contentful mind from a basic form of social communicative interaction in which basic cognitive capacities are involved. Through a critical overview of Radical Enactivists (RECers)’ view about language, the article focuses on Mead’s pragmatist behavioural theory of meaning that refers to the gestural conversation as the origin of the evolution of linguistic conversation. The article develops as follows. After exposing the main elements of REC’s theory of cognition and language that involve the construction of a theory of natural signs (teleosemiotics) and basic directionality (Ur-intentionality), some critical points of Hutto and Myin’s proposal will be highlighted. To foster a continuist perspective of language, the behavioural theory of meaning and language that Mead develops from the notion of gesture will be analysed. His theory is akin to REC and could augment the bare bones of REC’s sketched perspective, helping to include Ur-intentionality in a broader non-dualistic phylogenetic and ontogenetic theory of symbolic language from gestural communication, thus helping to overcome the distinction between a content-less intentionality and a content-involving intentionality, i.e., a semantic propositional intentionality. Furthermore, a recent revival of Mead’s theory testifies to its up-to-date relevance to explain the innate social dimension of human and non-human animals, and the human communicative capacity through the conditioning of bio-social canons and structures.

Cultural Pedogamy: Towards an Eco-Cultural Theory of Early (Child) Marriage

Early marriage, particularly (early) girl-child marriage, is prevalent in many indigenous ethnic and cultural communities around the world and in Cameroon. In spite of this, and despite the fact that studies have continued to be carried out on the phenomenon to elicit its causes and effects on individuals and practicing communities, no study has attempted to develop a psychological theory of the practice based on the practice itself. Most of the theories that have informed studies on early marriage practices have either been mainstream psychological theories; only one Africentric theory so far, namely the social ontogenetic theory of development, has made a contribution to explaining the practice from an African point of view. The theory of cultural pedogamy is developed from findings from the study titled “Early girl-child marriage: An exploration of its psychosocial practices and effect in four cultural communities in Cameroon.” The communities sampled included the Mbororo-Fulani communities of Sabga and Ndawara, the Moghamo cultural community, the Nwe Mundani, and the Lower Mboh. This study utilized the sequential exploratory design and data were collected from four cultural communities using questionnaires, key informant interviews, and focused group discussions. Data collected from interviews were analyzed using the process of thematic analysis with the support of Atlas.ti version 5.2 software (Atlas Ti GMBH 2006). Findings from the study revealed that the practice of early marriage is deeply rooted in cultural beliefs, norms, values, perceptions and expectations as well as in socio-economic conditions and has psychosocial, socio-economic and educational limitations on the girl-child. Quantitative data revealed that of the 36 respondents in the sub-sample of child-wives and former child-wives, 44.4% were in forced early marriages; 52.8% were completely dependent on their husbands financially and materially; none of them was in a legally registered marriage; 88.6% did not know the legal age for marriage in Cameroon; 85.7% said their husbands did not treat them as equals; 63.3% reported that they lacked decision-making rights in their marital homes; 94.1% had attempted school but all of them were currently dropouts as none was schooling while in marriage; 74.2% had ended school before the age of 15 years; 85.6% of them were illiterate and all expressed the willingness to return to school if given the opportunity. Furthermore, a significant 94.1% of this sample perceived early marriage as a violation of the human rights of the girl-child and above 90.0% indicated that they lacked happiness and fulfillment in their marriages. The theory of cultural pedogamy argues that cultural pedogamy results largely from several endo-ethnic-cultural factors which include cognitive cultural factors (cultural belief systems, cultural norms and values, and culture-determined perceptions), and sociocultural factors (socio-cultural expectations, cultural practices and traditional/cultural institutions). These cultural factors have developed through a cognitive causal sequence. The interaction between the cognitive endo-ethnic-cultural factors and between the cognitive and non-cognitive factors determines the strength of the practice and its endurance over time.

“Without Politics It Would Be Like a Robbery Without Police”

The present study investigates the intensity and nature of children’s political interest based on an ontogenetic theory of interest development. It examines concepts of politics, the degree of general and issue interest, as well as the reasons why children develop political interest. The sample consists of 594 primary and secondary pupils aged 8 to 12 years. A combination of questionnaires and drawing tasks were used to evaluate the children’s interest in politics. The findings demonstrate a high and consistent degree of political interest. Some topics (e.g., war) stand out to be of particular interest to the children. Topic interest is stimulated either by a topic’s perceived relevance or by its attention-drawing potential. Differences among the children suggest that influences on the development of political interest take effect already in childhood.

Semiosis as Individuation: Integration of Multiple Orders of Magnitude

This paper proposes Gilbert Simondon’s ontogenetic theory of individuation as an overarching framework for multilevel semiosis. What renders this theory suitable for this role is the fact that it shares a significant part of its heritage with biosemiotics, which provides compatibility between them. Unlike many philosophers who have worked on individuation, Simondon envisages a general process of individuation that starts with a metastable preindividual. This process ultimately constitutes an axiomatisation of ontogenesis and manifests itself in three basic modes: physical, vital and psycho-collective. In any of these modes a transductive operation is at work resolving the disparities of the preindividual whereby new structures emerge. Depending on the mode of individuation, the emerging structures can create new disparities that ask for further individuation. Simondon refers to such conversion of structure to operation and vice versa as allagmatics. He also extends his theory to scientific methodology establishing a healthy balance between reductionism and holism. His theory can be used to amend Peircean metaphysics to improve its compatibility with contemporary scientific discourse.

An ontogenetic approach to gynecologic malignancies.

Ontogenetic anatomy is the mapping of body compartments established during early embryologic development, particularly well demarcated in the adult pelvis. Traditional cancer surgery is based on wide tumour excision with a safe margin, whereas the ontogenetic theory of local tumour spread claims that local dissemination is facilitated in the ontogenetic compartment of origin, but suppressed at its borders in the early stages of cancer development. Optimal local control of cancer is achieved by whole compartment resection with intact margins following ontogenetic “planes”. The principles embodied in this hypothesis are most convincingly supported by the results of the implementation of total mesorectal excision in rectal cancer, and more recently, by innovative surgical approaches to gynaecologic malignancies. The high resolution contrast of MR, accurately delineating pelvic fascial compartments, makes it the best imaging modality for gynaecologic cancer surgery planning following these principles, but requires interpretation of imaging anatomy from a different perspective.Teaching Points• Ontogenetic anatomy refers to mapping of embryologically determined body compartments.• Ontogenetic theory claims tumour growth is not isometrical, but rather compartment permissive.• Ontogenetic principles are highly supported by the outcome results of total mesorectal excision.• Innovative gynaecologic cancer surgery approaches based on ontogenetic theory show promising results.

Morphogenetic fields of embryonic development in locoregional cancer spread

The ontogenetic theory of locoregional cancer spread regards cancer as a clinical manifestation of the pathological reactivation and maintenance of the sequential developmental programmes that previously controlled the stepwise embryological morphogenesis of the tissue from which the cancer originated. In the state of morphostasis that characterises adult organisms, these programmes are silenced. During malignant progression, these programmes run in retrograde sequence, which leads to cancer infiltration of ever larger tissue areas. However, because the reactivated morphogenetic programmes need topologically defined tissue domains--morphogenetic fields--to provide positional information for their interpretation, local tumour propagation is confined to permissive compartments (topographically defined tissue domains where malignant cells can survive, migrate, and proliferate), which are determined by the state of malignant progression. The tissue at risk of local tumour spread, the cancer field, is the mature tissue derived from the corresponding morphogenetic field in the embryo, which is labelled with the respective positional information. The theory can be tested morphologically and clinically for all tumours. Verification of this theory would offer substantial potential to improve prognostic assessment and surgical treatment. Identification of the complementary positional information for tumour cells in different ontogenetic stages, and their associated cancer fields, could be a molecular research strategy to further test the theory.

El amor y el instinto sexual en la antropología de Max Scheler

Starting from Scheler’s claim that eros is the essence of life, this paper examines his theory of sexuality. I firstly consider “sexual love”, taking into account Scheler’s doctrine of value-emotions, particularly his view on “appetite”. Then I consider “sexual instinct”, putting forward Scheler’s criticism of Freud’s ontogenetic theory. Lastly I discuss Scheler’s view on the metaphysical importance of human sexual intercourse.

“Our standpoint different from common...” (Scientific heritage of Alexander Gurwitsch)

The work of prominent Russian biologist Alexander Gavrilovich Gurwitsch (1874-1954) on the theory of organism development are reviewed. Alexander Gurwitsch introduced the concept of embryonic (morphogenetic, biological, and cellular) field and proposed several revisions of it from 1912 to 1944. Although neither of them can be considered as a final theory of development, his the persistent search for the invariant law that allows the shape (spatial structure) to be proposed for each next developmental stage from the previous shape is of imperishable methodological interest. Alexander Gurwitsch anticipated many ideas of the future theory of self-organization. His theoretical constructions are explicit and experiment-oriented but absolutely not esoteric. They represent a highly important and original contribution to theoretical biology and are an essential step to further development of the ontogenetic theory.

Structural and dynamic aspects of interest development: theoretical considerations from an ontogenetic perspective

Empirical research on the development of individual interests is mostly concerned with the analysis of developmental trends in groups or populations. However, there is a distinct lack of theoretical constructs that describe and explain interest development from the perspective of the growing individual. This article presents a collection of theoretical concepts and models that can be used to describe and explore structural and dynamic aspects of interest development from an ontogenetic research perspective. Basic ideas of an educational–psychological conceptualization of interest are outlined that—contrary to many other conceptualizations in this field—is based on a dynamic theory of personality. Such an approach provides an opportunity to analyze and reconstruct the manifold interrelations between the changing structure of a person's pattern of interests and the developing personal “self” during ontogenesis. Exemplary selected theoretical models and ideas are presented, including the question of general stages during the course of interest development from childhood to early adulthood, models to describe and theoretically reconstruct structural changes in an individual's pattern of personal interests over a longer period of time, ideas of how to conceptualize the transition from situational to individual interest, and theoretical considerations about the structure and function of the psychological regulation-system that is assumed to be responsible for establishing and stabilizing motivational preferences. Although these concepts and considerations are not yet integrated into a coherent ontogenetic theory, they may serve as a basis for a theoretical discussion on how to achieve this aim.

The genetics of aging in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae possesses a finite life span similar in many attributes and implications to that of higher eukaryotes. Here, the measure of the life span is the number of generations or divisions the yeast cell has undergone. The yeast cell is the organism, simplifying many aspects of aging research. Most importantly, the genetics of yeast is highly-developed and readily applicable to the dissection of longevity. Two candidate longevity genes have already been identified and are being characterized. Others will follow through the utilization of both the primary phenotype and the secondary phenotypes associated with aging in yeast. An ontogenetic theory of longevity that follows from the evolutionary biology of aging is put forward in this article. This theory has at its foundation the asymmetric reproduction of cells and organisms, and it makes specific predictions regarding the genetics, molecular mechanisms, and phenotypic features of longevity and senescence, including these: GTP-binding proteins will frequently be involved in determining longevity, asymmetric cell division will be often encountered during embryogenesis while binary fission will be more characteristic of somatic cell division, tumor cells of somatic origin will not be totipotent, and organisms that reproduce symmetrically will not have intrinsic limits to their longevity.

Educação e administração: elementos para um estudo antropológico da organização

Contrapondo uma concepcao “fatica” de educacao a uma concepcao “praxeologica”, o texto questiona o sentido de uma administracao da educacao, alternativamente se apoiando nos estudos de teoria ontogenetica da cultura, de psicanalise institucional, de socio-antropologia do cotidiano e de psico-historia. Repensa, portanto, a nocao de uma organizacao administrativa.

A Perspective on Great Lakes Fish Community Rehabilitation

Review of the ASPY syntheses suggested that destabilization and subsequent fish community recovery in the Great Lakes are compatible with a model in which postglacial succession, and the structure and persistence of the fish communities, were governed by piscivores. Recent advances in the areas of particle size distribution, ontogenetic niche theory, and ecosystem stability contributed to a broader understanding of fishery management alternatives. Species succession in Great Lakes aquatic communities is characterized as a cyclic repetition of maturation followed by seasonal, annual, or periodic setbacks. These are termed "enjuvenation events" and are attributed to any cultural or climatic factors which induce flux in energy–matter delivery to the system. The extent of enjuvenation is dependent upon the magnitude of the perturbation and maturity of the community and is predictable to some degree by the age and biomass distributions of the species present. The time course of rehabilitation to any arbitrary prior condition of the community is closely related to the enjuvenation–maturation cycle and to the life span and reproductive characteristics of the species present. The principal homeostatic mechanism is perceived to lie with variations in the durations of life history stanzas as affected by fish growth rates. The "biomass storage" function of larger organisms in the system is thought to be a major determinant of the "biotic inertia" or sensitivity of the community to perturbations. We are convinced that trophic linkages from the piscivores downwards must be maintained as biological feedback pathways to ensure that moderately excessive fishery yields can be self-limiting. Without these linkages (vulnerable to intensive exploitation or other catastrophic reductions in predators), biomass capture of nutrient inputs by algae will vector to waste as planktivore density limits secondary production. The extent to which the fish community can be maintained or driven to a particular species composition is dependent upon the degree of external control of all sorts that can be applied to the system. The rehabilitation continuum ranges from a self-sustaining assemblage of native species requiring little external control to a completely artificially supported community of non-native species requiring extensive controls for both water quality and fish community maintenance.

EPISTEMOLOGY, SEMANTICS, AND SELF-REFERENCE

Abstract The generally held view in semantics is that, for communication to take place, meanings must be shared, presuming a communality of experience between communicators. Recent advances in epistemology suggest that such communality is neither proven, nor credible. Alternative concepts of the mechanisms by which communication can take place have been developed and the properties of the relationships between such indications as can be observed and the distinctions they indicate have been explored. This paper considers the possibility of an ontogenetic theory of meaning, which, without requiring communality of experience, can nevertheless explain the possibility of communication.

ABSENCE OF A PRIMARY DIVISION OF THE PULMONARY TRUNK. AN ONTOGENETIC THEORY.

An ontogenetic theory is proposed to explain the absence of a primary division of the pulmonary trunk on the basis of an error in the septation of the truncus arteriosus, and the two common varieties of the syndrome are discussed in detail. It is suggested that: Both lateral pulmonary arteries are present in this syndrome, but one of them arises anomalously from the systemic circulation. The aberrant origin of one lateral pulmonary artery derives from the dorsal shifting of one of the two ridges responsible for the septation of the truncus arteriosus. The sixth arch on the side of the dorsorotated truncal ridge then becomes incorporated into the newly formed ascending aorta. The combination of tetralogy of Fallot, right aortic arch, and absent left primary pulmonary division results from a single primordial error: a dorsorotation of the left ridge extending throughout the truncoconus. The initial portion of the aberrant (systemic) pulmonary artery may obliterate postnatally, thus impairing maturation of the terminal portion. This would explain the frequent failure to demonstrate the artery by angiography and, occasionally, at dissection.

An ontogenetic theory for the explanation of congenital malformations involving the truncus and conus

Summary o 1. A review of the classical concepts about the development and partitioning of the truncus-conus and the formation of the membranous ventricular septum of the human heart is made. 2. An ontogenetic theory is proposed to explain congenital truncoconal malformations. This theory is based upon the work of Davis, Streeter, and Kramer, as well as on the study of pathologic specimens from the Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia of Mexico, and from medical literature. 3. Our ontogenetic theory considers truncoconal congenital malformations as a consequence of developmental alterations of the conoventricular flange, the truncoconal ridges, and the primordia of the aortic and pulmonary cusps. 4. Old concepts are re-evaluated and new ones are established in relation to lateral positions, transposition, unequal partitioning at the expense of the aorta or pulmonary artery, common truncus, and valvular defects. 5. Anatomic and embryologic correlations are made in order to permit the pathologic diagnosis of these malformations. 6. The different pictures of isolated and combined trucoconal malformations (which actually exist or may theoretically exist according to the proposed theory) are described. 7. More common congenital truncoconal malformations are interpreted according to this theory: common truncus, Eisenmenger's complex, Fallot's tetralogy, truncus solitarius aorticus, transposition of the great vessels, and the Taussig-Bing complex.