Recent years have witnessed a search for new sources for archaeological inspiration within areas which until recently have not been imagined as a source for science. Archaeology has become more â oeanthropologizedâ, and, as such, is becoming increasingly influenced by the Zeitgeist, although some European schools are yet to recognize this. The process of scientific research that archaeologists have always considered to be an objective approach has been revealed to be the result of different subjective cognitive processes, forming part of (...) the contemporary humanistic paradigm, a fact confirmed by new tendencies in contemporary archaeology. Consequently, this book considers the question: how does the archaeologist think today? Beginning with simple analogies issued from archaeological experiments or from ethnography, the structure of the contemporary archaeological thought is increasingly complex, working today with concepts that only yesterday were a subject of study. This book considers these new types of approaches, through a series of personal narratives provided by archaeologists, describing their working methods in the process of imagining the past. (shrink)

Proof-theoretic semantics (P-tS) is the paradigm of semantics in which meaning in logic is based on proof (as opposed to truth). A particular instance of P-tS for intuitionistic propositional logic (IPL) is its base-extension semantics (B-eS). This semantics is given by a relation called support, explaining the meaning of the logical constants, which is parameterized by systems of rules called bases that provide the semantics of atomic propositions. In this paper, we interpret bases as collections of definite formulae and use (...) the operational view of them as provided by uniform proof-search—the proof-theoretic foundation of logic programming (LP)—to establish the completeness of IPL for the B-eS. This perspective allows negation, a subtle issue in P-tS, to be understood in terms of the negation-as-failure protocol in LP. Specifically, while the denial of a proposition is traditionally understood as the assertion of its negation, in B-eS we may understand the denial of a proposition as the failure to find a proof of it. In this way, assertion and denial are both prime concepts in P-tS. (shrink)

The reductive, as opposed to deductive, view of logic is the form of logic that is, perhaps, most widely employed in practical reasoning. In particular, it is the basis of logic programming. Here, building on the idea of uniform proof in reductive logic, we give a treatment of logic programming for BI, the logic of bunched implications, giving both operational and denotational semantics, together with soundness and completeness theorems, all couched in terms of the resource interpretation of BI’s semantics. We (...) use this set-up as a basis for exploring how coalgebraic semantics can, in contrast to the basic denotational semantics, be used to describe the concrete operational choices that are an essential part of proof-search. The overall aim, toward which this paper can be seen as an initial step, is to develop a uniform, generic, mathematical framework for understanding the relationship between the deductive structure of logics and the control structures of the corresponding reductive paradigm. (shrink)

The contribution by De Dreu and Gross oversimplifies the complexity of the topic. I provide counterarguments that undermine the two sweeping contentions on which the article's argument depends, and I argue that asymmetric conflict is best understood at the finer-grained level of studying the sequences of strikes and counterstrikes that the rival actors have in store for one another.

Even though Pietraszewski acknowledges the tentative nature of the theory and the multiple lines of adjacent research needed to flesh it out, he insists that the finite set of primitives he identified is necessary and sufficient for defining social groups in the context of conflict. In this commentary I expose three interrelated conundrums that cast doubt on this simplistic presumption.

This paper aims to show that Lessing develops in his aesthetics a pre-Kantian philosophy of consciousness. The concept of virtuality that the german writer puts forward in his essay Laocoon implies an interweaving of temporal dimensions similar to the threefold temporal synthesis described by Kant in the transcendental deduction of the Critique of Pure Reason. But whereas Kant thematizes an a priori of consciousness, Lessing is in search of an a priori of plastic art. It will be seen that perfect (...) sculpture presupposes the choice of that moment in time which can open the imagination to the past and the future in a way that enriches the present by transforming it into a "pregnant moment". The final aim of the article is to trace the genesis of the concept of simultaneity of temporal dimensions presupposed by the idea of the pregnant moment, and its implications for the idea of the temporality of consciousness. (shrink)

We give a novel approach to proving soundness and completeness for a logic (henceforth: the object-logic) that bypasses truth-in-a-model to work directly with validity. Instead of working with specific worlds in specific models, we reason with eigenworlds (i.e., generic representatives of worlds) in an arbitrary model. This reasoning is captured by a sequent calculus for a _meta_-logic (in this case, first-order classical logic) expressive enough to capture the semantics of the object-logic. Essentially, one has a calculus of validity for the (...) object-logic. The method proceeds through the perspective of reductive logic (as opposed to the more traditional paradigm of deductive logic), using the space of reductions as a medium for showing the behavioural equivalence of reduction in the sequent calculus for the object-logic and in the validity calculus. Rather than study the technique in general, we illustrate it for the logic of Bunched Implications (BI), thus IPL and MILL (without negation) are also treated. Intuitively, BI is the free combination of intuitionistic propositional logic and multiplicative intuitionistic linear logic, which renders its meta-theory is quite complex. The literature on BI contains many similar, but ultimately different, algebraic structures and satisfaction relations that either capture only fragments of the logic (albeit large ones) or have complex clauses for certain connectives (e.g., Beth’s clause for disjunction instead of Kripke’s). It is this complexity that motivates us to use BI as a case-study for this approach to semantics. (shrink)

In this paper I argue for the following two related claims. First, the science of phoronomy from Kant's Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science is grounded in the duplication of space. Second, this duplication is made possible through the self-localization of the subject, as Kant shows in the "Gegnden-Schrift". The thesis of this paper is that the self-localization transforms space into an object that can be cinematically moved and that this action sets the ground for a science of phoronomy, which presupposes (...) the existence of at least two spaces. In the end, the other endpoint of the Kantian determination of space is discussed, namely space understood as an idea of reason. (shrink)

According to the transcendental Aesthetic of the Critique of pure reason, there are two properties of time that cannot be intellectualized: passage and infinitude. This study tries to show that these essential properties of time come to light in Kant’s Critique of Judgment. The contemplation of beauty will be understood as a non-successive time and the wonder that we experience in seeing the sublime will be understood through Kant’s concept of infinite moment. These two aesthetic concepts of time will be (...) integrated into Kant’s broader view of time as developed in the first Critique. (shrink)

"The “philosophical” style specific to Montaigne’s Essays, totally devoid of demonstration and system, gives the reader the possibility of “essaying” an experience of his own reading, based on the idea that “Words belong half to the speaker, half to the hearer” (III, 13). Following Montaigne’s idea that selfishness is the basis of solidarity between men (the basis of society), we can detect two levels in this political conception: 1) on the one hand, the relationship between the individual subject and his (...) own complex state; 2) on the other hand, the relationship of the individual to otherness. For Montaigne, the first level is a priority and, as his own political experience shows, the individual subject has above all the duty to remain true to himself and to his own temperament. The duty to serve others is secondary, occasional and moderate. To complete the ideas that can constitute a “map” of Montaigne’s political philosophy, we have analyzed – quantitatively and qualitatively – the contexts in which the French philosopher used the word “conflict”. The examples confirm the predominance of the interior level of the individual subject and less of the relationship of the individual to otherness. To be active in the public sphere, the individual needs modesty and moderation in the expression of his opinions, as well as a rational evaluation when he wishes major changes; otherwise, they risk doing more harm than good to others. The individual must struggle internally with the weapons of reason, so as not to give in to irrational desires – such as revenge or carnal desires – which would affect others, which is virtue. An inner balance is necessary, and the others will gain from this. Keywords: Montaigne, Essays, political philosophy, Renaissance, map, conflict, individual, society, political system, selfishness, solidarity, opinion, public life, moderation, otherness, private life, civil war". (shrink)

This article proposes a first systematic approach to the manuscript tradition of the Liber de causis. It studies both the manuscript variants and the doctrinal difficulties raised by the transliteration of the Arabic al-ʿaql preserved in the Latin translation. Some authors interpreted this transliteration as a concept forged by Arab philosophers without an equivalent in Latin. Other authors do not mention it because they probably knew a different branch of the manuscript tradition. By examining one hundred and ten Latin manuscripts (...) of the Liber de causis, the article establishes a list of the numerous variations regarding the presence of this transliteration in the text and its forms or spellings. This analysis enables a better understanding of both Albert's position and the hitherto unsuspected diversity of the transmission of the Liber de causis in the Latin West. (shrink)

Pierre Hadot famously claimed that, between Antiquity and German Idealism, Western philosophy had lost its practical role of guiding the life of the practitioner. Scholars who challenged this view focused on two medieval models. This article argues that the overlooked work Colliget principiorum iuris naturalis, divini et humani philosophice doctrinalium by Heymericus de Campo postulates a third model. On the basis of St. Paul’s teaching about the “inner man,” Heymericus reconsiders the Aristotelian doctrines of abstraction and of being as such (...) in relation to the Neoplatonic model of intellectual progression and interior conversion. In a realist conceptual framework, he holds that only metaphysics reflects the true nature of the human being inasmuch as it presupposes a way of life that assumes both the interaction with and withdrawal from the sensible world. However, Heymericus’ theory is neither limited to nor conditioned by Christian principles, but by Peripatetic philosophy. (shrink)

Die Präsentation versucht, die Frage nach dem Verhältnis von Denken und Realität im gegenwärtigen technisch-technologischen entstehenden Vergehen. Verborgen damit sind alle grundlegenden philosophischen Fragen verbunden, und vor allem die Frage nach der Möglichkeit, „von“ oder „jenseits“ der entstehenden-vergehenden Realität zu denken. Die zeitgenössische Debatte kehrt damit zum transzendental-immanenten Charakter der Meinung zurück, die trotz der neu entstandenen/vergangenen Situation, als Frage möglicher Begründung des philosophischen Wissens man mit seinen traditionellen Formen und Leistungsweisen vergleichen kann. Das Feld dieses Tanzes ist eine neue (...) „Höhlenwand“, die in ihrer kraftvollen Darbietung die Technik und die Technologie inszenieren. (shrink)

This exposition attempts to explore the question of the relationship between thinking and reality in the current technico-technological disappearance-in-appearance. All fundamental philosophical questions are covertly related with it, and above all the question of the possibility of thinking?from? or?beyond? the reality which appears/disappears. The contemporary debate thus returns to the transcendent-immanent character of the thought which, as a question of possible justification of philosophical knowledge, can be compared with its traditional forms and modes of execution in spite of the new (...) situation in its appearance. The field of this dance is a new?cave wall? that stages technics and technology in their powerful performance. nema. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that the values supported by scientists can have a role in episodes of theory choice. In the first part, I characterize the value- and the rulebased accounts of theory choice. In the second part, I analyze how the thesis of underdetermination of theory by empirical data can be used to argue for a value-based account. I discuss two versions of the underdetermination thesis, arguing that the weaker version, underdetermination by the evidence available at a particular (...) time, is sufficient for establishing the role of values in theory selection. Many authors distinguish between cognitive and non-cognitive values, considering that only the former ones have a legitimate role in theory choice. I defend this distinction, showing that it has both a normative and a descriptive dimension. I argue that cognitive values must not be seen as indicators of truth, but they can be characterized by their relation to the goal of science. In the end, I argue that, in spite of being justified and useful, the distinction between cognitive and non-cognitive values is not clear-cut. (shrink)

Father André Scrima emphasised in his works the importance of monasticism as an inward phenomenon of the church, and he even believed that the Orthodox Church can be considered a 'monastic' church, given that monasticism is itself ecclesial. Trying to explain this ecclesial function, Father Scrima developed a unique, fresh vision regarding the role that the monk had throughout history, and this article sought to summarise some of these observations as they emerged from the writings of Father Scrima. CONTRIBUTION: The (...) article focuses on Father Scrima and argues that this remarkable Romanian theologian is often overlooked. He was gifted with an incredible memory and an outstanding capacity to bring together information from different fields of knowledge - the so-called classical culture - with universal cultural elements, patterns, traits or institutions that are common to all human cultures worldwide, presenting them in a theological interpretation. (shrink)

Background Only a few studies have been conducted to assess physicians’ knowledge of legal standards. Nevertheless, prior research has demonstrated a dearth of medical law knowledge. Our study explored physicians’ awareness of legal provisions concerning informed consent and confidentiality, which are essential components of the physician-patient relationship of trust. -/- Methods A cross-sectional study assessed attending physicians’ legal knowledge of informed consent and confidentiality regulations. The study was conducted in nine hospitals in Dolj County, Romania. Physicians were given a questionnaire (...) with ten scenarios and instructed to select the response that best reflected their practice. We assessed the responses of physicians who claimed their practice to be entirely legal. Their legal knowledge was evaluated by comparing their answers to applicable laws. We also calculated a score for the physicians who admitted to committing a legal breach. -/- Results Of the 305 respondents, 275 declared they never committed any law violation. However, their median correct answer score was 5.35 ± 1.66 out of 10. The specialty was the strongest predictor of legal knowledge, with emergency physicians rating the lowest and non-surgical physicians scoring the highest. Physicians who worked in both private and public sectors were better knowledgeable about legal issues than those who worked exclusively in the public sector. Results indicate that physicians are aware of the patient’s right to informed consent but lack comprehensive understanding. While most physicians correctly answered simple questions, only a tiny minority identified the correct solution when confronted with ethical dilemmas. The physicians who acknowledged breaching the law, on the other hand, had a slightly higher knowledge score at 5.45 ± 2.18. -/- Conclusion Legal compliance remains relatively low due to insufficient legal awareness. Physicians display limited awareness of legal requirements governing patient autonomy, confidentiality, and access to health data. Law should be taught in all medical schools, including undergraduate programs, to increase physicians’ legal knowledge and compliance. (shrink)

For many centuries, philosophers have debated this question: “Does God exist?” Surprisingly, they have paid rather less attention to this distinct – but also very important – question: “Would God’s existence be a good thing?” The latter is an axiological question about the difference in value that God’s existence would make (or does make) in the actual world. Perhaps the most natural position to take, whether or not one believes in God, is to hold that it would be a very (...) good thing if such a being were to exist. After all, God is traditionally thought to be perfectly powerful and good, and it might seem obvious that such a being’s existence would make things better than they would otherwise be. But this judgment has been contested: some philosophers have held that God’s existence would make things worse, and that, on this basis, one can reasonably prefer God’s non-existence. We first distinguish a wide array of axiological positions concerning the value of God’s existence which might be held by theists, atheists, and agnostics alike. We next construe these positions as comparative judgments about the axiological status of various possible worlds. We then criticize an important recent attempt to show that God’s existence would make things worse, in various ways, than they would otherwise be. (shrink)

One can know how to ride a bicycle, play the cello, or collect experimental data. But who can know how to properly ride a tandem bicycle, perform a symphony, or run a high-energy physics experiment? Reductionist analyses fail to account for these cases strictly in terms of the individual know-how involved. Nevertheless, it doesn't follow from non-reductionism that groups possess this know-how. One must first show that epistemic extension cannot obtain. This is the idea that individuals can possess knowledge even (...) when others possess some of the epistemic materials generating it. I show that only knowledge-that can be epistemically extended, not knowledge-how. Appeal to epistemic extension is a viable way of avoiding group knowledge-that ascriptions but not group knowledge-how ascriptions. Therefore, groups can know how. (shrink)

_Reading Proclus and the_ Book of Causes: _Western Scholarly Networks and Debates, Volume 1_ provides a fresh account, based on previously unknown documents, of the diffusion of Hellenic and Islamic thought in the Latin West (12th -16th centuries).

The paper examines the meaning of a Hegelian expression: “the ascension of the human spirit to God”, which was formulated in the philosopher’s 1829 summer course dedicated to the proofs of God’s existence. We argue that the Hegelian formula describes a double movement: the first one refers to the departure of thinking from the Phenomenon and its arrival to the Ideal, and the second one describes the opposite movement, in which thinking crosses the barrier between the Ideal and the Phenomenon.

Current developments in fields such as quantum physics, fine arts, robotics, cognitive sciences or defense and security indicate the emergence of creative systems capable of producing new and innovative solutions through combinations of machine learning algorithms. These systems, called machine invention systems, challenge the established invention paradigm in promising the automation of – at least parts of – the innovation process. This paper’s main contribution is twofold. Based on the identified state-of-the-art examples in the above mentioned fields, key components for (...) machine invention systems and their relations are identified, creating a conceptual model as well as proposing a working definition for machine invention systems. The differences and delimitations to other concepts in the field of machine learning and artificial intelligence, such as machine discovery systems are discussed as well. Furthermore, the paper briefly addresses the social and societal implications and limitations that come with the adoption of the technology. Because of their revolutionizing potential, there are widespread implications to consider from ethical and moral implications to policymaking and societal changes, like changes in the job structure. The discussion part approaches some of these implications, as well as solutions to some of the proposed challenges. The paper concludes by discussing some of the systemic benefits that can be accessed through machine invention. (shrink)

I connect two increasingly popular ideas in social epistemology—group knowledge and epistemic extension—both departures from mainstream epistemological tradition. In doing so, I generate a framework for conceptualizing and organizing contemporary epistemology along several core axes. This, in turn, allows me to delineate a largely unexplored frontier in group epistemology. The bulk of extant work in group epistemology can be dubbed intra-group epistemology: the study of epistemically salient happenings within groups. I delineate and attempt to motivate what I dub inter-group epistemology: (...) the study of epistemically salient happenings between groups and other subjects and entities. (shrink)

One of the most important texts in the history of medieval philosophy, the Book of Causes was composed in Baghdad in the 9th century mainly from the Arabic translations of Proclus' Elements of Theology. In the 12th century, it was translated from Arabic into Latin, but its importance in the Latin tradition was not properly studied until now, because only 6 commentaries on it were known. Our exceptional discovery of over 70 unpublished Latin commentaries mainly on the Book of Causes, (...) but also on the Elements of Theology, prove, for the first time, that the two texts where widely disseminated and commented on throughout many European universities (Paris, Oxford, Erfurt, Krakow, Prague), from the 13th to the 16th century. These two volumes provide 11 editions (partial or complete) of the newly-discovered commentaries, and yields, through historical and philosophical analyses, new and essential insights into the influence of Greek and Islamic Neoplatonism in the Latin philosophical traditions."--P. [4] of cover. (shrink)

This book discusses some of the most challenging ideas emerging out of the research program on institutional diversity associated with the 2009 co-recipient of 2009 Nobel Prize in economics, Elinor Ostrom, while outlining a set of new research directions and an original interpretation of the significance and future of this program.

BackgroundThis paper highlights the issues that one of the 90 Italian Research Ethics Committees (RECs) might encounter during the approval phase of a clinical trial to identify corrective and preventive actions for promoting a more efficient review process and ensuring review quality. Publications on the subject from Italy and the rest of Europe are limited; encouraging constructive debate can improve RECs’ service to the subject of the clinical trial.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed a cohort of 822 clinical trial protocols, initially reviewed by (...) REC, from June 2014 to December 2018. Data collected for each protocol were type of trial, sample size, use of placebo, number and kind of revisions requested by the REC before approval, and time taken for approval. Data for each protocol were collected by a trained clinical research assistant using the REC’s files and electronic archives.ResultsAlmost 45% of the reviewed studies (374/822) required clarifications, significant changes to the documentation, or minor changes before final approval.ConclusionsPreventive measures are needed to reduce the number of requested corrections and thus also the time required for approval, while maintaining review quality. All critical points and proposals presented in this paper require harmonization through updates to European regulations, as regulatory harmonization produces better compliance with rules and reduces the number of changes required before the trials’ final approval. Such updates include the development of standardized formats for informed consent, the verification of any evidence in favor of using off-label treatments over placebo as comparators, using multidisciplinary staff in clinical trials with children and adolescents, improving the legal definition of RECs to assign responsibilities and ensure independence, and providing guidance for RECs to engage clinical research assistants in internal audits. (shrink)

The change in the organization of science education over the past fifty years is quickly recalled. Being its cultural bound the lack of a conception of the foundation of science, the multiple innovations have resulted as temporary improvements without a clear direction, apart from the technocratic goal of an automation of learning processes. The discovery of two dichotomies as the foundations of science suggests a pluralist conception of science, and hence the need to entirely renew science education, in particular by (...) introducing the notions of incommensurability and radical variations in meaning of the basic notions. This change was already anticipated by several proposals within each subject-matter. (shrink)

Nicolas d’Autrécourt (c. 1298-1369) est l’un des penseurs les plus audacieux de l’histoire de la philosophie, et Zénon Kaluza, qui lui a consacré près de trente ans d’études, nous le fait découvrir par ses sources, ses doctrines et ses manuscrits. Ce livre propose notamment des analyses sur des thèmes importants (tels que la perception, la causalité finale, les catégories ou l’éternité du monde) ainsi qu’une nouvelle édition des Prologues de l’Exigit ordo, enrichie d’un commentaire suivi. Les études—dont certaines sont parues (...) mais difficiles d’accès et d’autres sont inédites—dévoilent la figure d’un philosophe désirant de libérer la philosophie des contraintes institutionnelles et de critiquer la métaphysique d’Aristote, au risque de bouleverser les traditions, de contredire les dogmes de la foi et se voir condamner par les autorités théologiques de son temps. Nicolas d'Autrécourt (c. 1298-1369) is one of the most daring thinkers in the history of philosophy, and Zénon Kaluza, who has devoted to him nearly thirty years of study, presents him to us through his sources, his doctrines and his manuscripts. The reader will find studies on some of the most relevant philosophical doctrines (such as perception, the final causality, the categories and the eternity of the world) as well as a new edition of the Prologues of the _Exigit ordo_, enriched with a running commentary. The texts gathered here—some of which have been published previously but are difficult to access and others which have been unpublished until now—reveal a philosopher who wished to free philosophy from institutional constraints and dared to criticize Aristotle's metaphysics, at the risk of upsetting traditions and contradicting the dogmas of the faith, and who was condemned by the theological authorities of his time. (shrink)

This volume studies the reception of Proclus’ _Elements of Theology_ in Byzantium and the Caucasus, focusing on the composition of the _Book of Causes_ and its translations into Latin and Hebrew. It offers an unique perspective on the acculturations of Proclus to the Abrahamic traditions.

This volume studies the reception of Proclus’ _Elements of Theology_ in Byzantium and the Caucasus, focusing on the composition of the _Book of Causes_ and its translations into Latin and Hebrew. It offers an unique perspective on the acculturations of Proclus to the Abrahamic traditions.

This volume gathers contributions on key concepts elaborated in the Platonic tradition (Proclus, Plotinus, Porphyry or Sallustius) and reconsidered by Arabic (e.g. Avicenna, the _Book of Causes_), Byzantine (e.g. Maximus the Confessor, Ioane Petritsi) and Latin authors (e.g. Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas etc.).

Reading Proclus and the Book of Causes, published in three volumes, is a fresh, comprehensive understanding of Proclus' legacy in the Hellenic, Byzantine, Islamic, Latin and Hebrew traditions. The history of the Book of Causes, an Islamic adaptation of mainly Proclus' Elements of Theology and Plotinus' Enneads, is reconsidered on the basis of newly discovered manuscripts. This first volume enriches our understanding of the diverse reception of Proclus' Elements of Theology and of the Book of Causes in the Western tradition (...) where universities and religious schools offered unparalleled conditions of diffusion. The volume sheds light on overlooked authors, texts, literary genres and libraries from all major European universities from the 12th to the 16th centuries. (shrink)

New perspectives on the various aspects of the theme of tradition in the Middle Ages.00The volume studies how philosophical traditions were understood and discussed in the middle ages and how they were used in formulating new ones. In addition, it analyzes the extent to which historians have reconstructed the subject. Bringing together seventeen case studies ranging from Hugues de Saint-Victor to Pietro Pomponazzi, the volume presents an all-encompassing perspective on the theme of "tradition".0.

The volume is dedicated to Berthold of Moosburg’s commentary on Proclus’ _Elements of Theology_. This overlooked work from the 14th century proposed, as an alternative to the prevailing Aristotelian metaphysics, a superior wisdom of the Good articulated within the Platonic tradition, both pagan and Christian.

Ce livre est consacré aux auteurs qui ont repris la pensée d’Averroès dans le monde latin entre 1250 et 1350. De nouvelles remarques sur la polysémie du terme averroista précèdent les grands thèmes abordés : le retour numériquement identique au corps corrompu, le rapport entre matière et puissance, la nécessité et la contingence, l’intellect agent et possible. Des manuscrits et des textes inédits jusqu’à ce jour sont au coeur des discussions qui apportent la preuve que des doctrines puisées dans l’œuvre (...) d’Averroès circulaient entre les Universités de Paris, Oxford, Bologne et Padoue. Sans prétendre aborder tous les aspects de l'averroïsme latin de cette période, le livre reprend sur nouveaux frais des questions considérées comme résolues et propose de nouvelles perspectives de recherche. (shrink)