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

Pere Quart's Plagiarism Trial: A Parody

Comparing Quart and Espriu

Pere Quart's Plagiarism Trial at the Tavern is a parody of Salvador Espriu's Song in the Temple Essay, a work reflecting the cultural and spiritual climate during the Franco regime. Both poems share a three-part structure:

1. Part 1 (v. 1-7): The author's situation is explained.
2. Part 2 (v. 8-13): The situation is presented to others.
3. Part 3 (v. 14-20): A conclusion is presented, along with the decision and reasoning.

The key difference lies in tone. Espriu uses a solemn tone, while Quart employs irony and sarcasm. However, both remain faithful to their pàtria. A comparison reveals an opposition in the adjectives used; Espriu's and Quart's choices establish antonymous relationships... Continue reading "Pere Quart's *Plagiarism Trial*: A Parody of Espriu" »

Ortega y Gasset: What is Philosophy?

What is Philosophy? is a posthumous book based on the lessons of a course given by Ortega y Gasset in 1927-28. In it, he vindicated philosophy as unavoidable knowledge. Unlike the positive sciences, philosophy is knowledge that must justify its own object. It possesses a universal character in contrast to the fragmentation of science, and it is ultimate knowledge compared to the provisional nature of scientific learning.

Lesson X: The Radical Data of Philosophy

In Lesson X, Ortega asked what the radical data, the object of philosophy, should be. Ortega criticizes the naive realism of the Greeks, for whom the radical reality was things independent of the self. Equally, he critiques idealism where reality is... Continue reading "Ortega on Life & Marx on Historical Materialism" »

Understanding Linguistic Variation

Diatopic (Geographical) Varieties

These relate the speaker to their territorial origin. A distinction exists between language, dialect, and local speech:

• Language: A system characterized by significant linguistic differentiation, often serving as an important vehicle for literary tradition. Sometimes, one language system has been imposed over others of the same origin.
• Dialect: A system of signs derived from a common language, with specific geographical limitations.
• Local Speech: Refers to linguistic peculiarities specific to a local character.

Diastratic (Social) Varieties

Diastratic varieties, also called sociolects, relate to the social distribution and stratification of speakers. These varieties are influenced... Continue reading "Linguistic Varieties: Geographical, Social, and Situational Factors" »

Minority Influence

Social relations involve antagonistic forces, where some groups seek to maintain power and status while others strive for improvement. S. Moscovici investigated how minority groups can influence the majority. He conducted various experimental investigations:

• Consistency: The minority must consistently and persistently transmit their ideas, defending them with conviction.
• Flexibility: Consistency can be maintained rigidly or flexibly.
• Defections of the majority: The minority can challenge the social consensus by proposing alternatives to majority rule.
• Fighting psychologizing: Some groups attack the minority without considering their ideas, resorting to the Ad hominem fallacy.

Groups

Human groups are diverse, with varying structures... Continue reading "Minority Influence and Group Dynamics: Understanding Social Behavior" »

Catalan Modernism (1892-1911)

Modernism was a cultural renewal movement that aimed to transform Catalan culture into a modern, national, and European culture. It ensured that art was present in all artistic fields. It was a cultural movement with a Romantic character, produced in the West at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.

Key Authors and Works

Santiago Rusiñol (1861-1931)

Santiago Rusiñol, a typical Bohemian figure, was also a Modernist painter. He was above the bourgeoisie, educated, and traveled to Paris. L'Auca del Senyor Esteve presents the case of Mr. Esteve, a bourgeois man with a familiar labor market. His child wants to be an artist, creating a father-son conflict. However, when Esteve is about to die, he acknowledges... Continue reading "Catalan Modernism: Authors, Works and Trends" »

The Theory of Evolution

It is now believed that all different lifestyles evolved from a common ancestor. The main idea of Darwin's theory was that change materialized in the morphological variation of species. These changes were slow and gradual. The process responsible for this evolution is natural selection.

Neodarwinism: Its central tenets are that variability is due to chance, mutation, and genetic recombination. Evolution takes place not on individuals but on the population.

Technology and Technoscience

Technique: A way of knowing is applied to the resolution of a practical matter. The systematic organization of practical knowledge is the basis of technology.

Technoscience: Science presents new challenges to be met. In this way, technology... Continue reading "Evolution, Science, and Technology: A Historical Journey" »

The Global Reach of Spanish

The reach of the Spanish language is vast, with the majority of speakers concentrated in Spain and the countries of Central and South America, excluding Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken. Additionally, there are single-state areas where Spanish is the primary language.

In areas formerly under Spanish rule, such as the Philippines, Western Sahara, Morocco, and Equatorial Guinea, Spanish remains influential. Judeo-Spanish, a 15th-century form of Spanish, is spoken in Israel.

While Spanish may be a third language for some, it is widely studied as a second language. The Cervantes Institute promotes the international diffusion of Spanish.

The Spanish of the Americas

We generically refer to the Spanish of the Americas as the... Continue reading "Spanish Language in the Americas: History and Influences" »

Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto

Historical Context

From a historiographic perspective, the contemporary period encompasses the 19th and 20th centuries. The 19th century, a period of significant upheaval, has been called the "century of revolutions," including those of 1830, 1848, and 1871. Karl Marx, a key figure of this era, emerged as a revolutionary thinker. The proletariat's misery fueled successive revolutions, generally inspired by liberal, democratic, anarchist, and socialist ideas.

Two crucial events marked the century: the French Revolution and the Napoleonic conquests. French utopian socialism, largely theoretical with limited practical political influence, was critiqued by Marx and Engels for its non-revolutionary character.... Continue reading "Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto: A Historical and Philosophical Analysis" »

Sociology and Education: Key Concepts

1. Sociology and Examples in the Field: Sociology considers how professors in the current school or educational system can possibly transmit the knowledge of democracy.

2. Sociological Perspective, According to Berger: Berger defines sociology as the attempt to understand society in a scientific manner, according to clearly defined rules. Education is constituted by the stretch of meanings and expectations that enable people to mutually orient their actions, move, and interact with each other.

3. Different Parts of Society that Interact in the Educational System: There are three parts: 1) an introductory part, 2) the study of the interaction between the educational system and subsystems, and social structure... Continue reading "Sociology of Education: Key Concepts and Spanish System" »

Early Life and Education

Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Trier, Germany. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at the University of Bonn and later in Berlin, initially pursuing law but shifting his focus to history and philosophy. In 1843, Marx moved to Paris to edit a radical journal. There, in 1844, he met Friedrich Engels, who would become his lifelong collaborator. A year later, Marx was expelled from France and relocated to Brussels.

The Communist League and the *Communist Manifesto*

In 1847, Marx and Engels joined the secret society known as the Communist League. They were entrusted with drafting the *Manifesto of the Communist Party*, a seminal work outlining their revolutionary ideas. In 1848, Marx was expelled from Belgium and... Continue reading "Karl Marx: Life, Philosophy, and Critique of Capitalism" »