The objective of Working Group 4 of the COST Action NET4Age-Friendly is to examine existing policies, advocacy, and funding opportunities and to build up relations with policy makers and funding organisations. Also, to synthesize and improve existing knowledge and models to develop from effective business and evaluation models, as well as to guarantee quality and education, proper dissemination and ensure the future of the Action. The Working Group further aims to enable capacity building to improve interdisciplinary participation, to promote knowledge (...) exchange and to foster a cross-European interdisciplinary research capacity, to improve cooperation and co-creation with cross-sectors stakeholders and to introduce and educate students SHAFE implementation and sustainability. To enable the achievement of the objectives of Working Group 4, the Leader of the Working Group, the Chair and Vice-Chair, in close cooperation with the Science Communication Coordinator, developed a template to map the current state of SHAFE policies, funding opportunities and networking in the COST member countries of the Action. On invitation, the Working Group lead received contributions from 37 countries, in a total of 85 Action members. The contributions provide an overview of the diversity of SHAFE policies and opportunities in Europe and beyond. These were not edited or revised and are a result of the main areas of expertise and knowledge of the contributors; thus, gaps in areas or content are possible and these shall be further explored in the following works and reports of this WG. But this preliminary mapping is of huge importance to proceed with the WG activities. In the following chapters, an introduction on the need of SHAFE policies is presented, followed by a summary of the main approaches to be pursued for the next period of work. The deliverable finishes with the opportunities of capacity building, networking and funding that will be relevant to undertake within the frame of Working Group 4 and the total COST Action. The total of country contributions is presented in the annex of this deliverable. (shrink)

A common understanding of quantum mechanics (QM) among students and practical users is often plagued by a number of “myths”, that is, widely accepted claims on which there is not really a general consensus among experts in foundations of QM. These myths include wave-particle duality, time-energy uncertainty relation, fundamental randomness, the absence of measurement-independent reality, locality of QM, nonlocality of QM, the existence of well-defined relativistic QM, the claims that quantum field theory (QFT) solves the problems of relativistic QM or (...) that QFT is a theory of particles, as well as myths on black-hole entropy. The fact is that the existence of various theoretical and interpretational ambiguities underlying these myths does not yet allow us to accept them as proven facts. I review the main arguments and counterarguments lying behind these myths and conclude that QM is still a not-yet-completely-understood theory open to further fundamental research. (shrink)

Even though the Bohmian trajectories given by integral curves of the conserved Klein-Gordon current may involve motions backwards in time, the natural relativistic probability density of particle positions is well-defined. The Bohmian theory predicts subtle deviations from the statistical predictions of more conventional formulations of quantum theory, but it seems that no present experiment rules this theory out. The generalization to the case of many particles or strings is straightforward, provided that a preferred foliation of spacetime is given.

Name der Zeitschrift: Millennium Jahrgang: 13 Heft: 1 Seiten: 211-274.

Bosonic and fermionic particle currents can be introduced in a more unified way, with the cost of introducing a preferred spacetime foliation. Such a unified treatment of bosons and fermions naturally emerges from an analogous superstring current, showing that the preferred spacetime foliation appears only at the level of effective field theory, not at the fundamental superstring level. The existence of the preferred spacetime foliation allows an objective definition of particles associated with quantum field theory in curved spacetime. Such an (...) objective definition of particles makes the Bohmian interpretation of particle quantum mechanics more appealing. The superstring current allows a consistent Bohmian interpretation of superstrings themselves, including a Bohmian description of string creation and destruction in terms of string splitting. The Bohmian equations of motion and the corresponding probabilistic predictions are fully relativistic covariant and do not depend on the preferred foliation. (shrink)

The Heideggerian question posed here as “what does it mean to dwell in a global age” leaves open, invites even, the possibility of committing two conceptual mistakes from which, depending on the theoretical universe we inhabit, two separate sets of problems arise. On the one hand, if the adverbial “in a global age” is taken to denote a radical historical caesura between “our age” and the age in which the concept was first deployed, one has to prove that the caesura (...) is indeed not only historically operative but legitimate on an ontological level. This would, however, be a futile attempt: there hardly exists an essential, qualitative difference between the ontological regime of “our global age” and the one sketched in Heidegger's 1954 essay “Building Dwelling Thinking.” We have not been blessed by any epochal turns, despite important switches – to move for a second to a different register—in regimes of accumulation. Thus, it may be concluded, the ontological question about the state of “dwelling in a precarious age” has already been posed and answered by Heidegger himself—from an ontological perspective, he is our contemporary. And of course, to such question there can in fact be only one answer: it is the same “metaphysics” that has precluded the possibility of “dwelling” throughout modernity that gave rise to our age as global. But then to avoid the mistake sketched out above and the repetition of an already accomplished analysis, the question as it is posed for us here should be taken as a politicization of the original concept, foreign to a puritanically ontological Heideggerian diagnostics, although building on its foundations: what is to be done historically at this moment to enter “dwelling”? (shrink)

Statistical physics cannot explain why a thermodynamic arrow of time exists, unless one postulates very special and unnatural initial conditions. Yet, we argue that statistical physics can explain why the thermodynamic arrow of time is universal, i.e., why the arrow points in the same direction everywhere. Namely, if two subsystems have opposite arrow-directions at a particular time, the interaction between them makes the configuration statistically unstable and causes a decay towards a system with a universal direction of the arrow of (...) time. We present general qualitative arguments for that claim and support them by a detailed analysis of a toy model based on the baker’s map. (shrink)

The article examines whether countries should legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide. Firstly, context of the debate is provided by defining the key terms and giving the overview of how the debate evolved throughout history. The arguments in favor of legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide are addressed, namely the argument from autonomy and self–determination and the claim for the “right to die with dignity”. The consequences which were showed to occur in the countries which legalized euthanasia and/or assisted suicide are analyzed, (...) and the case study on the Netherlands and Belgium is made. Finally, the model for the dignity–respecting health–care is proposed followed by the call for bigger accessibility and funding for palliative care. (shrink)

To relax the apparent tension between nonlocal hidden variables and relativity, we propose that the observable proper time is not the same quantity as the usual proper-time parameter appearing in local relativistic equations. Instead, the two proper times are related by a nonlocal rescaling parameter proportional to |ψ|2, so that they coincide in the classical limit. In this way particle trajectories may obey local relativistic equations of motion in a manner consistent with the appearance of nonlocal quantum correlations. To illustrate (...) the main idea, we first present two simple toy models of local particle trajectories with nonlocal time, which reproduce some nonlocal quantum phenomena. After that, we present a realistic theory with a capacity to reproduce all predictions of quantum theory. (shrink)

U članku pod gornjim naslovom su sličnosti i razlike metafizičkih počela Aristotela i Tome Akvinskog iskazane analizom argumentacije koja je sržna za obje ove metafizike: o postojanju Nepokretnog pokretača, Čistog akta. Tom analizom je pokazano da, iako im argumentacija ima istu logičku strukturu i isto polazište – promjenu bića – ipak ih je razlika u shvaćanju metafizičkih počela samog bića dovela do različitih zaključaka. Tako je ovdje pokazano da je za Aristotelovu metafiziku supstancije zadnja zbiljnost bića supstancijalna forma, koje svoje (...) zadnje utemeljenje ima u Čistom aktu, Nepokretnom pokretaču, dok za metafiziku bitka Tome Akvinskog zadnja zbiljnost bića jest bitak, koji svoje zadnje utemeljenje ima također u Čistom aktu, ali koji je shvaćen kao Čisti akt bivstvovanja, Subzistentni bitak. Stoga je za Aristotela Čisti akt isključivo oblikovatelj ostale stvarnosti ukoliko je svršni uzrok te nema, niti može imati, kao Nepokretni pokretač, ikakav drugi uzročni utjecaj na ostalu stvarnost, dok je za Tomu Akvinskog Nepokretni pokretač nužno Čisti akt bivstvovanja čije djelovanje je stvaranje.In this article the similarities and differences of Aristotle’s and Thomas Aquinas’ metaphysical principles are set forth by analyzing the core arguments of their metaphysics: principally, those concerning the existence of the Unmoved Mover, also called Pure Act. The analysis shows that although their arguments have the same logical structure and the same starting point – the fact that beings change – different conceptions of the metaphysical principles of being nevertheless lead to different conclusions. Therefore, this article shows that within Aristotle’s metaphysics of substance, the ultimate actuality is the substantial form which has its last ground in Pure Act, the Unmoved Mover. On the other hand, Thomas Aquinas believes that the ultimate actuality is existence, which also has its last ground in Pure Act, but the Act of Existence, or Subsistent Existence. Therefore, Aristotle’s Pure Act is a mere giver of forms and the final cause of reality. This Pure Act does not have, nor it can have any other causal influence on the rest of reality, while Aquinas’ Unmoved Mover is necessarily the Pure Act of Existence whose activity we call creation. (shrink)

Najnovija enciklika pape Benedikta XVI Caritas in veritate, kao i prethodne enciklike posvećene socijalnoj tematici, najreprezentativniji su dio opusa katoličkog socijalnog nauka koji u svijetlu judeo-kršćanske Objave i općih načela kršćanske filozofije raščlanjuje aktualne svjetske društvene prilike.U članku se razložila prožetost socijalnog nauka Crkve filozofijom te ukazalo na metafizičke specifičnosti te filozofije, koja sačinjava, kako se je pokazalo, filozofski okvir enciklike Caritas in veritate. Analizom logike filozofskog diskursa Benedikta XVI koja inkorporira, u taj filozofski okvir, načelo besplatnosti kao izraz ljudskog (...) bratstva, nastojalo se ukazati na doprinos enciklike Caritas in veritate aktualnim promišljanjima filozofije globalizacije.The latest encyclical letter by the Pope Benedict XVI Caritas in veritate, similar to the former encyclicals dedicated to social issues, is the most representative part of the Catholic social teaching which analyses current world issues in the light of Judeo-Christian Revelation and general principles of Christian philosophy.This article has expounded the philosophical background of Roman Catholic social teaching and indicated metaphysical peculiarities of that philosophy which builds, as it is shown, the philosophical foundation of the encyclical Caritas in veritate. By analyzing the logic of Benedict’s philosophical discourse, which in that philosophical frame includes the principle of gratuitousness as the expression of human fraternity, we tried to show the contribution of Caritas in veritate encyclical letter to current philosophical thought about globalization. (shrink)

Nakon uvoda u kojemu se tematizira pojam i povijest bioetike, u članku se govori o počecima, razvoju i stanju bioetike u Hrvatskoj, i to u tri aspekta: znanstveno-stručne rasprave o bioetičkim problemima, bioetički senzibilitet i bioetička institucionalizacija. Pritom se posebna pozornost posvećuje konceptu integrativne bioetike, koji je razvijen u okviru projekta bioetičke suradnje u području jugoistočne Europe, gdje Hrvatsko filozofsko društvo ima vrlo važnu ulogu.After the introductory part on the notion of bioethics and its history, the paper deals with the (...) beginnings, development and condition of bioethics in Croatia from the perspective of scientific discussions about bioethical issues, then from the perspective of bioethical sensibility and finally from the bioethics institutionalization perspective. Special attention is thereby given to the concept of integrative bioethics, developed within the framework of bioethical cooperation in South-Eastern Europe, where the Croatian Philosophical Society plays an extremely important role. (shrink)

Since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the term virtual has become one of the most used in media and everyday speech. There is an increasing amount of research done on this new reality, and the results are still to be published. However, it is insufficiently known in scientific periodicals that the concept of virtual reality, enabled by information technology, has existed in the sociological literature since the 1990s when Castells introduced it to the theory of network society. Therefore, the paper's primary (...) goal is to consider basic concepts such as virtual reality, real virtuality, virtual communities, virtual sociability, and networked individualism. We will also briefly look at the forgotten classical notion of community as a fundamental form of sociability defined by the sociologist F. Tönnies, which re-enters the focus of scientific interest, without a clear and sociologically known classical definition. Starting from this framework, the paper examines the key question of whether these new virtual communities are indeed communities in the classical sense of the term or whether it is a form of networked individualism. Pojam virtualno je pojavom COVID-19 pandemije 2020., postao jedan od najkorištenijih u medijskom prostoru i u govoru svakodnevice. Sve je više i istraživanja o novoj stvarnosti, čiji rezultati se tek očekuju. Međutim, nedovoljno je poznato u domaćoj znanstvenoj periodici da koncept virtualne stvarnosti koju omogućava informacijska tehnologija, postoji u sociološkoj literaturi od devedesetih godina, kada ga u teoriju umreženog društva uvodi Castells. Stoga je glavni cilj rada prikazati i razmotriti neke osnovne pojmove kao npr. virtualna stvarnost, stvarna virtualnost, virtualne zajednice, virtualna društvenost i umreženi individualizam. Kratko ćemo se osvrnuti i na zaboravljeni klasični pojam zajednice kao temeljne forme društvenosti definirane od sociologa F. Tönniesa, koji ponovo ulazi u fokus znanstvenog interesa, bez jasne a u sociologiji poznate klasične definicije. Polazeći od tog okvira, u radu se propituje ključno pitanje, jesu li te nove virtualne zajednice uistinu zajednice u klasičnom smislu značenja pojma, ili je riječ o nekom obliku umreženog individualizma. (shrink)

Namjera je ovog članka da se skicira portret Ante Pažanina kao filozofa, istraživača i autora, te kao profesora, prevoditelja i javnoga djelatnika, odnosno da se kaže nešto ne samo o njegovu djelu nego i o njegovu liku. U tom smislu, članak se više oslanja na reminiscencije na Pažaninovu predavačku djelatnost negoli na istraživanje njegova filozofskog opusa, iako se naglašavaju ključna uporišta njegove filozofije . Zaključuje se kako je glavna značajka Pažaninova djela – živi dijalog sa suvremenicima i misliteljima prohujalih vremena, (...) koji su zahvaljujući njegovu pristupu također postajali suvremenima – bila trajno prisutna i u njegovoj profesorskoj djelatnosti.The intention of this paper is to sketch a portrait of Ante Pažanin as a philosopher, researcher and author, as well as a professor, translator and public servant, i.e. to speak not only about his work but also his figure. In this sense, the paper relies more on reminiscences on Pažanin’s lecturing activities than on research of his philosophical works, although the key strongholds of his philosophy are emphasised. It is concluded that the main characteristic of Pažanin’s work – live dialogue with contemporary thinkers as well as those of the past times, who also became contemporary by virtue of his approach – was permanently present in his professorial activities. (shrink)

Ova četiri teksta prilagođena su izlaganja o knjizi Gordane Bosanac "Utopija i inauguralni paradoks", održana prigodom njezina predstavljanja.Predstavljanje se, uz raspravu, odvijalo u Klubu sveučilišnih nastavnika u Zagebu 24. listopada 2005.These four contributions are adapted talks on Gordana Bosanac’s book Utopija i inauguralniparadoks , delivered on the occasion of its presentation.This presentation took place at the Croatian University Teachers’ Club in Zagreb on 24th October2005.