We propose a new class of multiple contraction operations — the system of spheres-based multiple contractions — which are a generalization of Grove’s system of spheres-based (singleton) contractions to the case of contractions by (possibly non-singleton) sets of sentences. Furthermore, we show that this new class of functions is a subclass of the class of the partial meet multiple contractions.

In this article we present a new class of multiple contraction functionswhich are a generalization of the epistemic entrenchment-based contractions (Grdenfors & Makinson, 1988) to the case of contractions by (possibly nonsingleton) sets of sentences and provide an axiomatic characterization for that class of functions. Moreover, we show that the class of epistemic entrenchment-based multiple contractions coincides with the class of system of spheres-based multiple contractions introduced in Fermé & Reis (2012).

In the logic of theory change, the standard model is AGM, proposed by Alchourrón et al. (J Symb Log 50:510–530, 1985 ). This paper focuses on the extension of AGM that accounts for contractions of a theory by a set of sentences instead of only by a single sentence. Hansson (Theoria 55:114–132, 1989 ), Fuhrmann and Hansson (J Logic Lang Inf 3:39–74, 1994 ) generalized Partial Meet Contraction to the case of contractions by (possibly non-singleton) sets of sentences. In this (...) paper we present the possible worlds semantics for partial meet multiple contractions. (shrink)

L'histoire de la réception littéraire de l'Utopie de Thomas More au Portugal a été une histoire d'omissions, de censures et de traductions différées qui met en évidence un défaut dans le système culturel portugais. En effet, il est quelque peu ironique qu'une œuvre aussi représentative de la littérature et de la pensée occidentale, historiquement associée à l'ouverture des horizons géographiques du monde, et qui attribue au personnage d'un marin lusitanien, Raphaël Hythlodée, la découverte d'un lieu idéal, n'a été traduite en (...) portugais que dans la seconde moitié du vingtième siècle. Cependant, la première décennie du vingt-et-unième siècle semble annoncer une fortune littéraire plus favorable à l'Utopie de More dans la langue portugaise: non seulement une édition du chef d'œuvre de More a finalement été traduite du latin, mais aussi deux romans ont été publiés en 2004, A lenda de Martim Regos, de Pedro Canais, et Rafael, de Manuel Alegre. Dans le cadre de leurs propres déroulements narratifs, les deux œuvres réaccentuent les traits complexes du personnage du marin portugais et découvreur de l'île idéale. La même réinvention du personnage de Raphaël avait déjà été tentée, en 1998, par José V. de Pina Martins dans son long récit dialogique Utopia III. Dans cet essai, je me concentrerai à la fois sur les sources documentaires liées à la culture portugaise qui sont à la base de l'Utopie de More et sur certains aspects pertinents de la réception du personnage de Raphaël Hythlodée dans les romans susmentionnés. (shrink)

O tema do artigo são as representações de moldura e ekphrasis em A santa de Schöneberg, conto de Rubem Fonseca que tem como centro a vida e a obra do pintor EgonSchiele. O objetivo é verificar como tais procedimentos são realizados pelo narrador e de que maneira eles contribuem para o desenvolvimento da trama. Assim, tomamos como apoio teórico textos de estudiosos que tratam de moldura, da ekphrasis, da obra fonsequiana e de aspectos das narrativas breves, tais como Ortega y (...) Gasset (1963), Rosana de Lima Soares (2001), João Adolfo Hansen (2006), Ariovaldo José Vidal (2000), e Ricardo Piglia (2004).Palavras-chave: Rubem Fonseca. Moldura. Ekphrasis. Conto. (shrink)

(2000). The eternal present of Utopianism. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy: Vol. 3, The Philosophy of Utopia, pp. 44-55.

Revision operation is the consistent expansion of a theory by a new belief-representing sentence. We consider that in a paraconsistent setting this desideratum can be accomplished in at least three distinct ways: the output of a revision operation should be either non-trivial or non-contradictory (in general or relative to the new belief). In this paper those distinctions will be explored in the constructive level by showing how the remainder sets could be refined, capturing the key concepts of paraconsistency in a (...) dynamical scenario. These are preliminaries results of a wider project on Paraconsistent Belief Change conduced by the authors. (shrink)

O artigo introduz a questão da relação entre a Igreja hierárquica e a mulher, afirmando que, desde seus começos, o cristianismo teve dificuldades para compreender o comportamento de Jesus para com as mulheres. Destaca alguns sinais do surgimento, no século XX, de uma nova consciência feminina, caracterizada pela emergência do “pensamento autônomo”. Em contraposição às mudanças do universo feminino e referindo-se ao “desconhecimento da mulher” que caracterizou o Vaticano II, o artigo refere-se à dificuldade da Igreja em identificar a ideologia (...) heterônoma que a caracteriza. “Há sempre um outro que manda”: o rei, o senhor, o homem, o pai – sobre o que se constrói a figura de um Deus poderoso e distante. Para corroborar a dificuldade de passar do pensamento heterônomo ao pensamento autônomo, particularmente para os bispos – e seguindo a teóloga Ivone Gebara – a reflexão toma como objeto paradigmático de leitura as falas do Arcebispo de Recife frente ao caso da menina estuprada pelo padrasto, ocorrido em 2009. Conclui: Os textos mais inovadores do Vaticano II não conseguiram romper com a imagem de heteronomia herdada do passado. Hoje não existe caminho para a Igreja fora do diálogo com a modernidade, o que implica, em primeiro lugar, uma atitude autocrítica. Palavras-chave : Igreja hierárquica. Vaticano II. Mulher.This article introduces the question of the relationship between the Church hierarchy and the women, arguing that since its beginnings, Christianity struggled to understand the attitude of Jesus toward women. It highlights some signs of the emergence in the twentieth century, of a new feminine consciousness, characterized by the emergence of an "autonomous thinking." In contrast to the changing world of women and referring to the “unknown woman” that characterized the Vatican II, this article refers to the difficulty to indentify the heteronomous ideology that characterizes the Church. "There's always another that gives orders" the king, the lord, the man, the father – under which the figure of a mighty and distant God is built on. To corroborate the difficulty to pass from an autonomous thought to a heteronomous thinking, particularly for the bishops - and following the theologian Ivone Gebara – this article analyzes the speeches of the Archbishop of Recife concerning the case of the girl raped by her stepfather, held in 2009. In conclusion: The most innovative texts of Vatican II were not able to break with the image of heteronomy from the past. Today there is no way for the Church out of the dialogue with modernity, which implies, first, a self-critical attitude. Keywords: Hierarchical Church. Vatican II. Women - DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2011v9n24p1280. (shrink)

Este texto se recomprende la noción escolástica de verdad como adecuatio intellectus et rei a la luz de la la interpretación heideggeriana como ¿develación¿. Para ello se siguen tres momentos al hilo de tres preguntas: ¿en qué consiste esta adecuación?, ¿en qué sentido el intelecto y la cosa pensda se parecen? y ¿cuál es la esencia de la verdad?

Neste artigo, realiza-se uma discussão sobre as atividades políticas de María de Molina, regente do trono castelhano após a morte do esposo e rei Sancho IV, em 1295, durante a minoridade do filho Fernando IV, de 1295 a 1301, assim como no decurso da minoridade do neto Alfonso XI, de 1212 a 1325. Nesses quase vinte e seis anos na condução política do reino, María de Molina constitui-se o principal baluarte da resistência e das negociações dos assuntos do reino diante (...) dos interesses das principiais facções nobiliárias, que aproveitavam períodos de debilidade do poder régio para obter relevância política e dividendos. Não menos importante foi seu desempenho em relação à política externa ao celebrar diversos acordos com outros reinos e com o papado no desígnio de alcançar apoio para sequência da sua linhagem ao comando da coroa castelhana. (shrink)

I argue that recent attempts to vindicate blame have failed to fully face the vengeful feelings and angry outbursts that have led to scepticism about blame’s ethical status. This paper ende...

A editora Losada publicou uma série de conferências de Karl Jaspers pronunciadas na Universidad de laBasilea a convite da Fundação Acadêmica livre e da Faculdade de História da Filosofia daquela Instituição. Esse conjunto de conferências importantes para entender como o filósofo pensava o significado da Filosofia foi reunido em livro com o título de La fe filosófica. O livro integra a coleção da editora argentina denominada Obras Maestras delPensamiento e ainda não teve edição em português. Portanto, La fe filosófica não (...) foi inicialmente concebida como livro, mas como reflexões sobre aspectos fundamentais da Filosofia e mais tarde reunidas numa obra. (shrink)

A 28-year-old female-to-male transgender patient presents to the emergency room with one day of pleuritic chest pain and shortness of breath. The patient is found to have an acute pulmonary embolus and is admitted is to the academic hospitalist teaching service for further management.The transgender population is diverse in gender identity, expression, and sexual orientation. Although estimates vary, one study suggests that 0.3% of adults identify as transgender. The U.S. National Transgender Discrimination Survey revealed that 28% of transgender adults have (...) experienced harassment in medical settings, 19% reported being refused care, and 28% postponed care because of discrimination... (shrink)

Background: Lay persons’ judgements of the acceptability of the not uncommon practice of ending the life of a damaged neonate have not been studied. Methods: A convenience sample of 1635 lay people in France rated how acceptable it would be for a physician to end a neonate’s life—by withholding care, withdrawing care, or active euthanasia—in 54 scenarios in which the neonate was diagnosed either with perinatal asphyxia or a genetic abnormality. The scenarios were all combinations of four factors: three levels (...) of maturity or immaturity, three levels of severity of the health problem, three levels of parents’ preference concerning prolonging care and two levels of decision-making (with or without consulting the other caregivers). Analyses: Analyses of variance of the participants’ responses were performed to determine the importance of each factor; the interactions among factors, with methods of ending life and with other patient characteristics; and the differences between asphyxia and genetic abnormality. A cluster analysis was performed to look for groups with different patterns of responses. Results: Lay people assigned most importance to the parents’ request and to the severity of the problem. Except for a small group (12%) always opposed to ending life, they used a simple additive-type rule in integrating the information. Implications: Most of this sample of French lay people are not categorically for or against ending the life of a damaged neonate, but judge its degree of acceptability by adding up those factors that seem most salient to them. (shrink)

Abstract: Contemporary analytic philosophers of the “reactive attitudes” tend to share a simple conception of guilt as “self-directed blame”—roughly, an “unpleasant affect” felt in combination with, or in response to, the thought that one has violated a moral requirement, evinced substandard “quality of will,” or is blameworthy. I believe that this simple conception is inadequate. As an alternative, I offer my own theory of guilt’s logic and its connection to morality. In doing so, I attempt to articulate guilt’s defining thought (...) or proposition through an extended investigation and analysis of guilt’s many competing metaphors, which I trace from the Hebrew Bible to the New Testament to Shakespeare to contemporary vernacular. My interpretation of this literary genealogy offers a way to understand guilt’s seemingly disparate metaphors in terms of a single master-image that illuminates our self-conceptions and our relationship to morality. I conclude by making a very brief start toward a moral vindication of guilt against the backdrop of Nietzschean and Freudian analyses that explicitly call guilt’s place in a healthy social and personal life into question. I suggest that once guilt’s logic is made explicit, we can see that it makes sense of, honors, and addresses some of our deepest aspirations and needs. (shrink)

El artículo documenta y analiza las vicisitudes en torno a la incorporación de Hilbert de su famoso axioma de completitud, en el sistema axiomático para la geometría euclídea. Esta tarea es emprendida sobre la base del material que aportan sus notas manuscritas para clases, correspondientes al período 1894–1905. Se argumenta que este análisis histórico y conceptual no sólo permite ganar claridad respecto de cómo Hilbert concibió originalmentela naturaleza y función del axioma de completitud en su versión geométrica, sino que además (...) permite disipar equívocos en cuanto a la relación de este axioma con la propiedad metalógica de completitud de un sistema axiomático, tal como fue concebida por Hilbert en esta etapa inicial.The paper reports and analyzes the vicissitudes around Hilbert’s inclusion of his famous axiom of completeness, into his axiomatic system for Euclidean geometry. This task is undertaken on the basis of his unpublished notes for lecture courses, corresponding to the period 1894–1905. It is argued that this historical and conceptual analysis not only sheds new light on how Hilbert conceived originally the nature of his geometrical axiom of completeness, but also it allows to clarify some misunderstandings regarding this axiom and the metalogical property of completeness of an axiomatic system, as it was understoodby Hilbert in this initial stage. (shrink)

I argue that fitting resentment tracks unacceptable ‘ecological’ imbalances in relative social strength between victims and perpetrators that arise from violations of legitimate moral expectations. It does not respond purely, or even primarily, to offenders’ attitudes, and its proper targets need not be fully developed moral agents. It characteristically involves a wish for the restoration of social equilibrium rather than a demand for moral recognition or good will. To illuminate these contentions, I focus on cases that I believe demonstrate a (...) corollary thesis, namely, that strength, broadly construed, is a necessary condition of resentment-worthiness. I argue that weakness can make resentment unfitting in two ways. First, weakness may prevent a wrongdoer from shifting the balance of social power. Second, a weak wrongdoer may do social damage but be so lowly that resentment, which would represent him as excessively strong, would be inapt. Finally, I consider how accepting the ecological view might affect our theorizing about moral responsibility and the ethics of blame. (shrink)

Contemporary philosophers of moral responsibility are in widespread agreement that we can only be blamed for actions that express, reflect, or disclose something about us or the quality of our wills. In this paper I reject that thesis and argue that self disclosure is not a necessary condition on moral responsibility and blameworthiness: reactive responses ranging from aretaic appraisals all the way to outbursts of anger and resentment can be morally justified even when the blamed agent’s action expresses or discloses (...) nothing significant about his or her “deep self,” judgments and cares, or the quality of his or her will. I argue that the self-disclosure requirement on responsibility overestimates the extent to which our blaming practices and responsibility judgments are responsive to agents as opposed to actions, and that this mistake has the potential to distort both our reactive responses and our understanding of blamed agents’ characters. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Buddhist-Christian Studies 24.1 (2004) 278-283 [Access article in PDF] The Voice of God on Mount Sinai. Rabbinic Commentaries on Exodus 20:1 In Light of Sufi and Zen-Buddhist Texts. By Reinhard Neudecker. Rome: Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 2002. 157 pp. Reinhard Neudecker's study of the central event of the first five books of the Bible, namely the revelation of God on Mount Sinai to Moses and the Israelites, is an important (...) contribution to interfaith studies that should be of interest to both the scholar and layperson alike. The clarity of purpose and treatment makes this study very accessible; each chapter is thoughtfully structured, with rich footnotes that provide documentation, further explanation, and information. The appendixes contain the relevant rabbinic texts in the original Hebrew; indices of terms, subjects, and Bible citations; as well as a helpful list of consulted works.The stated purpose of the study is to shed light on enigmatic rabbinical interpretations of Exodus 20:1, the verse that introduces the TenWords (commandments) [End Page 278] that form the basis of the complete Torah by taking into consideration analogous passages from the Sufi and Zen Buddhist traditions. In explaining his methodology, the author makes three important distinctions. First, Neudecker is "not dealing with Judaism, Islam and Zen Buddhism as such, but with the views and experiences of some rabbinic Jews, some Sufi Muslims and some Zen Buddhists" (p. x). Second, the chosen texts are offered for their spiritual and mystical insight, not for their historical context or content, because "the mystic has learned to convert the great events recorded by tradition into symbols which express the ongoing inner revelation to which he has been exposed" (p. 6). Because spiritual and mystical writers generally refrain from explaining deep experiences openly (especially because of the impossibility of putting them into words), the author refrains from adding his own interpretations and instead invites the reader to a meditative encounter with the texts. Third, the author does not intend to offer simple parallels or to readily claim correspondences between the rabbinic, Sufi, and Zen texts, but leaves it up to the reader to judge what the "different traditions may have in common and to what degree and where one tradition may go a step further than the others (p. 11, n. 30). His main purpose, as stated above, is to understand the rabbinic comments better by using the method of "intercultural reading" in drawing upon Sufi and Zen Buddhist texts.After the introductory chapter, which offers the methodological considerations and basic information about the Rabbinic sources and Buddhist terminology, the author presents Exod. 20:1 in its rabbinic translation: "And God spoke all these words to say." This short verse has become the stumbling block for the rabbinic interpreter, just as much as a Zen koan becomes a stumbling block for the Zen student or an obscure verse in the Koran for the Sufi. What these stumbling blocks have in common is that they open up a new way of nondiscursive understanding of the text that leads to profound insights and a deep spiritual experience.Chapters 4-9 of the book are devoted to unraveling the mysteries of these insights. The reader is drawn into an engaging process that opens up layer upon layer of meaning, comparable to the peeling of an onion. A short exposition of the themes of each chapter as introduction to the texts proves very helpful for orientation in this process. Chapter 4 addresses the question of how the people at Sinai heard the Ten Words. The rabbis differ on whether the people heard all of the commandments or only the first two of them, but the important point of comparison is the enigmatic statement that God pronounced all the Ten Words, including the entire Torah, "in one single sound, as the (human) mouth cannot speak and the (human) ear cannot hear" (p. 35). This statement implies that God's revelation exceeds the limits of human speaking and hearing, and that God communicates in... (shrink)

BackgroundNational Ethics Committees (NECs) offer important oversight and guidance functions and facilitate public debate on bioethical issues. In an increasingly globalized world where technological advances, multi-national research collaborations, and pandemics are creating ethical dilemmas that transcend national borders, coordination and the joining of efforts among NECs are key. The purpose of this study is to take stock of the current NEC landscape, their varying roles and missions, and the range of bioethical topics on which they deliberated since their inception.MethodsData on (...) the availability, functions, and ethical deliberations (publications) of NECs globally were gathered through a systematic search of NEC websites and through contacts known to the authors. The search was conducted in English, French, and Spanish. The data abstraction was done in Excel and included the NEC’s country, region, functions, and deliberations on bioethical issues. Deliberation topics were classified into thematic categories through an iterative process of regrouping to arrive at the main set of themes.Results124 NECs in 100 countries were identified. 44% of the NECs are in Europe and 47% are in high-income countries. Out of the 1108 retrieved publications, 40% were on bioethics in the context of research, followed by the clinic (28%) and public health issues (22%). The top five topics of these publications were: research ethics (124; 9%), genetics and genomics (62; 6%), organ transplantation (58; 5%), assisted reproductive technology (49; 4%), and end of life (36; 3%).ConclusionOur study makes an important contribution to understanding the current interests and functions of NECs and the range of their bioethics deliberations. By making the data publicly available through this publication, it allows users to conduct tailored analyses and queries based on their interests, and to seek and strengthen collaboration and exchange. It also makes the case for the fruitfulness of developing and maintaining a global repository of current and new deliberations to more effectively advance this field for the greater good of humanity, research, and public health. (shrink)

This article describes activities carried out at the computational art laboratory and discusses a question about place. To think of place as the place of universal, it’s ground, the place where you live, it isn’t only a residence place, a construction of exploration, but also the planet as a possible place of survival. Therefore, we will present artworks that, in the name of a conception inspired by ecocentrism, propose to eliminate the ontological and axiological difference between all living beings and, (...) for this reason, considers the biosphere as an important biotic unit in the context of artworks. Here the development of affective computer interfaces that seek to promote interactions is also described: a process by which an external or an internal stimulus causes a specific reaction, producing a perception, considering that the idea, in the Deleuzian and Guattarian sense, goes through creative activities. The idea arises in three distinct forms: in the philosophical context, in the form of concepts and in visual production. We describe below the results of collaborative research that has in common the poetics of interactivity between living beings and machines through graphical and machine interfaces, provided by computational processes and methods that approach several ideas involving affective mapping, body, nature and artificial life. (shrink)

Sobre la base que aportan las notas manuscritas de David Hilbert para cursos sobre geometría, el artículo procura contextualizar y analizar una de las contribuciones más importantes y novedosas de su célebre monografía Fundamentos de la geometría, a saber: el cálculo de segmentos lineales. Se argumenta que, además de ser un resultado matemático importante, Hilbert depositó en su aritmética de segmentos un destacado significado epistemológico y metodológico. En particular, se afirma que para Hilbert este resultado representaba un claro ejemplo de (...) uno de los rasgos más fructíferos y atractivos de su nuevo método axiomático formal, o sea, la capacidad de descubrir y exhibir conexiones estructurales o internas entre diferentes teorías matemáticas. On the basis of a set of unpublished notes for lecture courses on geometry, the paper seeks to contextualize and analyze one of the most important and original contributions of David Hilbert's celebrated monograph Foundations of Geometry, namely its arithmetic of line segments. It is argued that Hilbert attributed to his arithmetic of segments an important epistemological and methodological meaning, in addition to its relevance as an original mathematical result. In particular, it is claimed that for Hilbert his arithmetic of segments represented a clear example of one of the most fruitful and attractive traits of his new formal axiomatic method, i.e., the power to discover and exhibit inner or structural connections among different mathematical theories. (shrink)

El texto siguiente trae una discusión en el campo teórico y empírico, de las relaciones entre grupos pantaneros y la naturaleza, en el entorno de las haciendas que se encuentran alrededor de Corumbá y Ladario, ciudades situadas a las márgenes del río Paraguay. En este texto, se comunican resultados parciales del proyecto de investigación acerca del conocimiento, de la cultura y de las representaciones producidas en el contexto de esas poblaciones en el proceso de apropiación de los recursos naturales. De (...) esa forma, se busca mostrar como estos grupos humanos piensan y actúan con relación al territorio pantanero. Finalmente se debate sobre las posibilidades de desarrollo local en el contexto de esas tradiciones. (shrink)