This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Symbolic Computation, AISC 2004, held in Linz, Austria in September 2004. The 17 revised full papers and 4 revised short papers presented together with 4 invited papers were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The papers are devoted to all current aspects in the area of symbolic computing and AI: mathematical foundations, implementations, and applications in industry and academia.

The emergence of modern sciences in the seventeenth century profoundly renewed our understanding of Nature. For the last three centuries new ideas of Nature have been continuously developed by theology, politics, economics, and science, especially the sciences of the material world. The situation is even more unstable today, now that we have entered an ecological mutation of unprecedented scale. Some call it the Anthropocene, but it is best described as a new climatic regime. And a new regime it certainly is, (...) since the many unexpected connections between human activity and the natural world oblige every one of us to reopen the earlier notions of Nature and redistribute what had been packed inside. So the question now arises: what will replace the old ways of looking at Nature? This book explores a potential candidate proposed by James Lovelock when he chose the name "Gaia" for the fragile, complex system through which living phenomena modify the Earth. The fact that he was immediately misunderstood proves simply that his readers have tried to fit this new notion into an older frame, transforming Gaia into a single organism, a kind of giant thermostat, some sort of New Age goddess, or even divine Providence. In this series of lectures on "natural religion", Bruno Latour argues that the complex and ambiguous figure of Gaia offers, on the contrary, an ideal way to disentangle the ethical, political, theological, and scientific aspects of the now obsolete notion of Nature. He lays the groundwork for a future collaboration among scientists, theologians, activists, and artists as they, and we, begin to adjust to the new climatic regime. (shrink)

L'origine dell'anima umana secondo Dante.--La dottrina d'Alberto Magno sull'Inchoatio formae.--Alberto Magno e san Tommaso.--La posizione di Alberto Magno di fronte all'averroismo.--L'anima umana secondo Sigieri.--Anima e corpo nel pensiero di san Tommaso.--L'aristotelismo della scolastica e i francescani.--Individualità e immortalità nell'averroismo e nel tomismo.

The paper presents the results of a preliminary study aimed at examining the validity and reliability of the newly constructed questionnaire Questionnaire on teaching for critical thinking. Conceptually, the paper is based on the generic model of teaching for critical thinking and its key dimensions. 209 teachers and educators (formal and non-formal education) in the Republic of Croatia participated in the study. The research participants were asked to complete an online survey questionnaire. The design of the questionnaire items followed the (...) mentioned generic model. The initial version of the survey questionnaire contained 46 items, and after the analyses, 36 items were retained. Factor analysis was performed and 6 factors were extracted (and 6 scales were constructed). Reliability of all scales is satisfactory – the coefficients of the internal consistency type Cronbach alpha range from.73 to.92. Through the conducted validation, the first research steps were taken in the confirmation of the validity and reliability of the questionnaire on teaching for critical thinking. In conclusion, the application of the questionnaire on teaching for critical thinking in further research can contribute to the improvement of teaching for critical thinking in the Republic of Croatia, and can thus contribute to the development of students’ critical thinking competency. (shrink)

Ontological pluralism is the view that there are different ways to exist. It is a position with deep roots in the history of philosophy, and in which there has been a recent resurgence of interest. In contemporary presentations, it is stated in terms of fundamental languages: as the view that such languages contain more than one quantifier. For example, one ranging over abstract objects, and another over concrete ones. A natural worry, however, is that the languages proposed by the pluralist (...) are mere notational variants of those proposed by the monist, in which case the debate between the two positions would not seem to be substantive. Jason Turner has given an ingenious response to this worry, in terms of a principle that he calls ‘logical realism’. This paper offers a counter-response on behalf of the ‘notationalist’. I argue that, properly applied, the principle of logical realism is no threat to the claim that the languages in question are notational variants. Indeed, there seems to be every reason to think that they are. (shrink)

In the last years, a theological turn had a pervasive influence in the reception of Carl Schmitt’s writings. According to this view, his thought has a strong, substantial religious foundation. With regards to understanding not only Schmitt’s position but also his current influence in authoritarian countries, this essay argues that this interpretation is misleading and proposes a different and comprehensive analysis of Schmitt’s concept of political theology that replaces it in a political-legal framework. Against the theological reading, it argues that (...) Schmitt’s concept of “political theology” refers to his own conception of legal theory as an attempt to relegitimize authority in a secular context. As “political theology,” this legal theory is designed to overcome normativism and parliamentarism by “substantializing” the legal form. Using Schmitt’s post-1933 works as an example, the essay shows that, as theology translates faith into a written doctrine, legal theory must, according to Schmitt, substantialize the legal form by translating the political idea into jurisprudence. Hence, this article concludes that Schmitt’s theory might be described as “political theology” but only in a formal, ideological sense. It is part of an authoritarian theory that is not religious but uses theology to revive an appearance of absolute legitimacy. (shrink)

Which entities should be accepted as part of the furniture of the world, and which not? What are pseudo-objects, if they are not properly objects? This collection explores the answers given to these questions by some key philosophers throughout the 20th century. It brings together essays by leading scholars on a subject of central importance to both metaphysics and the history of philosophy.".

This chapter challenges Cantor’s notion of the ‘power’, or ‘cardinality’, of an infinite set. According to Cantor, two infinite sets have the same cardinality if and only if there is a one-to-one correspondence between them. Cantor showed that there are infinite sets that do not have the same cardinality in this sense. Further, he took this result to show that there are infinite sets of different sizes. This has become the standard understanding of the result. The chapter challenges this, arguing (...) that we have no reason to think there are infinite sets of different sizes. It begins with an initial argument against Cantor’s claim that there are infinite sets of different sizes and then proceeds, by way of an analogy between Cantor’s mathematical result and Russell’s paradox, to a more direct argument. (shrink)

First, the approaches of 'Diskursethik' (Discourse ethics) and of Modern Political Economy are described. While the latter investigates political decision processes, the former is concerned with the discourse process which takes place before a decision is made. This is shown by using referenda as an example. The discourse which takes place before referenda obviously does not conform to the ideal conditions defined in Diskursethik, but discourse and decisions in the context of referenda come nearer to the intentions of Diskursethik and (...) Political Economy than other decision procedures which are used in representative democracies. (shrink)

Since international trade leads to prosperity, most economics are in favor of globalization. This basic conviction is shared in this paper. Several standard arguments brought forward by critics of globalization - e.g. the claims that globalization increases poverty, destroys jobs, undermines the welfare state, enables international corporations to seize power and leads to environmental degradation and uniform culture - are shown to be invalid. Nevertheless, compared to orthodox economists, a more critical view of globalization is proposed in this paper, and (...) several shortcomings of globalization are discussed. These shortcomings are the unidirectional trade liberalization at the expense of developing countries, international organizations, like the IMF of World Bank, representing narrow economic interests and, above all, the lack of 'global governance'. Therefore, the implementation of functional overlapping competing jurisdiction is put forward. It is argued that the alternative proposition of a world government is dangerous, and global solidarity ineffective. (shrink)

In Intuition et idéalités: Phénoménologie des objets mathématiques (2020), Dominique Pradelle questioned the nature of mathematical knowledge–the status of math.

... Le figure del terzo legislatore e del terzo giudice costituiscono la garanzia che la tutela dei deboli non renda debole né il dovere né il diritto, ma ne fortifichi la consapevolezza responsabile in ognuno di noi, mostrando il significato giuridico del ‘dono di senso’, nucleo, nella mia interpretazione dell’intenso magistero di Bruno Romano. (Dalla Presentazione di L. Avitabile).

When reading contemporary theories of distributive justice, one could easily get the impression that questions of fiscal design are normatively speaking merely instrumental for realizing the distributive ideal. Once the overall conception of justice is settled upon, questions of how the state should arrange its institutions and policies are settled if they effectively and efficiently promote the preferred distribution. I argue that such pure instrumentalism is mistaken in the context of fiscal policy. As a result, there is nothing problematic or (...) morally arbitrary about accepting domain-specific principles of fiscal justice. (shrink)

Human beings under some conditions tend to systematically overestimate their possibilities, under others to underestimate what is possible for them. This behaviour can be explained by differentiating between an ipsative possibility set (which includes what individuals consider relevant for themselves) and on objective one. These two possibility sets do not necessarily coincide. The difference may firstly be due to psychologicol processes as well as factors such as tradition and ideology. The difference may secondly be strategically designed by the individuals themselves (...) knowing that they otherwise reach less utility. The approach stresses that it is essential to determine the possibility sets within which individuals rationally decide between alternatives. (shrink)

Human beings under some conditions tend to systematically overestimate their possibilities, under others to underestimate what is possible for them. This behaviour can be explained by differentiating between an ipsative possibility set (which includes what individuals consider relevant for themselves) and on objective one. These two possibility sets do not necessarily coincide. The difference may firstly be due to psychologicol processes as well as factors such as tradition and ideology. The difference may secondly be strategically designed by the individuals themselves (...) knowing that they otherwise reach less utility. The approach stresses that it is essential to determine the possibility sets within which individuals rationally decide between alternatives. (shrink)

Democracies find it difficult, and sometimes impossible to get through projects desired by a large share of the population because these are strongly opposed by local residents (NIMBY: Not In My BackYard). As a solution for these conflicts, economists proposed offering (monetary) compensation to the citizens of the host community. Experiences with many different projects and countries reveal, however, that monetary payments are incapable of solving the NIMBY-problem. A monetary offer to accept an otherwise undesired project undermines civic virtue. This (...) crowding-out effect is empirically demonstrated using the search for a nuclear repository in Switzerland. A satisfactory strategy to overcome the NIMBY-problem takes into account the procedure, the time sequence, as well as the type of compensation offered. (shrink)

Strong forces lead to a withering of academia as it exists today. The major causal forces are the rankings mania, increased division of labor in research, intense publication pressure, academic fraud, dilution of the concept of ‘university’, and inadequate organizational forms for modern research. Academia, in a broader sense understood as ‘the locus of seeking truth and learning through methodological inquiry’, will subsist in different forms. The conclusion is therefore pessimistic with respect to the academic system as it presently exists (...) but not to scholarly endeavour as such. However, the transformation predicted is expected to be fundamental. (shrink)

In some of the Aristotelian accounts, Parmenides’ thesis is construed in opposition to the philosophy of nature; on the other hand, he is also depicted, in a different context, as a cosmologist, to whom the Stagirite (and a long tradition afterwards, ending with Simplicius) ascribes a theory of becoming and its principles. In this paper, I exhibit and analyse the relevant passages from Physics I 1-3, Metaphysics I 3 and 5 and On generation and corruption I 3, providing an interpretation (...) that aims to solve the apparent paradox, making sense of the information we can gather from Aristotle’s and Simplicius’ testimonies. Eventually, I propose a construal of the Two Ways of fr. 2 with an emphasis on the predicative reading of einai, which could hint at the Parmenidean approach to cosmology that runs in parallel with the argument on Being. (shrink)

Der soziotechnische Wandel bringt neue Phänomene des Zufalls hervor, die sich den üblichen Strategien des Umgangs mit Risiken und Unsicherheit entziehen. Diese Akzidenzphänomene sind prinzipiell unvorhersehbar und in ihrer komplexen Effektgesamtheit jenseits von Kalkulation und Antizipation. Eine allgemeine Verzukünftigung unseres Weltbezuges mit spezifischen weitreichenden Problemen ist die Folge und lässt klassische Agenturen des Risikomanagements und der Unsicherheitsbewältigung an ihre Leistungsgrenzen stoßen. Bruno Gransche zeigt, dass Philosophie und Zukunftsforschung gemeinsam großes Potenzial aufweisen, hier zu helfen.

Une envie de transmettre, d'expliquer. De s'expliquer aussi. Sur la cohérence d'une pensée que l'apparente dispersion et variété des sujets qu'il a abordés avait, en partie, masquée. Bruno Latour s'est livré à cette série d'entretiens avec une simplicité, une jubilation et une puissance qui n'adviennent que dans les moments où l'on sait que la vie, et notamment celle de l'esprit, se condense. Un apaisement lié au sentiment d'urgence, une immanence indissociable de l'imminence et de la nécessité à tout concentrer, (...) résumer, déployer. Un souci de clarté, un plaisir de la conversation, un art de la performance. Comme si tout s'éclaircissait alors que la fin approchait"--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

Let's touch base -- Relocalizing the global -- Without the world or within -- Sharing responsibility: farewell to the sublime -- From lands to disputed territories -- Innovation not hype -- Secular at last -- In search of a diplomatic middle ground -- Appendix.

"Vi amo e vi sorrido da dove io sia": ricordo di Jacques Derida -- La cenere ci aspetta -- Il tono e la firma, l'eredità di Jacques Derida.

Bruno Latour’s long term project is to compare the felicity and infelicity conditions of the different values dearest to the heart of those who have ‘never been modern’. According to him, this is the only way to develop an anthropology of the Moderns. After his work on science, on technology and, more recently, on law, this book explores the truth conditions of religious speech acts.Even though there is no question that religion is one of the values that has been (...) intensely cherished in the course of history, it’s also clear that it has become immensely difficult to tune in to its highly specific mode of enunciation. Every effort to speak in the right key sounds awkward, reactionary, pious or simply empty. Hence the necessity of devising a way of writing that brings to the fore this elusive form of speech to render it audible again. In this highly original book, the author offers a completely different tack on the endless ‘science and religion’ conflict by protecting them both from the confusion with the notion of information. Like The Making of Law, this book is one more attempt at developing this ‘inquiry on modes of existence’ that provides an alternative definition of society. (Publisher's abstract). (shrink)

Walter Benjamin est le penseur de la reproductibilité technique au XXe siècle, et il nous a donné de nombreuses pistes de lecture pour comprendre ce que la technique fait et défait dans nos sociétés industrielles fondées sur l'exploitation de l'autre. Déclin de l'aura, disparition de l'original, exposition généralisée, vulgarisation, performance, émergence de la star et du dictateur, choc, contrôle des masses et émancipation, il nous laisse un précieux viatique de fragments, célèbres ou méconnus, qui nous permettent de poser cette question (...) : Comment appréhender le monde digital qui est en train de révolutionner notre siècle? Dans cet essai, nous faisons l'hypothèse, soufflée par Benjamin lui-même, que nombre de ses intuitions fulgurantes, suscitées par l'essor de la photographie et l'irruption du cinéma, puis de la radio, sont restées en sommeil à son époque, et se réveillent maintenant à la faveur de l'irruption du monde digital. La logique de l'accessibilité mondiale prend racine dans le monde de la reproductibilité mécanique et en révèle le sens. De la même façon que le philosophe a pris au sérieux la technique de la radiodiffusion, au point de devenir lui-même réalisateur d'émissions à la fin des années 20, nous proposons de relire ses textes à l'aune d'une observation matérialiste du monde numérique, où chaque lecteur est en train de devenir auteur et producteur, témoin de sa propre existence en voie de dédoublement."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)