We present a mathematical approach to defeasible reasoning based on arguments. This approach integrates the notion of specificity introduced by Poole and the theory of warrant presented by Pollock. The main contribution of this paper is a precise, well-defined system which exhibits correct behavior when applied to the benchmark examples in the literature. It aims for usability rather than novelty. We prove that an order relation can be introduced among equivalence classes of arguments under the equi-specificity relation. We also prove (...) a theorem that ensures the termination of the process of finding the justified facts. Two more lemmas define a reduced search space for checking specificity. In order to implement the theoretical ideas, the language is restricted to Horn clauses for the evidential context. The language used to represent defeasible rules has been restricted in a similar way. The authors intend this work to unify the various existing approaches to argument-based defeasible reasoning. (shrink)

Through the study of the behaviour of the protagonists in the work of Franz Kafka, we will try to expose the control mechanisms used by the administrative authorities, providing at the same time with an antidote to uncritical submission. A thorough observation of the configuration of diegetic situations will allow to reverse the situations of forced compliance to proffer, in the voice of the so-called secondary figures, a critical understanding to enable the recovery of individual freedom.

How are biases encoded in our representations of social categories? Philosophical and empirical discussions of implicit bias overwhelmingly focus on salient or statistical associations between target features and representations of social categories. These are the sorts of associations probed by the Implicit Association Test and various priming tasks. In this paper, we argue that these discussions systematically overlook an alternative way in which biases are encoded, that is, in the dependency networks that are part of our representations of social categories. (...) Dependency networks encode information about how features in a conceptual representation depend on each other. This information determines the degree of centrality of a feature for a conceptual representation. Importantly, centrally encoded biases systematically disassociate from those encoded in salient-statistical associations. Furthermore, the degree of centrality of a feature determines its cross-contextual stability: in general, the more central a feature is for a concept, the more likely it is to survive into a wide array of cognitive tasks involving that concept. Accordingly, implicit biases that are encoded in the central features of concepts are predicted to be more resilient across different tasks and contexts. As a result, the distinction between centrally encoded and salient-statistical biases has important theoretical and practical implications. (shrink)

Se examina uno de los argumentos principales de Creer, saber, conocer en contra de la inclusión de la noción de verdad en la definición de saber. Se sostiene que el argumento falla, entre otras razones, porque concede al escéptico una premisa falsa acerca de las condiciones de aplicabilidad del verbo "saber". /// One of the main arguments of Creer, saber, conocer against the inclusion of the notion of truth in the definition of knowledge is examined. It is claimed that the (...) argument fails, among other reasons, because it grants the sceptic a false premise about the conditions of applicability of the verb "to know". (shrink)

We analyze the connections of Lavoisier system of nomenclature with Leibniz’s philosophy, pointing out to the resemblance between what we call Leibnizian and Lavoisian programs. We argue that Lavoisier’s contribution to chemistry is something more subtle, in so doing we show that the system of nomenclature leads to an algebraic system of chemical sets. We show how Döbereiner and Mendeleev were able to develop this algebraic system and to find new interesting properties for it. We pointed out the resemblances between (...) Leibniz program and Lavoisier legacy, particularly regarding the lingua philosophica for understanding and thinking Nature, in this particular case, chemistry. In the second part we discuss, from the linguistic viewpoint, how Lavoisian algebraic system may be taken further to build a language. We study the constituents of such a chemical language. Finally, we formalize some of the ideas here presented by using elements of network theory and discrete mathematics. (shrink)

Recent work in formal semantics suggests that the language system includes not only a structure building device, as standardly assumed, but also a natural deductive system which can determine when expressions have trivial truth-conditions (e.g., are logically true/false) and mark them as unacceptable. This hypothesis, called the `logicality of language', accounts for many acceptability patterns, including systematic restrictions on the distribution of quantifiers. To deal with apparent counter-examples consisting of acceptable tautologies and contradictions, the logicality of language is often paired (...) with an additional assumption according to which logical forms are radically underspecified: i.e., the language system can see functional terms but is `blind' to open class terms to the extent that different tokens of the same term are treated as if independent. This conception of logical form has profound implications: it suggests an extreme version of the modularity of language, and can only be paired with non-classical---indeed quite exotic---kinds of deductive systems. The aim of this paper is to show that we can pair the logicality of language with a different and ultimately more traditional account of logical form. This framework accounts for the basic acceptability patterns which motivated the logicality of language, can explain why some tautologies and contradictions are acceptable, and makes better predictions in key cases. As a result, we can pursue versions of the logicality of language in frameworks compatible with the view that the language system is not radically modular vis-a-vis its open class terms and employs a deductive system that is basically classical. (shrink)

We review different studies of the Periodic Law and the set of chemical elements from a mathematical point of view. This discussion covers the first attempts made in the 19th century up to the present day. Mathematics employed to study the periodic system includes number theory, information theory, order theory, set theory and topology. Each theory used shows that it is possible to provide the Periodic Law with a mathematical structure. We also show that it is possible to study the (...) chemical elements taking advantage of their phenomenological properties, and that it is not always necessary to reduce the concept of chemical elements to the quantum atomic concept to be able to find interpretations for the Periodic Law. Finally, a connection is noted between the lengths of the periods of the Periodic Law and the philosophical Pythagorean doctrine. (shrink)

This book presents a new explanation of the rise, development and demise of social movements and cycles of protest in autocracies; the conditions under which protest becomes rebellion; and the impact of protest and rebellion on democratization. Focusing on poor indigenous villages in Mexico's authoritarian regime, the book shows that the spread of US Protestant missionaries and the competition for indigenous souls motivated the Catholic Church to become a major promoter of indigenous movements for land redistribution and indigenous rights. The (...) book explains why the outbreak of local rebellions, the transformation of indigenous claims for land into demands for ethnic autonomy and self-determination, and the threat of a generalized social uprising motivated national elites to democratize. Drawing on an original dataset of indigenous collective action and on extensive fieldwork, the empirical analysis of the book combines quantitative evidence with case studies and life histories. (shrink)

Se sostiene que la propuesta de Rodriguez-Pereyra de que los analíticos iberoamericanos publiquemos todos nuestras investigaciones en inglés es inviable e indeseable.

The goal of this study was to introduce a model explaining how managers' attitudes, subjective norms, attributions, and the individualism-collectivism cultural dimension affect the way managers' deal with employee bribery in organizations. Twenty-six internal and external attributions related to bribery were identified through a series of structured interviews with 65 subject matter experts. These attributions, together with the other variables in the model, were evaluated by 354 Ecuadorian managers. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that attitudes and external attributions significantly predicted managers' (...) intentions to discipline employees who accepted a bribe. In addition, external attributions mediated the relationship between individualism-collectivism and intent to discipline corrupt employees. Implications for the management of bribery in Latin American organizations are discussed. (shrink)

: In this paper I will examine two conceptions of philosophy that were defended in Latin America during the last century. I believe that both models have to be put away and that we must build a new one, recovering elements of both of them. At the end of my paper I will consider very briefly what can we learn from this in order to construct a genuine philosophical dialogue between the United States and Latin America.

The meaning that expressions take on particular occasions often depends on the context in ways which seem to transcend its direct effect on context-sensitive parameters. ‘Truth-conditional pragmatics’ is the project of trying to model such semantic flexibility within a compositional truth-conditional framework. Most proposals proceed by radically ‘freeing up’ the compositional operations of language. I argue, however, that the resulting theories are too unconstrained, and predict flexibility in cases where it is not observed. These accounts fall into this position because (...) they rarely, if ever, take advantage of the rich information made available by lexical items. I hold, instead, that lexical items encode both extension and non-extension determining information. Under certain conditions, the non-extension determining information of an expression e can enter into the compositional processes that determine the meaning of more complex expressions which contain e. This paper presents and motivates a set of type-driven compositional operations that can access non-extension determining information and introduce bits of it into the meaning of complex expressions. The resulting multidimensional semantics has the tools to deal with key cases of semantic flexibility in appropriately constrained ways, making it a promising framework to pursue the project of truth-conditional pragmatics. (shrink)

Over the past decade or so, a new interdisciplinary field has emerged in the ground between, on the one hand, computer science – and artificial intelligence in particular – and, on the other, the area of philosophy concentrating on the language and structure of argument. There are now hundreds of researchers worldwide who would consider themselves a part of this nascent community. Various terms have been proposed for the area, including "Computational Dialectics," "Argumentation Technology," and "Argument-based Computing," but the term (...) that has stuck is simply Argument & Computation. It encompasses several specific strands of research, such as: . the use of theories of argument, and dialectic in particular, in the design and implementation of protocols for multi-agent action and communication; . the application of theories of argument and rhetoric in natural language processing and affective computing; . the use of argument-based structures for autonomous reasoning in artificial intelligence, and in particular, for defeasible reasoning; . computer-supported collaborative argumentation – the implementation of software tools for enabling online argument in domains such as education and e-government. These strands come together to form the core of a research field that covers parts of artificial intelligence (AI), philosophy, linguistics, and cognitive science, but, increasingly, is building an identity of its own. (shrink)

Despite recognizing the importance of impact investing in combating complex societal challenges, researchers have yet to examine the capacity of the field to address systemic inequality. While impact investments are intended to benefit vulnerable stakeholders, the voices of those stakeholders are generally overlooked in the design and implementation of such investments. To resolve this oversight, we theorize how the fields’ design—through its tools, organizations, and field-level bodies—influences its capacity to address inequality by focusing on the concept of giving voice, which (...) we define as the inclusive participation of vulnerable stakeholders in decision-making processes. We build from stakeholder engagement research to show how the design of impact investing can address inequality using three illustrative cases: social impact bonds, impact investing funds, and national advisory boards. We conclude with a discussion of how the ethical decision of giving voice to vulnerable stakeholders will determine the capacity of the field to address inequality, as well as provide implications for future research and practice. (shrink)

Recent work in formal semantics suggests that the language system includes not only a structure building device, as standardly assumed, but also a natural deductive system which can determine when expressions have trivial truth‐conditions (e.g., are logically true/false) and mark them as unacceptable. This hypothesis, called the ‘logicality of language’, accounts for many acceptability patterns, including systematic restrictions on the distribution of quantifiers. To deal with apparent counter‐examples consisting of acceptable tautologies and contradictions, the logicality of language is often paired (...) with an additional assumption according to which logical forms are radically underspecified: i.e., the language system can see functional terms but is ‘blind’ to open class terms to the extent that different tokens of the same term are treated as if independent. This conception of logical form has profound implications: it suggests an extreme version of the modularity of language, and can only be paired with non‐classical—indeed quite exotic—kinds of deductive systems. The aim of this paper is to show that we can pair the logicality of language with a different and ultimately more traditional account of logical form. This framework accounts for the basic acceptability patterns which motivated the logicality of language, can explain why some tautologies and contradictions are acceptable, and makes better predictions in key cases. As a result, we can pursue versions of the logicality of language in frameworks compatible with the view that the language system is not radically modular vis‐á‐vis its open class terms and employs a deductive system that is basically classical. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: The Origins of the Ateneo de la Juventud The Lectures at the Ateneo de la Juventud The Ateneo de la Juventud and the Mexican Revolution References Further Reading.

Bi-intuitionistic logic is the result of adding the dual of intuitionistic implication to intuitionistic logic. In this note, we characterize the expressive power of this logic by showing that the first order formulas equivalent to translations of bi-intuitionistic propositional formulas are exactly those preserved under bi-intuitionistic directed bisimulations. The proof technique is originally due to Lindstrom and, in contrast to the most common proofs of this kind of result, it does not use the machinery of neither saturated models nor elementary (...) chains. (shrink)

El presente artículo indaga sobre el poder dinámico y causal del ente finito. Busca fundamentar el accionar del mismo desde su estructura metafísica dando así razón de su causalidad. En este sentido el estudio se desarrolla en el ámbito de lo que santo Tomas de Aquino ha llamado filosofía primera que es, dentro de la disciplina sapiencial, la perspectiva que investiga sobre las diversas especies de causas, como aquellas que dan mayor certeza al conocimiento, y esto con principal acento en (...) la causalidad eficiente y final. El matiz mencionado tiene su fundamento en el ente como sujeto-objeto de la metafísica y lleva en sí la proyección a la teología filosófica como aquella parte de la sabiduría que se dedica a estudiar la causa primera de todo lo real. (shrink)

This reviews the first of a tripartite symposia series dealing with novel neuroscientific technologies, the nature of consciousness and being, and the questions that arise from such interactions. The event took place on May 8 2009, at Georgetown University, and brought together ten leading figures on fields ranging from Neuroscience and Robotics to Philosophy, that commented on their research and provided ethical, moral and practical insight and perspectives into how these technologies can shape the future of neuroscientific and human development, (...) as well as denoting the potential abuses and the best way to proceed about them. (shrink)

En el presente estudio nos proponemos analizar y valorar críticamente una serie de caracterizaciones que permiten reconocer la evolución de la noción de bioética durante las primeras décadas del desarrollo de la disciplina. Más precisamente, a través del análisis comparativo de las definiciones y descripciones seleccionadas, procuraremos poner de manifiesto el progresivo avance hacia nociones más amplias e integradoras que intentan evitar tanto la reducción de la disciplina a un ámbito o a un aspecto determinado como la restricción de la (...) significación del nombre “bioética” a un mero núcleo paradigmático. Comenzaremos con el análisis de algunas caracterizaciones que expresan una noción de bioética más restringida en cuanto al campo o ámbito propio abordando, en un segundo momento, el estudio de otras que responden, en principio, a una noción más integral. (shrink)

Respecto del tema de la eternidad divina, las Sentencias de Pedro Lombardo nos presentan una intrigante paradoja. Por una parte, podría parecer que esta obra, más allá de la simple enunciación de locuciones que significan la eternidad divina, no ofrece desarrollos doctrinales que merezcan mayor consideración. Por otra, encontramos allí una noción de eternidad que no está en sus fuentes ni es recibida por sus más ilustres comentadores. En efecto, esta noción interviene en el conocimiento del ser y de la (...) esencia de Dios como su verdad y propiedad. Por ello mismo, resulta particularmente idónea para manifestar la igualdad de las personas divinas. (shrink)

KOINONIA/ASETT MINGA/MUTIRÃO DE REVISTAS DE TEOLOGIA LATINO-AMERICANAS Teología de la Liberación y movimiento ecuménico: breve reflexión desde una práctica (Liberation Theology and ecumenical movement: a brief reflection from praxis).

Guillermo E. Rosado Haddock, ed. Husserl and Analytic Philosophy. Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2016. ISBN 978-3-11-049655-0 ; 978-3-11-049737-3 ; 978-3-11-049418-1. Pp. viii + 338.

This paper analyzes an unpublished theory about the origin of global injustices that consider developing countries ethically responsible ontological units. The empirical case studies concern the relationships between multinational companies from developed states and Latin American states. These cases are analyzed based on a qualitative methodology of applied political philosophy and correspond to twelve instances of injustice judged by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights between 1980 and 2014. The article concludes that the distortions in an emerging Ethics of the (...) interdependence of the States, as the acting in bad faith of the governments of developing countries, largely explains the origins of the unfair global distribution of wealth and the economic refugees that it produces. (shrink)

Entre los diversos aportes teóricos que hicieron de Max Weber una de las figuras principales del pensamiento social del siglo XX, encontramos su sociología del derecho que tiene como tema el proceso de racionalización del derecho occidental. Max Weber estudió ese proceso como una racionalización de tipo formal que es acompañada, aún en su última etapa moderna, de tendencias contrarias que se dirigen hacia la materialización del derecho. A partir de estos trabajos de Weber se ha construido una crítica del (...) Estado social y una oposición a tomar los derechos sociales como derechos fundamentales, consistentes en afirmar que tal proyecto político conspira contra las notas de racionalidad del Estado de derecho por implicar la introducción de exigencias materiales de justicia que degradan la norma superior del ordenamiento jurídico, es decir, la Constitución. (shrink)

En 1982, Jack Goody publicó _Cooking, Cuisine and Class. _ _A Study in Comparative Sociology. _En esta obra, Goody se interesó por las culturas culinarias de diferentes espacios geográficos del mundo, así como por la relación entre el desarrollo de una cocina refinada y el surgimiento de una sociedad compleja. Entre sus conclusiones, demostró que la manera de comer constituye un aspecto ensencial en cualquier sociedad. Más en concreto, señaló que en diferentes culturas europeas y asiáticas el surgimiento de una (...) cocina compleja se debía asociar al desarrollo de un “hombre jerárquico”. Bajo esta premisa, el presente artículo pretende analizar cómo cambiaron las culturas alimentarias de los pueblos germanos y de los romanos desde que entraron en contacto unos y otros, tomando como punto de partida y de referencia la _Germania _de Tácito, primer relato articulado sobre las tribus germanas, y, como punto de llegada, el final de la Antigüedad. (shrink)

From the information previously available, the Triclinian edition of Theocritus, known through the manuscripts Paris, BNF gr. 2832 and Vaticano, BAV gr. 1825 + 1824, was believed to end with the Syrinx and the Ara Dosiadae. Thanks to the discovery of a folio of the MS. Vaticano, BAV gr. 1824 in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, we now know that it continued with at least the Ara Ionica and the Securis, both with Holobolus's scholia. Folio 144 of the MS. Oxford, (...) BL D'Orville 71 thus now constitutes a prime witness of these scholia. (shrink)

This paper argues, contrary to Fodor’s well-known position, that the iconic and discursive modes of representation are not mutually exclusive categories. It is argued that there exists at least a third kind of representation which blends the semantic properties of icons and the syntactic properties of discourses. We reason that this iconic-discursive genus behaves differently from other representational formats, such as distributed representations or maps, previously put forward as challenging Fodor’s basic distinction. A reflection follows about how this kind of (...) representation impacts on the Fodorian issues for which the original dual distinction was argumentatively instrumental, namely, the kinds of codes and possible inter-code relations accessible to the representational mind. The suggestion is put forward that iconic-discursive representations may facilitate trade-offs between the world and the representational mind, as well as between the differently complex levels of representation that mediate between percepts and concepts. We conclude that such aspects of the computational mind, which until now appeared to be stubbornly resistant with respect to a conciliation of Hume’s empiricism and Fodor’s computationalism, may be more easily accessed and understood taking advantage of the biosemiotics perspective and acknowledging the richness of the biosemiotics codes accessible to cognition. (shrink)

This two-volume work provides a new understanding of Western subjectivity as theorized in the Augustinian Rule. A theopolitical synthesis of Antiquity, the Rule is a humble, yet extremely influential example of subjectivity production. In these volumes, Jodra argues that the Classical and Late-Ancient communitarian practices along the Mediterranean provide historical proof of a worldview in which the self and the other are not disjunctive components, but mutually inclusive forces. The Augustinian Rule is a culmination of this process and also the (...) beginning of something new: The paradigm of the monastic self as protagonist of the new, medieval worldview. Three main theoretical challenges leading to, and present in the Rule are tackled: What are the sources of our modern understanding of subjectivity? Can Ancient sources provide an alternative genealogy that resists the individualistic turn of Modernity? And can the commons be saved without suppressing individuality? Jodra seeks to prove that the synthesis-which is also an appropriation-of Greek and Judaic sources carried out by the first Christians allowed for two contrasting models of subjectivity, the self-less and the other-less, to 'take turns' to dominate our understanding of human nature. The Greek world provided the political dimension and the Jewish world established the key theological principles of a Mediterranean synthesis which took place in Rome. Coherently and progressively, Jodra emphasizes the theopolitical nature of our worldview even today, and claim that the subject of the primitive Church is its most visible incarnation. These volumes therefore restore the unity of the Hellenistic and Judaic world as found by the first Christians, proving that the self and the other are two essential pieces in the construction of our world. (shrink)

The Reading Augustine series presents short, engaging books offering personal readings of St. Augustine of Hippo's contributions to western philosophical, literary, and religious life. This two-volume work provides a new understanding of Western subjectivity as theorized in the Augustinian Rule. A theopolitical synthesis of Antiquity, the Rule is a humble, yet extremely influential example of subjectivity production. In these volumes, Jodra argues that the Classical and Late-Ancient communitarian practices along the Mediterranean provide historical proof of a worldview in which the (...) self and the other are not disjunctive components, but mutually inclusive forces. The Augustinian Rule is a culmination of this process and also the beginning of something new: The paradigm of the monastic self as protagonist of the new, medieval worldview. Three main theoretical challenges leading to, and present in the Rule are tackled: What are the sources of our modern understanding of subjectivity? Can Ancient sources provide an alternative genealogy that resists the individualistic turn of Modernity? And can the commons be saved without suppressing individuality? Jodra seeks to prove that the synthesis-which is also an appropriation-of Greek and Judaic sources carried out by the first Christians allowed for two contrasting models of subjectivity, the self-less and the other-less, to 'take turns' to dominate our understanding of human nature. The Greek world provided the political dimension and the Jewish world established the key theological principles of a Mediterranean synthesis which took place in Rome. Coherently and progressively, Jodra emphasizes the theopolitical nature of our worldview even today, and claim that the subject of the primitive Church is its most visible incarnation. These volumes therefore restore the unity of the Hellenistic and Judaic world as found by the first Christians, proving that the self and the other are two essential pieces in the construction of our world. (shrink)

El artículo estudia el envío del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo a los justos tal y como son tratados por Agustín en "De Trinitate" 4, 20 y 2, 5, resaltando las misiones visibles y sus diversas implicaciones, así como los capítulos 17 al 19 del Libro XV, para explicar la vinculación del Espíritu Santo al amor fraterno.

In the present philosophical reflection my purpose consists of revising two big points based on the book Theory and Practice of Bioethics Principles, written by Ricardo Maliandi and Oscar Thüer. The first point is linked with the problem of foundation of ethics proposed by the authors. The second point is linked with the problem related with the model of ethical applicability proposed by the authors.

Vivimos cotidianamente con otros en un mismo y único mundo, pero desde mundos diametralmente opuestos; porque para unos, desde el nostrismo de la globalidad imperial, con unas relaciones nacidas del ego, de posesión, de conquista y de dominación, impera el individualismo, así la cosmovisión se diga englobante, mientras que para otros -los pueblos ancestrales-, viven bajo la lógica del nosotros, de la nosotridad y/o la comunalidad, relaciones no de sujeto a objeto, sino de sujeto a sujeto, relaciones de reciprocidad y (...) complementariedad. Así pues, en este artículo de investigación, desde una mirada interdisciplinaria, se pondrán frente a frente estas dos cosmovisiones del nosotros; el nostrismo en el mundo de la globalidad imperial y la nosotridad entre los pueblos amerindios. Palabras clave: losofía amerindia, nosotridad, cosmovisión, América Latina. (shrink)