The aim of this paper is to better qualify the problem of online trust. The problem of online trust is that of evaluating whether online environments have the proper design to enable trust. This paper tries to better qualify this problem by showing that there is no unique answer, but only conditional considerations that depend on the conception of trust assumed and the features that are included in the environments themselves. In fact, the major issue concerning traditional debates surrounding online (...) trust is that those debates focus on specific definitions of trust and specific online environments. Ordinarily, a definition of trust is assumed and then environmental conditions necessary for trust are evaluated with respect to such specific definition. However, this _modus operandi_ fails to appreciate that trust is a rich concept, with a multitude of meanings and that there is still no strict consensus on which meaning shall be taken as the proper one. Moreover, the fact that online environments are constantly evolving and that new design features might be implemented in them is completely ignored. In this paper, the richness of the philosophical discussions about trust is brought into the analysis of online trust. I first provide a set of conditions that depend on the definition of trust that can be assumed and then discuss those conditions with respect to the design of online environments in order to determine whether they can enable (and under which circumstances) trust. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the logical structure of Melissus philosophy, building on Laks Most’s translation and Barnes’ seminal work on the Samian. This will allow us to shed some light on the subtle argumentations of Melissus. On top of that, we frame Melissus’ metaphysics employing modern logical instruments. On one side, this reformulation makes clear a few assumptions hidden in the deductions made by the Samian; on the other side, our paper shows that contemporary analytic metaphysics (...) has forerunners dating back 2500 years. (shrink)

Advances in artificial intelligence and robotics stand to change many aspects of our lives, including our values. If trends continue as expected, many industries will undergo automation in the near future, calling into question whether we can still value the sense of identity and security our occupations once provided us with. Likewise, the advent of social robots driven by AI, appears to be shifting the meaning of numerous, long-standing values associated with interpersonal relationships, like friendship. Furthermore, powerful actors’ and institutions’ (...) increasing reliance on AI to make decisions that may affect how people live their lives may have a significant impact on privacy while also raising issues about algorithmic transparency and human control. In this paper, building and expanding on previous works, we will look at how the deployment of Artificial Intelligence technology may lead to changes in identity, security, and other crucial values (such as friendship, fairness, and privacy). We will discuss what challenges we may face in the process, while critically reflecting on whether such changes may be desirable. Finally, drawing on a series of considerations underlying virtue ethics, we will formulate a set of preliminary suggestions, which—we hope—can be used to more carefully guide the future roll out of AI technologies for human flourishing; that is, for social and moral good. (shrink)

Resumen: Es frecuente calificar de pragmatistas a filósofos contemporáneos como Wittgenstein o Heidegger, pero también se puede leer el rechazo de tal calificación de parte de alguno de ellos, como en el caso del mismo Wittgenstein, por ejemplo. Para muchos el pragmatismo consiste en identificar lo verdadero con lo útil, y en tal sentido se suele aceptarlo o rechazarlo. ¿Qué se ha de entender por filosofar pragmático? El presente artículo propone una distinción que puede delimitar las diferencias y problemas que (...) pueda suscitar la calificación de pragmatista. Básicamente se sugiere hacer la distinción entre el filosofar en orden a la praxis y filosofar poniendo como fundamento del análisis filosófico la praxis como tal, en el caso de Heidegger, por ejemplo, o algún tipo de praxis, como la lingüística, en el caso de Wittgenstein.Palabras claves: Filosofía contemporánea. Pragmatismo. Praxis.: Often, contemporary philosophers such as Wittgenstein or Heidegger, are referred to as pragmatists, but there are also those who rebut such qualification, as Wittgenstein himself, for instance. To many, pragmatism consists in identifying the true with the useful, and it is in this sense that it is accepted or rejected. What should then be understood by pragmatic philosophy? This article proposes a distinction capable of delimiting the differences and problems that a pragmatist qualification may elicit. Basically, we suggest a distinction between the philosophizing for praxis and the philosophizing that has praxis, as such, as fundament of philosophical analysis, in the case of Heidegger, for instance, or some type of praxis, as linguistics, in the case of Wittgenstein.Key-words: Contemporary philosophy. Pragmatism. Praxis. (shrink)

I saggi di questo testo gravitano attorno a due fuochi: una diagnosi della soggettività contemporanea e il tentativo di sviluppare una critica all'altezza della sua vocazione emancipativa. Ciò che viene descritto è un processo di tendenziale emersione in superficie della relazione tra soggettività e politica; nessuna utopia col torcicollo, nessun nostalgismo, nessuna lamentela sulla superficialità della politica o paternale sulla superficialità dei soggetti. La scommessa, piuttosto, è quella di prendere le apparenze sul serio e quindi rinunciare a ogni forma di (...) ventriloquismo teorico, restituendo ai soggetti la parola senza per questo rinunciare alle ambizioni emancipative di una teoria sociale capace di fotografare, tracciare, scandagliare le trasformazioni della soggettività contemporanea e contemporaneamente le sue potenzialità e le sue contraddizioni. (shrink)

Accused persons who are subjected to a saturation level of negative media coverage may be denied an impartial hearing, which is perhaps the most important aspect of the right to a fair hearing. Despite this, the courts have generally held that the social imperative of prosecuting accused trumps the interests of the accused. The justification for an impartial hearing stems from the repugnance of convicting the innocent. Viewed dispassionately, this imperative is not absolute, given that every legal system condones procedures (...) which result in the conviction of some innocent people. While the importance of guarding against wrongful convictions has been overstated, the imperative to bring to trial all accused has been even more exaggerated. The legal system has displayed a capacity to deal with cases where the guilty walk free. The institutional integrity of the criminal justice system would be significantly compromised by convictions that are tarnished by pre-judgment. Confidence in the criminal justice system is more important than individual criminal accountability. The inability to receive an impartial hearing should result in a permanent stay. The only exception is where the alleged crime has the capacity to cause widespread fear or social unrest. This only applies in relation to serious acts of terrorism. This article focuses on recent legal fair trial developments in Australia, however, the analysis, reasoning and conclusion applies in relation to all jurisdictions where juries determine guilt and innocence. (shrink)

Fall detection is a challenging task that has received the attention of the research community in the recent years. This study focuses on FD using data gathered from wearable devices with tri-axial accelerometers, developing a solution centered in elderly people living autonomously. This research includes three different ways to improve a FD method: an analysis of the event detection stage, comparing several alternatives, an evaluation of features to extract for each detected event and an appraisal of up to 6 different (...) clustering scenarios to split the samples in subsets that might enhance the classification. For each clustering scenario, a specific classification stage is defined. The experimentation includes publicly available simulated fall data sets. Results show the guidelines for defining a more robust and efficient FD method for on-wrist 3DACC wearable devices. (shrink)

En el trabajo se expondrá la teoría de la oración predicativa simple en Aristóteles conforme a su tratado De Interpretatione. Se prestará especial atención a las tesis planteadas por el autor en dicha obra y que presentan algún conflicto con tesis planteadas por autores contemporáneos tales como Frege, Husserl, Heidegger, Tugendhat, Austin y Searle.

ZusammenfassungIn diesem Aufsatz wird eine kommunikations- und medientheoretische Untersuchung ausgewählter Divinationspraktiken unternommen. Im Zentrum stehen hierbei das Giftorakel der zentralafrikanischen Zande sowie die arabisch-islamische Geomantie. Dieses Unternehmen hat den Zweck, drei Thesen bezüglich Medien religiöser Kommunikation zu erproben, die sich dem Autor aus der Auseinandersetzung mit Ritualen und speziell Divinationsformen aus unterschiedlichen soziokulturellen Kontexten ergeben haben:1) Divinationsmedien unterscheiden sich in frappierender Weise von Medien der Alltagskommunikation; 2) diese besonderen Medien ermöglichen eine Kommunikation zwischen Wirklichkeitsbereichen und verkörpern damit ein fundamentales „Dazwischen“; (...) 3) von einer Innenperspektive betrachtet, werden Divinationsmedien oft als aktive Kommunikationspartner konzipiert und wahrgenommen – selbst wenn diese aus einer Beobachterperspektive unbelebte Paraphernalia sind.Um eine Grundlage für die Plausibilisierung dieser Thesen zu schaffen, ist anfänglich von Kommunikation und Medien sowie den Besonderheiten religiöser Kommunikation und Medien religiöser Kommunikation die Rede. Auf die detaillierte Beschreibung der Divinationspraktiken folgen ihre kommunikationstheoretische Analyse sowie eine zeichen- und medientheoretische Deutung dieser Ergebnisse.Das Ziel dieses Aufsatzes liegt neben der Plausibilisierung seiner Thesen auch darin, Impulse für die religionswissenschaftliche Debatte um Medien, Materialität und Performanz zu liefern. Gerade in den Ergebnissen der Divinationsforschung sieht David Morgan, wie er jüngst in Material religion schrieb, ein ertragreiches Feld. (shrink)

(1999). An evolutionary challenge for culture: Dialogue as a necessity. World Futures: Vol. 54, Challenges of Evolution at Pat I: The Human Factor in Evolution, pp. 355-375.

While research to improve memory or counter decay caused by neurodegenerative diseases has a fairly long history, scientific attempts to erase memories are very recent. The use of non-invasive brain stimulation for memory modulation represents a new and promising application for the treatment of certain disorders [such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ]. However, numerous ethical issues are related to memory intervention. In particular, the possibility of using forms of non-invasive brain stimulation requires to distinguish treatment interventions from the enhancement of (...) the healthy. Furthermore, a range of important societal and legal concerns arise when manipulating memories. In this short contribution, we address some of the most significant ethical, social, and legal implications surrounding the application of memory-modulation techniques and offer a series of reflections and considerations, which we hope can be of use to guide -and perhaps regulate- their potential, future implementation in society. (shrink)

This paper offers a novel interpretation of Hans Jonas’ analysis of metabolism, the centrepiece of Jonas’ philosophy of organism, in relation to recent controversies regarding the phenomenological dimension of life-mind continuity as understood within ‘autopoietic’ enactivism (AE). Jonas’ philosophy of organism chiefly inspired AE’s development of what we might call ‘the phenomenological life-mind continuity thesis’ (PLMCT), the claim that certain phenomenological features of human experience are central to a proper scientific understanding of both life and mind, and as such central (...) features of all living organisms. After discussing the understanding of PLMCT within AE, and recent criticisms thereof, I develop a reading of Jonas’ analysis of metabolism, in light of previous commentators, which emphasizes its systematicity and transcendental flavour. The central thought is that, for Jonas, the attribution of certain phenomenological features is a necessary precondition for our understanding of the possibility of metabolism, rather than being derivable from metabolism itself. I argue that my interpretation strengthens Jonas’ contribution to AE’s justification for ascribing certain phenomenological features to life across the board. However, it also emphasises the need to complement Jonas’ analysis with an explanatory account of organic identity in order to vindicate these phenomenological ascriptions in a scientific context. (shrink)

We begin by introducing our readers to the Extended Mind Thesis and briefly discuss a series of arguments in its favour. We continue by showing of such a theory can be resisted and go on to demonstrate that a more conservative account of cognition can be developed. We acknowledge a stalemate between these two different accounts of cognition and notice a couple of issues that we argue have prevented further progress in the field. To overcome the stalemate, we propose to (...) focus on the ethical implications of these theories. We link work conducted on the Extended Mind Thesis with contemporary transhumanist research and claim that extended may be ethically preferred over embedded because it is a more progressive and inclusive theory. (shrink)

In this article I have dealt with empirical proofs for the Russian religious renaissance which came after the fall of the Soviet socialistic empire and carried on all through the nineties as a pro-religious consensus and a religious belief. Likewise, I have dealt with proofs suggesting certain limitations of the renaissance in question which manifested mainly in irregular fulfillment of religious duties. U ovom clanku autor se bavi empirijskim dokazima za rusku religioznu renesansu koja je nastupila nakon urusavanja sovjetske socijalisticke (...) imperije i kao proreligiozni konsenzus i religijsko verovanje odrzala se tokom 90-ih godina proslog veka. Takodje, autor se bavi i dokazima koji upucuju na izvesna ogranicenja pomenute renesanse, ponajvise izrazena kroz problematicnu redovnost ispunjavanja verskih duznosti. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Klio Jahrgang: 97 Heft: 1 Seiten: 323-329.

Wenn die fuhrende "paradigmatische" Philosophie Voraussetzungen wie die der Spaltung der Wirklichkeit in sich schliesst und wenn diese Philosophie empirisch die absolut leere -- ohne jede Moglichkeit der wissenschaftlichen Untersuchung --ist, so ist auch die Behauptung der Unmoglichkeit des Irrefuhrens und der Uberflussigkeit solcher Philosophie sinnvoll. Wenn aber auch die bedeutendste Kritik dieses paradigmatischen Rahmens eine Schwache zeigt, ist auf das Bedurfnis einer "Verweigerung" zu schliessen. Darum bedarf es einer Redefinition des Begriffs des aprioristischen Wissens. "A priori" bezeichnet in diesem (...) Sinne die Beschaftigung mit Wissen, das von den Objekten der empfindlich vernehmbaren Welt absolut unabhangig ist. In Ubereinstimmung mit dieser Definition ist das Verstandnis der Mathematik als der Art des aprioren Wissens moglich, oder epistemologisch gesagt: unter der Aktualitat der erreichten mathematischen Moglichkeit. (shrink)

Emotion recognition skills and the ability to understand the mental states of others are crucial for normal social functioning. Conversely, delays and impairments in these processes can have a profound impact on capability to engage in, maintain, and effectively regulate social interactions. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the performance of 42 autistic children, 45 unaffected siblings, and 41 typically developing controls on the Affect Recognition and Theory of Mind subtests of the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment Battery. There were no significant (...) differences between siblings and TD controls. Autistic children showed significantly poorer performance on AR when compared to TD controls and on TOM when compared to both TD controls and unaffected siblings. An additional comparison of ASD, unaffected sibling and TD control subsamples, matched on full-scale IQ, revealed no group differences for either AR or TOM. AR and TOM processes have received less research attention in siblings of autistic children and remain less well characterized. Therefore, despite limitations, findings reported here contribute to our growing understanding of AR and TOM abilities in siblings of autistic children and highlight important future research directions. (shrink)

The arguments offered by Jaswal & Akhtar to counter the social motivation theory do not appear to be directly related to the SMT tenets and predictions, seem to not be empirically testable, and are inconsistent with empirical evidence. To evaluate the merits and shortcomings of the SMT and identify scientifically testable alternatives, advances are needed on the conceptualization and operationalization of social motivation across diagnostic boundaries.

The quarantine model, recently proposed by Pereboom and Caruso, is one of the most influential models developed to date in the context of criminal justice. The quarantine model challenges the very idea of criminal punishment and asserts that nobody deserves punishment on a fundamental level. Instead, in order to deal with offenders, it proposes a series of incapacitation measures based on public safety concerns. In this article, we examine several objections to the quarantine model that demonstrate how, in our view, (...) it can be improved. These mainly pertain to (2.1) the difficulty of reliably identifying dangerous individuals and consequently the need to base confinement decisions on probability, and (2.2) the potential for the quarantine model not to properly deter certain crimes. Three additional objections are raised with respect to (3.1) the rights that are potentially suppressed in the quarantine model; (3.2) the role of “genetic justice”; and (3.3) the difficulty it faces accommodating reasons-responsiveness. Whereas these objections do not constitute knock-down arguments against the quarantine model, they highlight issues that invite closer scrutiny, at least if it is to be considered as a credible framework for the development of viable policies in criminal justice. (shrink)

As we write this research paper, we notice an explosion in popularity of machine learning in numerous fields (ranging from governance, education, and management to criminal justice, fraud detection, and internet of things). In this contribution, rather than focusing on any of those fields, which have been well-reviewed already, we decided to concentrate on a series of more recent applications of deep learning models and technologies that have only recently gained significant track in the relevant literature. These applications are concerned (...) with artistic production (Sect. 2.1), the writing process (Sect. 2.2), music production (Sect. 2.3), text recognition and attribution (Sect. 2.4). After reviewing and analyzing the positive contributions as well as some of the major limitations of these technologies in each of those fields, we critically reflect (Sect. 3) on how their widespread implementation may affect humans and their creativity. In Sect. 4, we notice that deep learning models are here to stay; so, rather than embracing a negative or pessimistic stance with respect to their future applications in creative domains, we suggest a balanced approach for their assessment and beneficial usage. Finally (Sect. 5), we conclude by summarising what we have achieved and by pointing out possible future research directions. (shrink)

Argues that there are moral grounds to use torture where the lives of the innocent are at stake.

Razmatranja o stanjima fizičkih odnosa materije, kretanja, prostora i vremena stoje u temelju relativističke fizike i, time, u središtu njezine moderne znanstvene ontologije. To i jest razlog filozofskih ispitivanja polja važenja ovih fundamentalnih, kategorijalnih pojmova teorije relativnosti, kako u znanosti fizike tako i u filozofiji, posebno u znanosti filozofije prirode. Jedno od takvih bitnih istraživanja ide i od pozitivističkih orijentacija u suvremenoj filozofiji, kamo zasigurno pripadaju, između ostalih, Russell, Frank, Bradley, Poincaré, Whitehead, Reichenbach, te pragmatist Bridgman. O nekima od njihovih (...) bitnih, primarno logičkih, epistemoloških i metodoloških stavova o teoriji relativnosti riječ je u ovom sažetom preglednom članku, koji nema pretenzija na sveobuhvatnost niti na iscrpnost izlaganja o ovoj neposrednoj stvari mišljenja.Considerations regarding the conditions of the physical relations among substance, motion and time are based on the physics of relativity and thereby placed in the centre of its modern scientific ontology. This explains the philosophical examinations of the validity of these fundamental categories of the physics of relativity in the science of physics as well as in the science of philosophy of nature. One of such essential investigations originated from the positivist orientation within the contemporary philosophy, to which Russell, Frank, Bradley, Poincaré, Whitehead, Reichenbach, and pragmatist Bridgman, among others, certainly belong. This review article examines some of their essential, mostly logical, epistemological and methodological standpoints. However, the aim of this article is not to comprehensively and in detail interpret this subject. (shrink)

This essay discusses notions of community, commoning, and assemblage, in conjunction with new materialist and posthumanist onto-epistemologies and ethico-politics. The analysis is situated within, and applied to, current debates in ecological and community-oriented art, curating, and activism. The essay concludes with an articulation of what a “community of material-discursive commoning” may be constituted by, through, and with.

Millán-Puelles' theory of freedom is radically separated from all other views that attribute an absolute character to human freedon. One of these theses is precisely that of Schelling, according to whom "the essence of the self is freedom".

In 1818 Laplace proposed that the Academie des Sciences in Paris set up a prize to be awarded to whoever succeeded in constructing lunar tables based solely on the law of universal gravity. In 1820 the prize was awarded to Carlini and Plana and Damoiseau by a committee of which Laplace was a member. But Laplace strongly criticized the Carlini-Plana approach to the lunar theory. A dispute ensued that is reconstructed on the basis of hitherto unknown letters exchanged between Carlini-Plana (...) and Laplace, and on the basis of papers published in Connaissance des temps and in Zach's Correspondance. After the exchanges, public and private, between Carlini-Plana and Laplace, the latter concluded that the results of the Italian astronomers and those arrived at by Damoiseau following the method of his Mecanique Celeste were fairly close, and that the purpose of the Academie in establishing the prize had been reasonably fulfilled. (shrink)

The discourse on the fundamental issues raised by synthetic biology, such as biosafety and biosecurity, intellectual property, environmental consequences and ethical and societal implications, is still open and controversial. This, coupled with the potential and risks the field holds, makes it one of the hottest topics in technology assessment today. How a new technology is perceived by the public influences the manner in which its products and applications will be received. Therefore, it is important to learn how people perceive synthetic (...) biology. This work gathers, integrates and discusses the results of three studies of public perceptions of synthetic biology: an analysis of existing research on how media portray synthetic biology across 13 European countries and in the USA, the Meeting of Young Minds, a public debate between prospective politicians and synthetic biologists in the Netherlands and the experiences of citizen panels and focus groups in Austria, the UK and the USA. The results show that the media are generally positive in their reports on synthetic biology, rather unbalanced in their view of potential benefits and risks, and also heavily influenced by the sources of the stories, namely scientists and stakeholders. Among the prospective Dutch politicians, there were positive expectations as well as very negative ones. Some of these positions are also shared by participants in public dialogue experiments, such as not only the demand for information, transparency and regulation but also a sense of resignation and ineluctability of scientific and technological progress. (shrink)

In Section 1, I introduce three views that explain human cognitive development from different standpoints: Marcus’s neo-nativism, standard neuroconstructivism, and neo-neuroconstructivism. In Section 2, I assess Marcus’s attempt to reconcile nativism with developmental flexibility. In Section 3, I argue that in structurally reconfiguring nativism, Marcus ends up transforming it into an unrecognizable form, and I claim that his view could be accommodated within the more general framework provided by standard neuroconstructivism. In Section 4, I focus on recent empirical findings in (...) neuropsychology and cultural/social neuroscience, and propose a friendly revision to standard neuroconstructivism, thus developing the neo-neuroconstructivist view. I conclude the article in Section 5 by analysing the implications of the results discussed in Section 4 for both neo-nativism and standard neuroconstructivism. 1 Introduction2 Marcus’s Neo-nativism3 Is Marcus’s Neo-nativism Really a Form of Nativism?4 Neo-neuroconstructivism and Dynamic Enskillment5 Conclusion. (shrink)

Many governments have seen digital health technologies as promising tools to tackle the current COVID-19 pandemic. A much-talked example in this context involves the recent deluge of digital contact tracing apps aimed at detecting Covid-19 exposure. In this short contribution we look at the bio-political justification of this phenomenon and reflect on whether DCT apps constitute, as it is often argued, a serious potential breach of our right to privacy. Despite praising efforts attempting to develop legal and ethical frameworks for (...) DCT apps’ usage; we argue that such endeavours are not sufficient to tackle the more fundamental problem of mass surveillance, which will remain largely unaddressed unless we deal with the biopolitical arguments presented and resort to a technical and structural defence. (shrink)

Several language experiments have been carried out on apes and other animals aiming to narrow down the presumed qualitative gap that separates humans from other animals. These experiments, however, have been driven by the understanding of language as a purely symbolic sign system, often connected to a profound disinterest for language use in real situations and a propensity to perceive grammatical and syntactic information as the only fundamental aspects of human language. For these reasons, the language taught to apes tends (...) to discard iconic and indexical elements in favour of symbolic signs. This paper sheds light on the iconic components of human language, with close attention to the iconic properties of language as present in the ape language experiments. We emphasise the role of the body in the interpretation and production of iconic signs, while demonstrating the need to take into account the Umwelt theory in the research paradigm of the experiments. Uexküll’s Umwelt theory is used to exemplify the methodological problems connected to the teaching of human language to other animal species; furthermore, we discuss how the modelling capacities of language affect the biological layer that constitutes the animal Umwelt. Language is analysed as a particular case of Umwelt transition, and as such its implications are further discussed in the article. With this paper, we enrich the discussion surrounding the human-ape pidgin language by advocating for the need to include iconic components as vital parts of this research area. With this inclusion, we uncover the inter-dependency of iconic, indexical and symbolic signs in human language, aiming to further develop the research paradigm of the ape language experiments. (shrink)