The starting point of this paper is the empirically determined ability to reason in natural language by employing probable sentences. A sentence is understood to be logically probable if its schema, expressed as a formula in the language of classical propositional calculus, takes the logical value of truth for the majority of Boolean valuations, i.e., as a logically probable formula. Then, the formal system P is developed to encode the set of these logically probable formulas. Based on natural semantics, a (...) strong completeness theorem for P is proved. Alternative notions of consequence for logically probable sentences are also considered. (shrink)

Church's Thesis (CT) was first published by Alonzo Church in 1935. CT is a proposition that identifies two notions: an intuitive notion of an effectively computable function defined in natural numbers with the notion of a recursive function. Despite the many efforts of prominent scientists, Church's Thesis has never been disproven. There exists a vast literature concerning the thesis. The aim of this book is to provide a one volume summary of the state of research on Church's Thesis. These include (...) the following: different formulations of CT, CT and intuitionism, CT and intensional mathematics, CT and physics, the epistemic status of CT, CT and philosophy of mind, provability of CT and CT and functional programming. Adam Olszewski, is assistant professor of the philosophy of mathematics and mathematical logic at the Department of Philosophy of Pontifical Academy of Theology, Cracow (Poland). Jan Wolenski is professor of philosophy, Institute of Philosphy, Jagiellonian University, Cracow (Poland). He is one of the most distinguished logicians in Poland. Robert Janusz is assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy of Ignatius College, Cracow (Poland). (shrink)

The aim of the paper is twofold. First, we want to recapture the genesis of the logics of order. The origin of this notion is traced back to the work of Jerzy Kotas, Roman Suszko, Richard Routley and Robert K. Meyer. A further development of the theory of logics of order is presented in the papers of Jacek K. Kabziński. Quite contemporarily, this notion gained in significance in the papers of Carles Noguera and Petr Cintula. Logics of order are named (...) there _logics of weak implications_. They play a crucial role in their monograph (Noguera and Cintula _Logic and Implication. An Introduction to the General Algebraic Study of Non-Classical Logics_, Trends in Logic 57, Springer, Berlin, 2021). But, more importantly, the other goal is to define some subclasses of the logics of order in reference to later results of Jacek K. Kabziński and Michael Dunn. The original conception of implication is due to Kabziński. Implication is a stronger notion than the notion of the connective of order aka weak implication. As a result, the three subclasses of logics of order are isolated: logics of implication, logics of symmetry, and tonoidal logics. These notions are uniformly defined and investigated from various viewpoints in terms of consequence operations. The emphasis is put on their semantics. (shrink)

The paper consists of two parts. In the first one I present some general remarks regarding the history of negation and attempt to answer the philosophical question concerning the essence of negation. In the second part I resume the theological teaching on the degrees of certainty and point to five forms of negation – known from other areas of research -- as applied in the framework of theological investigations.

This collection of essays - written by philosophers, logicians, and theologians - is devoted to the problem of the utilization of logic in theological discourse. Viewed from the perspective of logic, the issues covered include such topics as the logic of miracles, the problem of God's omniscience, the application of non-classical logics to theology, and the relationships between science and theology.

The title question of the paper has its empirical origin in the form of an individual’s existential experience arising from the personal use of a computer, which we attempt to describe in the first section. The rest of the entire paper can be understood as a philosophical essay answering the question posed. First the connection between the main problem of the article and its “premonition” by mankind, which was expressed in the form of ancient myths and legends, is briefly suggested. (...) After shortly discussing the problems that early considerations of AI focused on, i.e. whether machines can think at all, we move on to reformulate our title question, about the possibility of outsmarting AI. This outsmarting will be understood by us in a rather limited way as to prevent a machine from completing its implemented task. To achieve this objective, after softly clarifying the basic terms, an analogy is built between the “outsmarting” of a machine by a human (the target domain) and the playing of a mathematical game between two players (the base domain), where this outsmarting is assigned a “winning strategy” in the certain game. This mathematical model is formed by games similar to Banach-Mazur games. The strict theorems of such games are then proved and applied to the target of the analogy. We then draw conclusions and look for counter-examples to our findings. The answer to the title question posed is negative, and it is not clear how far it should be taken seriously. (shrink)

This work is interdisciplinary as it lies at the crossroads of three disciplines: philosophy, theology, and logic. The article attempts to discuss the way in which sentences (judgements) are accepted and rejected within theology. First, the role of the argument of authority in theology is discussed. Subsequently, the most important types of theorems with certain degrees of theological certainty were identified. Finally, censorship was presented as a means of rejecting theorems in theology. Finally, censorship was indicated as a model for (...) philosophical-logical research on denial. (shrink)

In the introduction to the volume on negation, first the source ways of understanding it from antiquity to modern times are presented, as well as the basic points of contention connected with it. Subsequently, the works contained in this volume are briefly presented in the order in which they appeared.

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the usefulness of W.V.O. Quine's criterion for establishing the ontological commitments of a theory. At the outset, Quine's conception is reconstructed. It is argued that Quine does not provide a particularly clear exposition of the procedure of establishing ontological commitments. It is further maintained that - on a persuasive interpretation - one should distinguish several concepts associated with Quine's conception. These are: ontology, domain tolerated by an ontology, ontological commitments type 1 (categorical), (...) ontological commitments type 2 (individual). Then, the procedure itself is reconstructed. It is argued that it consists of three stages: (1) the reduction of the analyzed theory to so-called basic existential propositions; (2) the paraphrase of the basic existential propositions into the formulae of the I order logic; (3) the reconstruction of the ontology presupposed by the given theory as well as of the ontological commitments type 1 and type 2. The final part of the paper contains three objections against Quine's conception. It is argued, first, that it is impossible to reconstruct the ontology presupposed by the given theory as it requires that the same or a richer ontology is already in use. Second, Quine's procedure is based on a vicious circle: one needs to know the ontological commitments in order to reconstruct them. Third, if one assumes that Quine's procedure is applicable to uninterpreted theories, it is impossible to determine the domain of these theories. The conclusion of the paper is that Quine's criterion seem useless. (shrink)

The aim of the article is to answer the four following questions concerning a proof of Church's Thesis (CT). (1) Can CT be treated as a synthetic definition? (2) How should CT not be understood? (3) How can one understand the expression proof by CT? (4) Is any proof of CT possible at all?

The article analyses the role of Church’s Thesis (hereinafter CT) in the context of the development of hypercomputation research. The text begins by presenting various views on the essence of computer science and the limitations of its methods. Then CT and its importance in determining the limits of methods used by computer science is presented. Basing on the above explanations, the work goes on to characterize various proposals of hypercomputation showing their relative power in relation to the arithmetic hierarchy. The (...) general theme of the article is the analysis of mutual relations between the content of CT and the theories of hypercomputation. In the main part of the paper the arguments for abolition of CT caused by the introduction of hypercomputable methods in computer science are presented and critique of these views is presented. The role of the efficiency condition contained in the formulation of CT is stressed. The discussion ends with a summary defending the current status of Church’s thesis within the framework of philosophy and computer science as an important point of reference for determining what the notion of effective calculability really is. The considerations included in this article seem to be quite up-to-date relative to the current state of affairs in computer science.1. (shrink)

Marie Duží, Bjørn Jespersen, and Pavel Materna: Procedural Semantics for Hyperintensional Logic. Foundations and Applications of Transparent Intentional Logic, vol. 17 of series “Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science”, Springer, Dordrecht, Heidelberg, London, New York, 2010; xiii+552 pages, ISBN 978-90-481-8811-6, e-ISBN 978-90-481-8812-3. DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-8812-3.

New Tenth Anniversary edition of this classic text with a new preface by the author, compares myths about meat-eating with myths about manliness, and seeks to ...

As a well-established service offered at many hospitals internationally, clinical ethics consultation (CEC) is increasingly recognized as a tool to improve patient care quality (Fox et al. 2022; Ta...

Ulrich Beck's best selling Risk Society established risk on the sociological agenda. It brought together a wide range of issues centering on environmental, health and personal risk, provided a rallying ground for researchers and activists in a variety of social movements and acted as a reference point for state and local policies in risk management. The Risk Society and Beyond charts the progress of Beck's ideas and traces their evolution. It demonstrates why the issues raised by Beck reverberate widely throughout (...) social theory and covers the new risks that Beck did not foresee, associated with the emergence of new technologies, genetic and cybernetic. The book is unique because it offers both an introduction to the main arguments in Risk Society and develops a range of critical discussions of aspects of this and other works of Beck. (shrink)

This thoughtful new abridgment is enriched by the brilliant commentary which accompanies it. In it, Laurence Dickey argues that the _Wealth of Nations_ contains--and conceals--a great deal of how Smith actually thought a commercial society works. Guided by his conviction that the so-called Adam Smith Problem--the relationship between ethics and economics in Smith's thinking--is a core element in the argument of the work itself, Dickey's commentary focuses on the devices Smith uses to ground his economics in broadly ethical and (...) social categories. An unparalleled guide to an often difficult and perplexing work. (shrink)

Recent progress in artificial intelligence (AI) has drawn attention to the technology’s transformative potential, including what some see as its prospects for causing large-scale harm. We review two influential arguments purporting to show how AI could pose catastrophic risks. The first argument — the Problem of Power-Seeking — claims that, under certain assumptions, advanced AI systems are likely to engage in dangerous power-seeking behavior in pursuit of their goals. We review reasons for thinking that AI systems might seek power, that (...) they might obtain it, that this could lead to catastrophe, and that we might build and deploy such systems anyway. The second argument claims that the development of human-level AI will unlock rapid further progress, culminating in AI systems far more capable than any human — this is the Singularity Hypothesis. Power-seeking behavior on the part of such systems might be particularly dangerous. We discuss a variety of objections to both arguments and conclude by assessing the state of the debate. (shrink)

What makes your life go well for you? In this paper, we give an account of welfare. Our core idea is simple. There are impersonally good and bad things out there: things that are good or bad period, not (or not only) good or bad for someone. The life that is good for you is the life in contact with the good. We’ll understand the relevant notion of ‘contact’ here in terms of manifestation: you’re in contact with a value either (...) when it is manifest in parts of your life or parts of your life are manifest in it. So, the more the good is manifest in your life, or your life manifest in the good, the better for you. The more the bad is manifest in your life, or your life manifest in the bad, the worse for you. We’ll argue that this account is extensionally adequate: it explains the welfare value of achievements, friendships, knowledge, pleasures and virtues. Moreover, it has a number of explanatory virtues: it’s unified, elegant and explanatorily powerful. So, we’ll suggest, it’s an excellent account of welfare, and in many ways superior to its main competitors. (shrink)

ABSTRACT:Clinical ethics consultants bear witness to the direct harms of intersecting axes of oppression—such as racism and classism—as they impinge on elucidating and resolving ethical dilemmas in health care. Health Care Ethics Consultation (HCEC) professional guidance supports recognizing and analyzing power dynamics and social-structural obstacles to good care. However, the most relied upon bioethical principles in clinical ethics have been criticized for insufficiency in this regard. While individual ethics consultants have found ways to expand their approaches, they do so in (...) an ad hoc way without frameworks to guide consistency. Motivated by the practical expertise of clinical ethicists, this essay offers a new framework to support openness to analyzing power imbalances and respecting marginalized voices and values. This framework is grounded in transformative justice, where the aim is to take responsibility for oppression by centering and responding to moral perspectives and value systems that are all too often silenced. (shrink)

Toward an ontology of the social-historical -- Proto-institutions and epistemological encounters -- Anthropological aspects of subjectivity: the radical imagination -- Hermeneutical horizons of meaning -- The rediscovery of physis -- Objective knowledge in review -- Rethinking the world of the living being -- Reimaging cosmology -- Conclusion: the circle of creation.

Bringing political philosophy out of the ivory tower and within the reach of all, this book provides us with tools to cut through the complexities of modern ...

The foundation for a system of morals, this 1749 work is a landmark of moral and political thought. Its highly original theories of conscience, moral judgment, and virtue offer a reconstruction of the Enlightenment concept of social science, embracing both political economy and theories of law and government.

This chapter provides empirical evidence about everyday attitudes concerning euthanasia. These attitudes have important implications for some ethical arguments about euthanasia. Two experiments suggested that some different descriptions of euthanasia have modest effects on people’s moral permissibility judgments regarding euthanasia. Experiment 1 (N = 422) used two different types of materials (scenarios and scales) and found that describing euthanasia differently (‘euthanasia’, ‘aid in dying’, and ‘physician assisted suicide’) had modest effects (≈3 % of the total variance) on permissibility judgments. These (...) effects were largely replicated in Experiment 2 (N = 409). However, in Experiment 2, judgments about euthanasia’s moral permissibility were best predicted by the voluntariness of the treatment. Voluntariness was a stronger predictor than some demographic factors and some domain general elements of moral judgments. These results help inform some debates about the moral permissibility of euthanasia (e.g., the slippery slope argument) suggesting that some of the key premises of those arguments are unwarranted. (shrink)

IntroductionThe rapid development of technology has led to the transfer of entertainment to the virtual world. Many games and multimedia applications use the so-called augmented reality. With the development of a new technological branch, a new health problem has emerged, which is infoholic addiction, attracting people with the specific functionality that is cyberspace and the virtual world.ObjectiveThe study aimed to assess health behaviors and the risk of addiction among users of urban multimedia games. Research methodology. The study was conducted among (...) players 1,134 of urban multimedia games—Pokemon GO, in the period March–June 2021. A 990 correctly completed questionnaires were included in the final analyses. The author’s questionnaire was used in the study, which included two standardized measurement scales in the Polish abbreviated version: a questionnaire of emotions and sensations associated with electronic entertainment and a questionnaire on addiction to electronic forms of entertainment. Statistica 13.0 program was used for statistical processing of the data. The probability level was p < 0.05.ResultsThe profile of the gamer was identified as male, aged 18–30 years, with secondary education, not in a relationship, living in a city of more than 100 thousand inhabitants—60.1% of gamers met these criteria. Respondents played urban multimedia games daily. About 26.3% of respondents played this type of game 2–3 h a day. In terms of physical fitness, 64.3% of respondents felt that physical fitness had improved as a result of playing multimedia urban games. In terms of mental condition, most of the respondents said that nothing had changed. It was observed that 72.3% of respondents had some risk of addiction to urban multimedia games.ConclusionUsers of urban multimedia games were usually adult men living in big cities. It was also shown that the defined profile of the player was characterized by a higher risk of addiction to electronic forms of entertainment. It was observed that the respondents most often played urban multimedia games every day in a maximum of two-hour sessions. Based on the tools used, it can be concluded that the study group was characterized by a certain risk of addiction to urban multimedia games. (shrink)

A scholarly edition of a work by Adam Smith. The edition presents an authoritative text, together with an introduction, commentary notes, and scholarly apparatus.

In Freedom: An Impossible Reality (FAIR), Raymond Tallis finds room in a law-abiding universe for a uniquely human form of agency, capable of envisioning and pursuing genuinely open possibilities, thereby deflecting rather than merely inflecting the course of events, in accordance with self-owned intentions, reasons and goals. He argues that the genuinely free human pursuit of such propositional attitudes depends on our acting from a “virtual outside”, at an epistemic distance from the physical world that reveals not only what is (...) the case, but that it is the case. The enactive approach in cognitive science and philosophy of mind aims to supersede the cognitivist traditional that has long dominated the field, by reframing cognition as an agentʼs immediate, embodied engagement with its environment. In an appendix of FAIR, Tallis argues that this approach risks both eliminating propositional attitudes, and collapsing the epistemic distance between agent and world. He concludes that if enactive theorists are to distinguish between genuinely pursuing an intention and merely responding to a stimulus, their corrective to cognitivism is in need of a correction of its own. This paper argues that such a correction is already to be found within the enactive literature, and furthermore, that it bears striking similarities to Tallis own account of what makes human agency unique. It is therefore concluded that the case for freedom set out in FAIR is compatible with the enactive approach. (shrink)