The Learned Society’s two-day General Assembly took place at the Hall of Patriots of the Carolinum May and at the ASCR’s main building 17-18 May, 2010. The Society primarily encourages the free development of science in all its aspects through dissemination of scientific ideas and concepts to the general public, by awakening a thirst for and delight in scientific knowledge within society, and through supporting the enhancement of the level of education and a creative, rational and humanly responsible climate in this country. At this General Assembly, Ivan Hlaváček, well-known historiographer, and Karel Štulík, renowned chemist and former president of the Czech Science Foundation, were bestowed the Medal of the Learned Society of the Czech Republic for their contributions to the advancement of science. The Scientist Awards were presented to embryologist and histologist Jan Evangelista Jirásek of the Institute for the Care of Mother and Child, and sinologist Oldřich Král of Charles University. The Junior Scientist Awards were given to Jan Dušek also of Charles University and Jiří Šedý of Institute of Experimental Medicine ASCR. The Learned Society Awards were presented to pedagogues Jarmila Ichová and Helena Kommová for their significant work in advancement of science among young students. The Grammar School Student Awards were presented to 11 students from Czech primary schools. and Marina Hužvárová, Gabriela Adámková.
The 8th Science and Technology Week was organized for the public by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic on November 3-9 and took place in Brno, České Budějovice, Plzeň, Hradec Králové and Praha. The program included speeches by scientific professionals, presentations of noteworthy experiments, workshops, non-traditional exhibitions, science cafés, and visits to laboratories and academic workplaces. and Luděk Svoboda.
The Netherlands took presidency over the Council of the EU until July 2016, followed by Slovakia and Malta. This 18month timetable puts great pressure on the Dutch to deal with the refugee crisis. For half a year, the country will have to tackle the various challenges. In a programme drafted with Slovakia and Malta, which will take the next two presidencies from July 2016, the Netherlands focused on a number of priorities in the area of Research and Innovation. An innovative Union focused on growth and jobs is one of the three starting poins for the 2016 Dutch Presidency. Innovation will have to top the EU agenda if the Union wishes to remain an economic powerhouse, according to the government. The Netherlands mentions several points, amongst which: effective implementation of European research and innovation programmes, supporting applied research while maintaining scientific excellence; the evaluation of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (2007-2013); the joint establishment of large-scale research facilities for the ERA; rapid development in science (Science 2.0 or Open Science); enhance the impact of science; advance Open Access to scientific publications and the use of research results; encourage public-private partnerships and the involvement of SMEs, to ensure scientific knowledge is used in tackling social challenges. and Soňa Jarošová.
This article examines the critique of materialism in the work of Noam Chomsky which treats the doctrine as lacking in any clear content. It is argued that Chomsky’s critique is a coherent one drawing on an understanding of the Newtonian revolution in science, on a modular conception of the mind, and on the related conception of epistemic boundedness. The article also seeks to demonstrate the limits of Chomsky’s position by drawing attention to his use of the third-person point of view in considering the mental and his resulting failure to make good sense of consciousness. Finally, a dual-aspect theory is recommended which would incorporate Chomsky’s agnosticism about the nature of matter., Článek zkoumá a hodnotí kritiku materialismu v díle Noama Chomského, podle níž je materialismus doktrínou bez jasného obsahu. Ukazuje se, že Chomského kritika je koherentní v tom, že uvádí do souladu interpretaci newtonovské revoluce v přírodní vědě s modulárním pojetím mysli a související teorií kognitivní omezenosti. Dále se tento článek snaží poukázat na problematický rys Chomského kritiky, spočívající v tom, že uznává při zkoumání mysli pouze hledisko třetí osoby. Toto omezení vede k podcenění úlohy a významu vědomí. Závěrem autor navrhuje, že tento nedostatek by bylo možné opravit tím, že bychom Chomského agnostické stanovisko vůči hmotě propojili s teorií dvou aspektů (dual-aspect theory)., and James Hill.
Nobelovu cenu za fyziku za rok 2010 získali Andre Geim a Konstantin Novoselov. Královská švédská akademie věd zdůvodnila její udělení slovy „for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene“, tedy za průlomové experimenty týkající se dvojrozměrného uhlíkového krystalu – grafenu. Od udělení ceny 5. října 2010 zveřejnila česká média mnoho článků jak o laureátech, tak i o podstatě a významu jejich objevu; znamenitým zdrojem informací jsou zejména webové stránky Nobelovy nadace. V našem příspěvku se proto omezíme jen na shrnutí nejdůležitějších skutečností. and Ludvík Smrčka.