Notes, abstracts, papers, exams and problems of Social sciences

Absolute, Liberal, and Socialist States

The Absolute State (16th-17th Centuries)

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, social and political problems and revolts from nobles, cities, and farmers increased the power of kings. Authoritarian monarchies evolved into absolute monarchies where kings held absolute power. These kings concentrated executive, legislative, and judicial functions. The absolute state was defined by the rule of law, applying to all its components.

The Liberal State

The liberal state centers on the individual. Its function is to create a legal framework enabling free action. Individuals possess inherent rights, prior to and more important than the state, which must respect these rights. The state creates laws to protect... Continue reading "Absolute, Liberal, Socialist, and Welfare States: A Comparative Analysis" »

Understanding the Concept of Text

The text is a sentence or a more or less long sequence of sentences ordered coherently and endowed with meaning. It is the maximum unit of communication.

A text elaborates on an idea or a number of ideas that the sender wants to transmit, and each idea is logically related to the others. The resources for this are links, syntactic matches, and semantic relationships.

Therefore, the two essential properties of a text are syntactic cohesion and semantic coherence. Cohesion can be defined as the interdependence between the elements of a text. It exists when each constituent of the text depends on others and cannot be understood without taking these into account.

Cohesion mechanisms are varied; the most important are:... Continue reading "Understanding Text: Definition, Properties, and Global Spanish" »

The Hegelian and Marxian Dialectics

The Hegelian dialectic serves a complete and finished system of world history. Based on contradiction, it interprets and justifies the world, rather than transforming it. In contrast, the Marxian dialectic is open and unfinished, reflecting the incomplete nature of history and the real world. It aims to transform reality, not justify it, focusing on the contradictions within reality itself. Marx's dialectic is a dialectic of reality (the "subject"), not of ideas. It is a revolutionary dialectic of transformation.

Marx's Materialist Dialectic

Marx, a materialist, sought to synthesize Hegelian idealism with his materialism, creating dialectical materialism. His fundamental intuition is that history is simultaneously... Continue reading "Marxian and Hegelian Dialectics: A Materialist Interpretation of History" »

Factors Influencing Aging

The changes attributable to age are due to the interrelationship between functional and anatomical brain structures. These include:

• Changes in cognitive function (intelligence, memory, problem-solving, creativity).
• Changes in emotional state (loss of experience, motivation, personality).
• Social roles that society designates and that individuals must develop according to age. Certain roles conflict with chronological age.

It is important to distinguish between true aging and "fake aging." Fake aging refers to differences between young and old that are not motivated by deterioration over time but by factors such as:

• Effects of societal development
• Brainpower
• Culture
• Habits related to social attitudes of health maintenance

Theories

Key Linguistic Concepts

• Bilingualism: The routine use of two languages in the same region or by the same person.
• Semantic Field: A set of words related by meaning.
• Connotation: The set of values associated with a term.
• Denotation: The basic semantic features of a word, its core meaning.
• Diglossia: A type of bilingualism where languages have unequal social prestige.
• Statements: The minimum unit of communication, which can be a sentence or a phrase.
• Phonemes: Minimal linguistic units of meaning, representing mental images and sounds.
• Phonetics: The study of the physiological and acoustic aspects of speech sounds.
• Phonology: The study of how phonemes function to distinguish meanings, including intonation.
• Lexical Family: A set of words linked by a shared

Utopian Socialism

In the mid-nineteenth century, thinkers appeared who vindicated and defended the need to carry out social reforms to address resulting inequalities. They even proposed implementations in the production and distribution of wealth. Key figures included Saint-Simon and Fourier. However, the naivety and lack of scientific validity of their projects earned them criticism from Marxists, among others.

Anarchism

This is another philosophical and social current that demanded a radical transformation of society. The name means "without law or authority." Its principal ideologues, Bakunin and Proudhon, rejected all forms of power. They advocated the destruction of the State as the only way to achieve genuinely free, good, and supportive... Continue reading "19th-Century Social Theories: Utopian Socialism, Anarchism, Liberalism, and Materialism" »

The Galician Language in the Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries

During the Spanish transition to democracy, Spain began to be organized territorially into autonomous communities. Galicia was recognized as a "historic community."

With the advent of democracy, the demand for cultural and linguistic diversity in Galicia has increased. The language became the object of study and research to reach a standard. This involved the expurgación of dialectalisms, removing hiperenxebrismos, and adaptation to new environments of use: the city, media, normalization, and standardization.

• 1976: The University Department of Galician-Portuguese was created.
• 1978/1981: Thanks to the Constitution (1978) and the Statute of Autonomy (1981), Galician was recognized as

Economic Integration

Economic integration is the phenomenon of the progressive elimination of economic borders among a group of countries. It occurs in phases:

1. Preferential Agreement: A number of countries grant each other customs advantages not applied to other countries.
2. Free Trade Area: Member states eliminate tariff obstacles but maintain their own tariffs against third parties.
3. Customs Union: A common external tariff is applied to all imports coming from third countries.
4. Common Market: This is a customs union in which there is also a free flow of factors of production.
5. Economic Union: This means a complete common market with coordinated macroeconomic policy and the implementation of common economic policies.
6. Monetary Union: All currencies of

Nietzsche: Historical and Philosophical Context

Historical-Cultural Context

The nineteenth century was marked by dramatic changes caused by the Industrial Revolution and the triumph of capitalism. Growth was due to decreased mortality and increased birth rates arising from greater knowledge of disease. This resulted in theoretical debate, such as the doctrine of Malthus. Population growth led to a shift of population from rural areas to cities.

The Industrial Revolution began in Britain, followed by France and Belgium. Along with this revolution, there was also the Agricultural Revolution, which increased productivity and reduced the need for manpower in the field. The development of the revolution gave rise to two opposing social groups: the... Continue reading "Nietzsche: Historical, Cultural, and Philosophical Context" »

Scientific and Technical Discourse: Genres

Scientific and technical texts are communicated through various channels, by different sources, in diverse social spheres, and with varied intentions.

Oral Channel

• Conference: A public presentation of informative and educational content.
• Discussion: Aims to unify contrasting opinions and reach mutually acceptable conclusions.
• Speech: An informative presentation aimed at specialists.
• Scientific Discourse: A public presentation by an eminent academic institution, specifying an augmentative.

Written Channel

• Scientific Paper: A brief exposure to scientific information with didactic intent, typically published in media.
• Essay: A philosophical or scientific paper addressing a topic from a personal perspective, presenting