Luciano Floridi presents a book that will set the agenda for the philosophy of information. PI is the philosophical field concerned with the critical investigation of the conceptual nature and basic principles of information, including its dynamics, utilisation, and sciences, and the elaboration and application of information-theoretic and computational methodologies to philosophical problems. This book lays down, for the first time, the conceptual foundations for this new area of research. It does so systematically, by pursuing three goals. Its metatheoretical (...) goal is to describe what the philosophy of information is, its problems, approaches, and methods. Its introductory goal is to help the reader to gain a better grasp of the complex and multifarious nature of the various concepts and phenomena related to information. Its analytic goal is to answer several key theoretical questions of great philosophical interest, arising from the investigation of semantic information. (shrink)

Introduction -- Youth, a contradictory formation: 1910-18 -- Workers' democracy and factory-councils: 1919-20 -- Passage to maturity: 1921-6 -- Methodological observations on the prison notebooks -- The 'extended' theory of the state -- The party as 'collective intellectual' -- The current relevance and universality of Gramsci.

Semantic information is usually supposed to satisfy the veridicality thesis: p qualifies as semantic information only if p is true. However, what it means for semantic information to be true is often left implicit, with correspondentist interpretations representing the most popular, default option. The article develops an alternative approach, namely a correctness theory of truth (CTT) for semantic information. This is meant as a contribution not only to the philosophy of information but also to the philosophical debate on the nature (...) of truth. After the introduction, in Sect. 2, semantic information is shown to be translatable into propositional semantic information (i). In Sect. 3, i is polarised into a query (Q) and a result (R), qualified by a specific context, a level of abstraction and a purpose. This polarization is normalised in Sect. 4, where [Q + R] is transformed into a Boolean question and its relative yes/no answer [Q + A]. This completes the reduction of the truth of i to the correctness of A. In Sects. 5 and 6, it is argued that (1) A is the correct answer to Q if and only if (2) A correctly saturates Q by verifying and validating it (in the computer science’s sense of “verification” and “validation”); that (2) is the case if and only if (3) [Q + A] generates an adequate model (m) of the relevant system (s) identified by Q; that (3) is the case if and only if (4) m is a proxy of s (in the computer science’s sense of “proxy”) and (5) proximal access to m commutes with the distal access to s (in the category theory’s sense of “commutation”); and that (5) is the case if and only if (6) reading/writing (accessing, in the computer science’s technical sense of the term) m enables one to read/write (access) s. Sect. 7 provides some further clarifications about CTT, in the light of semantic paradoxes. Section 8 draws a general conclusion about the nature of CTT as a theory for systems designers not just systems users. In the course of the article all technical expressions from computer science are explained. (shrink)

The goal of the book is to present the latest research on the new challenges of data technologies. It will offer an overview of the social, ethical and legal problems posed by group profiling, big data and predictive analysis and of the different approaches and methods that can be used to address them. In doing so, it will help the reader to gain a better grasp of the ethical and legal conundrums posed by group profiling. The volume first maps the (...) current and emerging uses of new data technologies and clarifies the promises and dangers of group profiling in real life situations. It then balances this with an analysis of how far the current legal paradigm grants group rights to privacy and data protection, and discusses possible routes to addressing these problems. Finally, an afterword gathers the conclusions reached by the different authors and discuss future perspectives on regulating new data technologies. (shrink)

Investigação fenomenológica e existencial, 'O lugar de todos os lugares', mapeia não só o itinerário de uma vivência profunda da consciência em geral e da arte, como também uma análise das mais originais em termos não apenas brasileiros, das razões fundamentais da Filosofia e Estética modernas.

This book presents cutting edge research on the new ethical challenges posed by biomedical Big Data technologies and practices. 'Biomedical Big Data' refers to the analysis of aggregated, very large datasets to improve medical knowledge and clinical care. The book describes the ethical problems posed by aggregation of biomedical datasets and re-use/re-purposing of data, in areas such as privacy, consent, professionalism, power relationships, and ethical governance of Big Data platforms. Approaches and methods are discussed that can be used to address (...) these problems to achieve the appropriate balance between the social goods of biomedical Big Data research and the safety and privacy of individuals. Seventeen original contributions analyse the ethical, social and related policy implications of the analysis and curation of biomedical Big Data, written by leading experts in the areas of biomedical research, medical and technology ethics, privacy, governance and data protection. The book advances our understanding of the ethical conundrums posed by biomedical Big Data, and shows how practitioners and policy-makers can address these issues going forward. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Comments and Replies Conclusion Acknowledgments References.

O pensamento de Evaldo Coutinho, que se concentra numa síntese teológica e estético-filosófica, veio se desenvolvendo através dos quatro volumes anteriores, culmina neste livro numa profundidade de discernimento suscetível de comprovar-se a cada página, além de ostentar a coerência interna, indispensável a todo labor especulativo. O viver humano se traduz como viver metafísico, quando os fatos se deixam corresponder ao sentido que lhes inocula o escritor, qual seja, o de nada deixar escapar à ordem fisionômica. Esta é a denominação (...) com que Evaldo Coutinho intitula o universo enquanto repertório de sua individualidade 'em via de perecer'. Os episódios apresentados no dia-a-dia atestam a dependência em relação à vida do próprio autor, visto que ele os existência através do conhecimento e da criação. A par da originalidade daquela síntese, ressalta a qualidade de uma escritura, ímpar no pensamento brasileiro, e a novidade literária, rara de ver-se na ensaística filosófica em geral. Trata-se, na verdade, de uma contribuição que veio para ficar entre as mais sensíveis meditações sobre o sentido do existir e que irá penetrando na consciência do leitor que tiver o gosto pela aventura do espírito através dos caminhos da reflexão e do autoconhecimento e que se der ao trabalho de acompanhar Evaldo Coutinho em sua notável caminhada para fora de si, dentro de si. (shrink)

A produção filosófica no Brasil não tem se caracterizado, no curso de sua história, por um número significativo de trabalhos que possam ser considerados suficientemente autônomos e originais em relação a modelos e temas estabelecidos no exterior. Uma dessas exceções é a indagação que Evaldo Coutinho desenvolveu numa obra que compreende, até agora, quase dez volumes, e que vai do Cinema e da Arquitetura à Estética e à Filosofia da Existência. Neste conjunto, ocupa lugar especial a série compreendida por (...) A Visão Existenciadora (1978), O Convívio Alegórico (1979), Ser e Estar em Nós (1980), A Subordinação ao Nosso Existir (1981) e A Testemunha Participante (1983), ora rematada em A Artisticidade do Ser, onde o autor expande a sua reflexão acerca da ordem fisionômica exposta ou sugerida nos ensaios acima. Neste livro, o pensador brasileiro ergue uma construção mental onde a coerência e a harmonia das idéias legitimam uma criação verdadeiramente filosófica, no plano da pura cosmogonia. A consciência individual recebe aí uma valorização metafísica não encontrada em quaisquer dos sistemas filosóficos de hoje e do passado. Desenvolvendo esta sua concepção, Evaldo Coutinho revela a modalidade como o universo se lhe apresenta: mediante alegorias e símbolos que informam sobre a identidade entre a extinção da consciência e a morte do Ser, assim configurando-se a ontológica artisticidade. (shrink)

Partindo das doutrinárias que apresentou no livro 'O Lugar de todos os Lugares', também publicado por esta Editora, Evaldo Coutinho expõe, em 'A Subordinação ao nosso Existir', a sua tese sobre a teologia do eu, quando salienta que todo o universo está a depender, existencialmente, da vida de cada ser humano. Este passa a ter, portanto, uma valorização metafísica inexcedível. A comprovação da tese se encontra na percepção do autor que vê em si mesmo o existenciador e o preservador (...) do universo. Ele, o autor, assume o privilégio absoluto de posse de abrangência, do qual nenhuma coisa vem a subrair-se. Para ilustrar o seu pensamento, Evaldo Coutinho usa a imagem do espectador colocado na última cadeira, de onde testemunha, simultaneamente, o palco e os demais espectadores. A Subordinação ao nosso Existir, encerra, na estruturação literária, figuras e cenas que vivificam a especulação filosófica em torno do universo restrito à brevidade de uma vida, no caso a do próprio revelador da 'ordem fisionômica'. (shrink)

This work fulfills the need for a conceptual and technical framework to improve understanding of Information Quality (IQ) and Information Quality standards. The meaning and practical implementation of IQ are addressed, as it is relevant to any field where there is a need to handle data and issues such as accessibility, accuracy, completeness, currency, integrity, reliability, timeliness, usability, the role of metrics and so forth are all a part of Information Quality. -/- In order to support the cross-fertilization of theory (...) and practice, the latest research is presented in this book. The perspectives of experts from beyond the origins of IQ in computer science are included: library and information science practitioners and academics, philosophers of information, of engineering and technology, and of science are all contributors to this volume. -/- The chapters in this volume are based on the work of a collaborative research project involving the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Google and led by Professor Luciano Floridi, University of Oxford. -/- This work will be of interest to anyone handling data, including those from commercial, public, governmental and academic organizations. The expert editors’ contributions introduce issues of interest to scientists, database curators and philosophers, even though the issues may be disguised in the language and examples common to a different discipline. (shrink)

This article develops an axiomatic theory of induction that speaks to the recent debate on Bayesian orgulity. It shows the exact principles associated with the belief that data can corroborate universal laws. We identify two types of disbelief about induction: skepticism that the existence of universal laws of nature can be determined empirically, and skepticism that the true law of nature, if it exists, can be successfully identified. We formalize and characterize these two dispositions toward induction by introducing novel axioms (...) for subjective probabilities. We also relate these dispositions to the axiom of σ-additivity. (shrink)

This article addresses the contributions of the literature on the new mechanistic philosophy of science for the scientific practice of model building in ecology. This is reflected in a one-to-one interdisciplinary collaboration between an ecologist and a philosopher of science during science-in-the-making. We argue that the identification, reconstruction and understanding of mechanisms is context-sensitive, and for this case study mechanistic modeling did not present a normative role but a heuristic one. We expect our study to provides useful epistemic tools for (...) the improvement of empirically-riven work in the debates about mechanistic explanation of ecological phenomena. (shrink)

The experimental approach to aesthetics, proposed by Gustav Fechner, was discussed in Italy at the beginning of the Twentieth century from different point of views. Benedetto Croce severely criticized experimental aesthetics by considering it as reductionist and naturalist. In contrast, the psychologist Agostino Gemelli stated the experimental validity and the theoretical relevance of this research perspective in determining the laws of aesthetic preference and judgment.

The diffusion of Vygotsky’s work in Italy was analysed by first considering the issues related to the translation of his texts since the 1970s, particularly with regard to the project promoted by the publishing house of the Italian Communist Party and supervised by the author of this article. Second, the reception of cultural-historical theory was discussed in the context of Italian psychology and medicine in the 1970s and 1980s. After an early acceptance of Pavlovian theory by a few Italian psychologists (...) linked to the Communist Party, the need was felt to overcome physiological reductionism in relation to the new social and psychological problems connected with the development of Italian society. Finally, a brief reference was made to Italian neo-Vygotskyan trends in various areas of contemporary psychological research. (shrink)

O artigo se propõe a pensar o retorno dos adolescentes às escolas após a pandemia fazendo a articulação entre conceitos psicanalíticos e a importância da escola na transição que a adolescência representa para a constituição psíquica do sujeito. A partir de uma experiência de pesquisa-extensão em uma escola com estudantes do Ensino Médio, pensamos sobre como o laço social contemporâneo impacta os modos de subjetivação e a educação, relacionando-o ao mal-estar nos estudantes adolescentes nos contextos educativos brasileiros. Além disso, a (...) dimensão da temporalidade tanto a própria da adolescência, quanto da escola e da pandemia que lhe atravessam foram tomadas como direcionamentos sendo o artigo dividido três partes: tempo na pandemia, tempo da escola e o tempo da adolescência. (shrink)

Quali sono le parole usate più frequentemente nella riflessione filosofica contemporanea? Il testo, nel rispondere a questa domanda, si propone come uno strumento agile, ricco e aggiornato, rivolgendosi sia a coloro che si avvicinano per la prima volta alla filosofia, sia a coloro che hanno già alcune competenze o sono esperti in una determinata area del sapere filosofico.