Dans cette note il s’agit de la découverte de deux copies manuscriptes inconnues du chapitre quinze d’une oeuvre d’eschatologie hebraique de la moitié du XIIe siècle rédigée par Abrahm bar HIija ou Abraham Savosarda, le Liber revelator. Cette oeuvre est connue seulement en hebraique et dans la traduction de Marie Josef Millás-Vallicrosa. Le chapitre cinque regarde une conception astrologique de la philosophie de l’histoire du monde, de la naissance ou de la chute des gouvernements et des religions avec le titre (...) De redemptione Israel. L’Autrice a retrouvé une traduction latine inconnue en deux copies manuscriptes, dans deux Bibliotèques allemandes, une à Lipsie et l’autre à Wolfenbüttel redigées par le frère des Franciscains mineurs du Couvent de Gottingen Theodoricus de Northem. On demontre en renvoyant aussi à ses études précédantes à ces propos, que ce chapitre cinq à été la source primaire de l’oeuvre de Pierre d’Ailly qui partagait la même philosophie astrologique de l’histoire sacrée, l’ Elucidarium opus concordantiae astronomiae cum theologia nec non historice veritatis édité en 1490, à commencer du chapitre 24 jusqu’au chapitre 33. (shrink)

This essay provides an analysis of Marsilio Ficino's doctrine of the heavens, especially as this is developed in his commentary on Plotinus' Enneads with reference to contemporary debates in Florence concerning the legitimacy of astrology and in view of new interpretations of attendant problematic issues. Particular attention is given to Ficino's early works, such as the Disputatio contra iudicium astrologorum, as well as to his commentary on Enn. 4, 4-42 and his De vita. The leading interest of the essay consists (...) in the attempt to clarify Ficino's reception of the medieval doctrine of the heavens, most pointedly the theory propounded by Peter of Abano in his Lucidator dubitabilium astronomiae of 1310. (shrink)

An overview of current medieval philosophical and scientific studies would seem justified at the beginning of the 21st century. While no part of the history of philosophy has been so much despised as the Middle Ages, numerous internationally signi;cant studies on this topic have recently been published. Essays and monographs, critical editions, anthologies and re­views have addressed many facets of medieval thought, particularly the medieval institu­tional context and the intellectual life of the Middle Ages along with the history of medie­val (...) philosophy and science. This essay looks at studies of different philosophical tendencies from the end of the 13th century to the 15th century, not restricting itself to medieval Aristo­telianism. (shrink)

Twenty-four critical essays, including a substantial introduction, written by the most distinguished international scholars, in honour of Graziella Federici Vescovini.

C’est peu de temps avant sa mort que Nicolas de Cues a redigé Le jeu de la boule, un dialogue à caractère pédagogique, où par une amusante métaphore il aborde presque tous les sujets difficiles de sa spéculation antérieure, se référant au tout de l’élaboration philosophique complexe à laquelle il s’est livré les années précédentes et dont il présuppose la connaissance. Dans ce dialogue, il y a une abondance de symboles, de métaphores, d’énigmes : après la mathaphore du jeu de (...) la boule, qui par son élan représente la vie de l’homme microcosme lancé vers le Christ-Dieu, il reprend toute une symbologie mystique très riche et intéressante qu’il développe dans une perspective d’anthropologie christologique en employant aussi la métaphore de la richesse de Dieu qui forge les valeurs, Valeur des valeurs et de l’homme qui mesure dans son esprit mathématique toutes les valeurs. (shrink)

The authorship of the Theorica planterum has been controversial. According to a medieval tradition, the work was written by Gerard of Cremona. In the scholarly literature , however, the work was attributed to Gerard of Sabbioneta. This note reassesses the evidence put forward in support of the authorship of Gerard of Sabbioneta and argues, on the basis of manuscript evidence, that it is highly likely that the Theorica planetarum was translated by Gerard of Cremona or someone from his circle.

This paper investigates the objections that were raised by the philosopher ‘Abd al-La&tdotu;īf al-Baghdādī against al-&Hdotu;asan ibn al-Haytham’s geometrisation of place. In this line of enquiry, I contrast the philosophical propositions that were advanced by al-Baghdādī in his tract: Fī al-Radd ‘alā Ibn al-Haytham fī al-makān, with the geometrical demonstrations that Ibn al-Haytham presented in his groundbreaking treatise: Qawl fī al-Makān. In examining the particulars of al-Baghdādī’s fragile defence of Aristotle’s definition of topos as delineated in Book IV of the (...) Physics, which was rejected on mathematical grounds by Ibn al-Haytham, a special attention is also given to highlighting the systemic distinctions between the entities that are studied within the speculative physical doctrines of common sense and immediate experience, and the postulated ‘objects’ of scientific and mathematical research. (shrink)

English summary: Nicolas Cusanus' position on Islam is not easily discerned. While in De Pace Fidei he seems to present an Irenic vision of the different religions and the dialog that could be established amongst them, in the Cribratio Alkorani, according to numerous interpretations, he seems more rigid, precluding any constructive dialog between Christianity and Islam. However, as this volume shows, matters are not quite that black and white: the contributions allow us to form a better idea of the coherence (...) of Cusanus' position on dialog and the relationship between the Cribratio Alkorani and his general theological views. French description: La position de Nicolas de Cues sur l'islam n'est pas facile... cerner. Dans le De Pace Fidei, il semble presenter une vision irenique des differentes religions et du dialogue qui pourrait s'etablir entre elles et ce discours general vaut en particulier pour l'islam, tandis que dans la Cribratio Alkorani, Nicolas, aux dire de nombreux interpretes, se montrerait beaucoup plus incisif, au point que ce livre ne pourrait absolument pas constituer le fondement d'un dialogue constructif entre le christianisme et l'islam. Mais un certain nombre de travaux du present volume, montre que les choses ne sont pas si tranchees. Certes, Nicolas de Cues ignorait pas mal de choses sur l'Islam et les documents qu'il utilise l'induisent dans un certain nombre de cas en erreur. Mais, par de l... la lettre, il ressort qu'il a remarquablement compris l'esprit coranique et que ces textes meritent... cet egard plus d'attention qu'ils n'en ont generalement recue. Le present recueil permet de se faire une idee plus precise de la coherence de la position de Nicolas de Cues sur le dialogue entre christianisme et islam et des liens entre les theses de la Cribatio Alkorani et la pensee globale du grand cardinal. Le livre est issu d'un Colloque tenu sur ce theme... l'Universite de Rennes le 9 avril et rassemble des contributions de Walter Andreas Euler, Tom Kerger, Genevieve Gobillot (deux textes), Susan Gottlober, Graziella Federici Vescovini Herve Pasqua.et Jean-Michel Counet. (shrink)

We argue that the health sciences make causal claims on the basis of evidence both of physical mechanisms, and of probabilistic dependencies. Consequently, an analysis of causality solely in terms of physical mechanisms or solely in terms of probabilistic relationships, does not do justice to the causal claims of these sciences. Yet there seems to be a single relation of cause in these sciences - pluralism about causality will not do either. Instead, we maintain, the health sciences require a theory (...) of causality that unifies its mechanistic and probabilistic aspects. We argue that the epistemic theory of causality provides the required unification. (shrink)

Recent controversies about the level of replicability of behavioral research analyzed using statistical inference have cast interest in developing more efficient techniques for analyzing the results of psychological experiments. Here we claim that complementing the analytical workflow of psychological experiments with Machine Learning-based analysis will both maximize accuracy and minimize replicability issues. As compared to statistical inference, ML analysis of experimental data is model agnostic and primarily focused on prediction rather than inference. We also highlight some potential pitfalls resulting from (...) adoption of Machine Learning based experiment analysis. If not properly used it can lead to over-optimistic accuracy estimates similarly observed using statistical inference. Remedies to such pitfalls are also presented such and building model based on cross validation and the use of ensemble models. ML models are typically regarded as black boxes and we will discuss strategies aimed at rendering more transparent the predictions. (shrink)

The anti-causal prophecies of last century have been disproved. Causality is neither a ‘relic of a bygone’ nor ‘another fetish of modern science’; it still occupies a large part of the current debate in philosophy and the sciences. This investigation into causal modelling presents the rationale of causality, i.e. the notion that guides causal reasoning in causal modelling. It is argued that causal models are regimented by a rationale of variation, nor of regularity neither invariance, thus breaking down the dominant (...) Human paradigm. The notion of variation is shown to be embedded in the scheme of reasoning behind various causal models: e.g. Rubin’s model, contingency tables, and multilevel analysis. It is also shown to be latent – yet fundamental – in many philosophical accounts. Moreover, it has significant consequences for methodological issues: the warranty of the causal interpretation of causal models, the levels of causation, the characterisation of mechanisms, and the interpretation of probability. This book offers a novel philosophical and methodological approach to causal reasoning in causal modelling and provides the reader with the tools to be up to date about various issues causality rises in social science. (shrink)

This book investigates the unresolved issue of democratic legitimacy in contexts of pervasive disagreement and contributes to this debate by defending a relational version of political liberalism that rests on the ideal of co-authorship. According to this proposal, democratic legitimacy depends upon establishing appropriate interactions among citizens who ought to ascribe to one another the status of putative practical and epistemic authorities. To support this relational reading of political liberalism, the book proposes a revised account of the civic virtue of (...) reasonableness along with an investigation of the epistemic-specific dimension of political equality. By engaging with political epistemology and social theory, this book explores ways to address inherent tensions within the liberal paradigm, using the following strategies of addressing these tensions: first, it defends a twofold model of legitimacy that distinguishes the goals, methodologies, and justificatory tasks of both ideal and nonideal phases of the two-level justificatory framework; second, it contends that democratic legitimacy requires an engaged and contextual critical appraisal of the injustices that characterize our daily social lives, illustrating how structural forms of injustice represent a profound betrayal of the liberal ideal of democratic legitimacy. (shrink)

My aim in this article is to investigate the epistemic dimension of reasonableness. In the last decades, the concept of reasonableness has been deeply analysed, and yet, I maintain that a strictly epistemic analysis of reasonableness is still lacking. The goal of this article is to clarify which epistemic features characterize reasonableness as one of the fundamental virtues in the political domain. In order to justify political liberalism through a public justification that averts the risk of falling into a dilemma, (...) it is important to establish in advance which are the epistemic constraints that should be respected. My proposal is that a moderate approach in moral epistemology expresses the best scheme available to us – as moral agents constrained by the limit of our rationality – for establishing a normatively binding, and yet realistic, procedure of justification for political institutions and practices. (shrink)

Es mag überraschen, in einer der Religion und Offenbarung gewidmeten Schrift ein einleitendes Kapitel moralischen Inhalts zu finden: Die »Theorie des Willens«, die bedeutendste Erweiterung in der zweiten Auflage der Offenbarungskritik. Die Einschiebung dieses Kapitels macht die Beziehung zwischen Moral und Religion noch deutlicher, wodurch sich Fichte auf eine charakteristische Tendenz der deutschen Aufklärung bezieht. Ein erster Grund dieser fichteschen Stellungnahme liegt in der geistigen Bildung des jungen Gelehrten, der zur moralischen Thematik und zur Begeisterung für Kants moralisches System aus (...) einem ursprünglichen theologischen und religiösen Interesse heraus kommt: In den unmittelbar der Offenbarungskritik vorangehenden Jahren ist dieses Interesse besonders dem Problem der Gnade und der menschlichen Freiheit gewidmet. Ich beschränke mich auf die drei wichtigsten Schriften der jugendlichen fichteschen Periode, oder besser der sogenannten »vorkantischen« Periode, die Predigten An Mariä Verkündigung und Ueber die Absichten des Todes Jesu und das Fragment Einige Aphorismen über Religion und Deismus ; in all diesen Schriften ist die Annahme der sich auf den Menschen auswirkenden Gnade Gottes, die ihm Versöhnungs- und fortschreitende Annäherungsgelegenheiten zur moralischen Vollkommenheit gibt, der Bedingung unterworfen, daß der Mensch von seiner moralischen Verantwortlichkeit nicht abgehalten wird, daß er sich sozusagen nicht einer untätigen Erwartung des göttlichen Gefallens überläßt. Er soll dagegen, je nach der Wohltat, die er von Gott bekommen hat, das Bessere anstreben, und das ist auch das Kriterium, wonach Gott ihn beurteilen wird. Dieses aktive Bemühen um die eigene Rettung kann aber nur aus der Beachtung und aus dem Gehorsam gegenüber der Stimme des eigenen Gewissens, und nicht aus der Ausübung einer nur formalen Gerechtigkeit oder aus der Befolgung besonderer Kultusformen hervorgehen. Wie Fichte mit ausdrücklichem Bezug auf Paulus behauptet, wird man vor Gott nicht durch Werke gerechtfertigt, sondern durch die Ausübung eines Glaubens, der in seiner vollkommensten Form von der christlichen Religion vertreten wird und vor allem ein und dasselbe mit einer »Verfassung der Seele« ist; das führt zu jener »genauen Beobachtung unsrer eignen Seele«, die uns erlaubt, die von Gott in unsere Seele gebrachten Veranlassungen zur moralischen Besserung mit Klarheit zu erfassen. Die wahre Religion hat die Rolle, die Sinnlichkeit auszurotten und die »sanften Neigungen des Menschen, Güte, Sanftmuth, Gefälligkeit« zu erwecken: Fichte spricht von einer »Religion des Herzens«, aus dessen Güte und Wohlwollen eine »warme, lebendige Überzeugung« kommt, die auf ein inneres »Gefühl des Guten« gegründet ist und die religiöse Wahrheiten zur moralischen Triebfeder macht. In den kurz nach der Lektüre der ersten Kritik Kants geschriebenen Aphorismen ist das Gleichgewicht zwischen intellektuellen und sinnlichen Bestandteilen durch den von Fichte hervorgehobenen Widerspruch zwischen dem Gesichtspunkt des Herzens und den Forderungen der Spekulation in Frage gestellt: In der Spekulation würde man verlangen, eine rein vernünftige Erklärung des Glaubens zu geben, dessen innigste Natur aber, als der Bestrebung zu einem vertrauten und persönlichen zuerst auf die Empfindung gegründeten Verhältnis zu Gott einer solchen Beanspruchung eben nicht gerecht werden kann. Nur der von Kant herausgestellte Unterschied zwischen praktischer und spekulativer Vernunft wird Fichte die Mittel für die Überwindung dieses Widerspruchs geben, und damit auch die Möglichkeit, die Harmonie zwischen Philosophie und Religion wieder zu bestätigen: In einer bemerkenswerten Stelle der Aphorismen sieht Fichte nämlich eine völlige Übereinstimmung zwischen der kantischen Kritik und den Grundsätzen der Apostel über die Grenze der menschlichen Vernunft in den Untersuchungen der Glaubensdinge. (shrink)

ABSTRACT The article critically discusses Rahel Jaeggi’s recent philosophical contribution to a critical theory of capitalism. The first part reconstructs Jaeggi’s account of Lebensform, life-form, that builds up the main ontological framework for addressing and problematizing capitalism intended not as an economic system but as a social whole. The second part focuses on the three different theoretical strategies that Jaeggi puts forward to detect and deal with capitalism’s immanent flaws. The third and last part problematizes the metaphysical assumptions and implications (...) of Jaeggi’s understanding of life-form and outlines a more dialectical, or “transactional” notion of form of life, which is inspired by Dewey’s non-reductionist naturalist method of inquiry. The overall aim is to strengthen the philosophical critique of the capitalist form of life. (shrink)

In this article I will show that the problem of embodiment goes back to the question of the mind-body split, as this has been established and discussed by the philosophical tradition. With the digital turn and the advent of ubiquitous computing the problem of embodiment has taken new forms that have led scholars to introduce the notion of a “new digital Cartesianism.” Subjectivation processes within digital culture have mostly been explained by resorting to what I will call the “E-D-R scheme,” (...) which assumes that a real detachment between the body and the mind really occurs in digital processes. Since—as I will show—this is not actually the case, I will suggest replacing this epistemological scheme with a new one, which I will call the “double-embodiment scheme,” in order to acquire a more fitting epistemological account of the underlying digital ontology. Finally, I will discuss the distinction between bodily extension and the incorporation of non-bodily objects introduced by Helena De Preester in order to show that, in the digital realm, this distinction is much more blurred and complex than she acknowledges: digital interaction requires both bodily extension and the incorporation of objects as complementary processes. (shrink)

The ethical monitoring of brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) is discussed in connection with the potential impact of BMIs on distinguishing traits of persons, changes of personal identity, and threats to personal autonomy. It is pointed out that philosophical analyses of personhood are conducive to isolating an initial thematic framework for this ethical monitoring problem, but a contextual refinement of this initial framework depends on applied ethics analyses of current BMI models and empirical case-studies. The personal autonomy-monitoring problem is approached by identifying (...) various ways in which the inclusion of a robotic controller in the motor pathway of an output BMI may limit or jeopardize personal autonomy. (shrink)

Causal analysis in the social sciences takes advantage of a variety of methods and of a multi-fold source of information and evidence. This pluralistic methodology and source of information raises the question of whether we should accordingly have a pluralistic metaphysics and epistemology. This paper focuses on epistemology and argues that a pluralistic methodology and evidence don’t entail a pluralistic epistemology. It will be shown that causal models employ a single rationale of testing, based on the notion of variation. Further, (...) I shall argue that this monistic epistemology is also involved in alternative philosophical theories of causation. (shrink)

Mobile applications are increasingly regarded as important tools for an integrated strategy of infection containment in post-lockdown societies around the globe. This paper discusses a number of questions that should be addressed when assessing the ethical challenges of mobile applications for digital contact-tracing of COVID-19: Which safeguards should be designed in the technology? Who should access data? What is a legitimate role for “Big Tech” companies in the development and implementation of these systems? How should cultural and behavioural issues be (...) accounted for in the design of these apps? Should use of these apps be compulsory? What does transparency and ethical oversight mean in this context? We demonstrate that responses to these questions are complex and contingent and argue that if digital contract-tracing is used, then it should be clear that this is on a trial basis and its use should be subject to independent monitoring and evaluation. (shrink)

Proceduralists hold that democracy has a non-instrumental value consisting in the ideal of equality incorporated by fair procedures. Yet, proceduralism does not imply that every outcome of a democratic procedure is fair per se. In the non-ideal setting of constitutional democracies, government and legislative decisions may result from factional conflicts, or depend on majoritarian dictatorships. In these circumstances, Supreme Courts provide a guardianship against contested outcomes by enacting mechanisms of checks and balances, constitutional interpretation and judicial review. Yet, in virtue (...) of this role, Supreme Courts exercise a form of epistocratic power, which rests at odds with the ideal of political equality. We analyse this dilemma and propose a solution, arguing that Supreme Courts do not run unrestrained decisions; rather their decisional power is bound to the protective function of fundamental rights, in which their constitutional mandate ultimately consists. (shrink)

This paper examines one aspect of the legacy of the Value-Free Ideal in conservation science: the view that measurements and metrics are value-free epistemic tools detached from ideological, ethical, social, and, generally, non-epistemic considerations. Contrary to this view, I will argue that traditional measurement practices entrenched in conservation are in fact permeated with non-epistemic values. I challenge the received view by revealing three non-epistemic assumptions underlying traditional metrics: (1) a human-environment demarcation, (2) the desirability of a people-free landscape, and (3) (...) the exclusion of cultural diversity from biodiversity. I also draw a connection between arguments for retaining traditional metrics to “scientific colonialism,” exemplified by a fortress conservation model. I conclude by advocating for abandoning the myth of the intrinsic value-freedom of measurement practices and embracing metrics aligned with societal and scientific goals. (shrink)

In two papers earlier in his career, Siméon Rajaona—one of Madagascar's most famous intellectuals—argues that Westerners have tended to distort the Malagasy worldview by interpolating Western notions into their understanding of it. As a result, the authentic characteristics of the Malagasy mind have been missed by many in the West. He claims that when compared to Westerners, Malagasy have a distinct notion of truth, a different style of reasoning, a different conceptual connection with the world, and a distinct ethical system. (...) His work on this topic is pioneering and insightful. We think that Rajaona is correct on some points but that others are overestimated. In the essay, we explain his work and raise challenges for most of his claims and express agreement with him in parts. While we express skepticism about his claims involving truth, reasoning, and conceptual connection, we agree with him that there is a distinctive Malagasy ethics, though it has analogues in the West. At the end of the paper, we sketch what we take to be distinct elements in the Malagasy worldview relative to Rajaona’s claims. (shrink)