In Augustine's theological reflection, the biblical truth of “creation out of nothingness” becomes the dogmatic foundation of his philosophical speculation. Augustine argues that since “matter” is eternal, nothing can be derived from “nothingness”. He thus opposes the metaphysical paradigm of Christian thought which places God (“efficient cause”) and nothingness (“deficient cause”) as the origin of all existence. The “material cause” is no longer the “prime cause” of all beings but is replaced by the meontological dimension of absolute nothingness. The shifting (...) of the metaphysical paradigm in Augustine's speculation on the revealed truth of creatio ex nihilo leads to a theoretical gain: “nothingness” becomes a philosophical foundation capable of preserving both the truth of God's absolute freedom and the negation of all pantheism. (shrink)

As consumers represent a key actor for the success of businesses implementing socially responsible strategies, companies need to gain further insights on the determinants of responsible behaviors. In this study, we provide a contribution to the ongoing debate on responsible consumers by means of an integrative literature review, which analyzes a set of competing models mainly from social psychology and marketing. Stemming from this preliminary analysis of the existing evidence, we develop a new conceptual model, that is, a framework based (...) on (i) a flexible setting of the boundaries of analysis, (ii) a broader lens taking into account interrelations across behaviors, and (iii) a dynamic approach. The framework, for which an exemplary use is illustrated, represents the basis for advancing a rich agenda for future research. The latter is aimed at overcoming current criticalities in responsible consumer research, and it develops around the need for an integrative, dynamic, and cross-cultural approach on the one hand, and the elaboration of new perspectives on single antecedents, on the other. (shrink)

The environment can elicit biological responses such as oxidative stress (OS) and inflammation as a consequence of chemical, physical, or psychological changes. As population studies are essential for establishing these environment-organism interactions, biomarkers of OS or inflammation are critical in formulating mechanistic hypotheses. By using examples of stress induced by various mechanisms, we focus on the biomarkers that have been used to assess OS and inflammation in these conditions. We discuss the difference between biomarkers that are the result of a (...) chemical reaction (such as lipid peroxides or oxidized proteins that are a result of the reaction of molecules with reactive oxygen species) and those that represent the biological response to stress, such as the transcription factor NRF2 or inflammation and inflammatory cytokines. The high-throughput and holistic approaches to biomarker discovery used extensively in large-scale molecular epidemiological exposome are also discussed in the context of human exposure to environmental stressors. We propose to consider the role of biomarkers as signs and to distinguish between signs that are just indicators of biological processes and proxies that one can interact with and modify the disease process. (shrink)

In a note to G.R.S. Mead’s "Quests Old and New", where he found a section devoted to Hans Vaihinger’s main ideas, Fernando Pessoa reflects on the consequences of the fictionalist approach to both our perception of the I and the value of consciousness. These questions correspond to some statements that we find in Nietzsche’s writings, which in particular Vaihinger refers to in his Die Philosophie des Als-ob. Our aim is thus to compare Nietzsche’s and Pessoa’s view of the I and (...) consciousness, and to deal with their psychology by making reference to Vaihinger’s fictionalism. (shrink)

1. De mundi sensibilis atque intelligibilis forma et principiis -- 2. De igne, Nova dilucidatio, Monadologia physica.

Technologies like passive brain-computer interfaces can enhance human-machine interaction. Anyhow, there are still shortcomings in terms of easiness of use, reliability, and generalizability that prevent passive-BCI from entering real-life situations. The current work aimed to technologically and methodologically design a new gel-free passive-BCI system for out-of-the-lab employment. The choice of the water-based electrodes and the design of a new lightweight headset met the need for easy-to-wear, comfortable, and highly acceptable technology. The proposed system showed high reliability in both laboratory and (...) realistic settings, performing not significantly different from the gold standard based on gel electrodes. In both cases, the proposed system allowed effective discrimination between low and high levels of workload, vigilance, and stress even for high temporal resolution. Finally, the generalizability of the proposed system has been tested through a cross-task calibration. The system calibrated with the data recorded during the laboratory tasks was able to discriminate the targeted human factors during the realistic task reaching AUC values higher than 0.8 at 40 s of temporal resolution in case of vigilance and workload, and 20 s of temporal resolution for the stress monitoring. These results pave the way for ecologic use of the system, where calibration data of the realistic task are difficult to obtain. (shrink)

The New Economic Windows Series, derived from Massimo Salzano's ideas and work, incorporates material from textbooks, monographs and conference proceedings that deals with both the theoretical and applied aspects of various sub-disciplines ...

L’articolo intende proporre una lettura del _Breve trattato sulle cause che possono far abbondare li regni d’oro e d’argento_ di Antonio Serra incentrata su una storia delle arti di governo. Ricostruendo il dibattito napoletano sulle cause della crisi monetaria degli inizi del XVII secolo e focalizzando l’attenzione sul problema delle pratiche di governo della moneta, l’obiettivo del saggio è quello di sottrarre il trattato di Serra all’ipoteca di una retrospettiva sulla scienza economica per inquadrarlo all’interno dei problemi politici del (...) proprio tempo. (shrink)

This article addresses the ideological context of twentieth-century history of science as it emerged and was discussed at the threshold of the Cold War. It is claimed that the bifurcation of the discipline into a socio-economic strand and a technical-intellectual one should be traced back to the 1930s. In fact, the proposal of a Marxist-oriented historiography by the Soviet delegates at the International Congress of History of Science and Technology led by Nikolai Bukharin, set off the ideological and methodological opposition (...) that characterised the later years. Bukharin’s views on science are closely considered, as well as those of his Marxist critics, György Lukács and Antonio Gramsci. It is argued that, despite the fluidity of the positions of the 1920s and 1930s, these theories soon crystallized as demonstrated by the leftist reception of Bukharin’s and his associates’ perspective in the history of science, especially in Great Britain, as well as by the anti-communist reactions. Intellectualist approaches renouncing socio-economic factors, typically those by Alexandre Koyré and Thomas Kuhn, are reconsidered in the light of the ideological confrontation of the Cold War era. Reflection on the political-cultural embedding of the history of science has often been overshadowed by claims about the objectivity and neutrality of science and its historiography. Thus, the seminal discussion of the 1930s remains one of the most lucid moments of reflection about the role of science and history of science as cultural phenomena shaped by political struggles. (shrink)

There are many difficulties with the existing interpretation of Brentano’s works. The problem stems from the fact that Brentano’s works, letters, manuscripts, memoir’s, etc. remain unpublished or undiscovered. Moreover some Brentano’s scholars, namely Kastil and Mayer-Hillebrandt, were incorrect in their method in publishing the philosopher’s works. Namely, they misinterpreted his earlier works by incorporating numerous interpolations from different time periods as being the philosopher’s final thoughts. More importantly, as evidenced by Antonio Russo’s recent discovery, they also failed to realise (...) the fact that Brentano’s own theoretical views or works were mostly based on Aristotle and Thomas thoughts on metaphysics, that Brentano’s main intention was to develop a scientific demonstration on this topic, and that this issue occupied his mind until his death. It is hoped that this paper goes some way in resolving the said errors and coupled with the continue discovery of new material that the jigsaw of Brentano’s works and thinking shall someday be correctly completed. (shrink)

The recent publication of the books La razionalità, by Paolo Labinaz, and I modi della razionalità, edited by Massimo Dell’Utri and Antonio Rainone, offers the opportunity to provide an overview of some important discussions on rationality. In particular, I highlight how the modern and Cartesian ideal of this notion is undergoing a transformation that is enhanced by results coming from empirical studies in the field of cognitive science. These transformations are visible in many ambits concerning rationality: this discussion privileges (...) the traditional ones, i.e., logical, theoretical, and practical rationality. (shrink)

Este artículo estudia la revisión que hace Antonio Pérez de la identidad intencional de Pedro Auréolo entre el ser aparente de una cosa como conocida y su ser real extramental. La teoría de la cognición de Pérez es claramente deudora de la teoría de la intencionalidad de Auréolo. Al igual que este, Pérez se apoya en el instrumento lógico de la connotación y en la identidad entre la especie inteligible y el acto de conocimiento. Pérez está de acuerdo con (...) la teoría de Auréolo, afirmando una identidad de indistinción entre el ser aparente de la cosa como conocida y el ser real de la cosa extramental. Sin embargo, Pérez parece no estar plenamente satisfecho con la teoría de la cognición de Auréolo, e introduce algunos cambios relevantes. En primer lugar, emplea la doctrina suareziana de que todo acto intencional, aunque apunta directamente a un objeto, reflexiona virtual o indirectamente sobre sí mismo. Como consecuencia, apoya una identidad entre el lado formal –es decir, el acto de cognición– y el lado objetivo –es decir, la cosa reconocida–. En segundo lugar, ofrece una definición de la identidad de indistinción que difiere de la de Auréolo. Al hacerlo, Pérez equipara el ser aparente con una forma universal, es decir, el acto de cognición como tal, caracterizando todo acto particular de cognición como propio de todo ser inteligente. Esta forma indeterminada, entonces, puede ser determinada por todo objeto posible. (shrink)

Este artículo pretende estudiar la crítica de Antonio Pérez a la teoría de la identidad intencional de Pedro Auréolo. La teoría de la cognición de Pérez es claramente deudora de la doctrina de la intencionalidad de Auréolo. El jesuita español utiliza a menudo las mismas expresiones lingüísticas que Auréolo (como "ser aparente") y coincide con él en la identidad intencional entre el conocedor -que coincide en acto con el acto de conocer- y el objeto conocido, que es lo mismo (...) que existe fuera del intelecto. Tanto Pérez como Auréolo basan su teoría de la identidad intencional en el De anima de Aristóteles, pero el jesuita español señala una incoherencia en la doctrina de Auréolo, que contradice la concisa afirmación de Aristóteles sobre la identidad entre el conocedor y lo conocido durante el acto de conocimiento. Al examinar a fondo la teoría de la identidad intencional de Auréolo, concebida como una especie de identidad de indistinción, Pérez señala una incoherencia entre la descripción que hace Auréolo del acto de cognición y su concepción de la identidad de indistinción. Además, Pérez parece considerar insuficiente la identidad de indistinción de Auréolo utilizada para describir la identidad intencional que caracteriza el acto de cognición. En consecuencia, ofrece una nueva definición de identidad indistinta para presentar el ser aparente como una realidad indeterminada que puede ser determinada por cualquier contenido inteligible. Esta revisión péreziana de la teoría del ser aparente de Auréolo, por un lado, puede verse como un caso de revisionismo escolástico temprano moderno aplicado a un pensador medieval y, por otro, encuentra una aplicación más amplia en la metafísica y la antropología filosófica de Pérez. (shrink)

Nel corso della sua lunga attività di insegnamento presso le Università di Padova e di Bologna, Pietro Pomponazzi si confrontò ripetutamente con il De anima di Aristotele e con il relativo commento di Averroè. Il suo primo corso svolto in qualità di professore ordinario a Padova risale al 1499, il frutto più maturo delle sue riflessioni è sicuramente il celebre Tractatus de immortalitate animae, pubblicato a Bologna nel 1516, che lo proiettò al centro di polemiche, discussioni e condanne. Gli (...) studenti del Pomponazzi ci hanno tramandato gli appunti di numerosi suoi commenti al Corpus aristotelicum. Fra questi, di particolare interesse è l'esposizione sul primo libro del De anima, che il professore svolse a Padova sul cadere dell'anno 1503, e che fu riportata e messa in bella copia da un nobile veneziano, Antonio Surian, che frequentava le sue lezioni. Il volume presenta l'Expositio super I De anima secondo l'unico manoscritto che ci è pervenuto, conservato nella Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli (VIII D 81), e reca un fondamentale contributo alla ricostruzione della formazione e dello sviluppo della dottrina psicologica pomponazziana. (shrink)

Gianrinaldo Carli was a central figure in the origin of the Milanese Enlightenment of the late eighteenth century. Carli's political career as well as his works connected him both to the mid-century reforms by Pompeo Neri and to the times of Beccaria and the Verri brothers—the heyday of Lombard intellectual life in Europe. Not originally from Lombardy, but from the Venetian periphery, Carli became an erudite scholar of witchcraft and magic and an influential functionary of the Habsburg administration in Milan. (...) He remains most famous for his works on money and his contributions to the journal Il Caffè. Most of his later political writings, which were widely circulated in Italy following the American Revolution, originated in debates with Pietro Verri over the nature of Natural Law, of the Social Contract, and the relationship between patriotism and cosmopolitanism. They illustrate key aspects of Lombard political culture of the 1780s: a culture that was critical of Rousseau, trustful of the reformist experience and supportive of Enlightened Absolutism. Within this context, Carli's works have traditionally been difficult to place. (shrink)

Léon Brunschvicg's contribution to philosophical thought in fin-de-siècle France receives full explication in the first English-language study on his work. Arguing that Brunschvicg is crucial to understanding the philosophical schools which took root in 20th-century France, Pietro Terzi locates Brunschvicg alongside his contemporary Henri Bergson, as well as the range of thinkers he taught and influenced, including Lévinas, Merleau-Ponty, de Beauvoir, and Sartre. Brunschvicg's deep engagement with debates concerning spiritualism and rationalism, neo-Kantian philosophy, and the role of mathematics in (...) philosophy made him the perfect supervisor for a whole host of nascent philosophical ideas which were forming in the work of his students. Terzi outlines Brunchvicg's defence of neo-Kantian judgement, historical analysis and the inextricability of the natural and humanist sciences to any rigorous system of philosophy, with wide-ranging implications for contemporary scholarship. (shrink)

This article examines the ethics of ambiguity formulated by existentialist authors in the 1940s, linking it to turn-of-the-century debates on ethics between philosophy and the social sciences. The underlying thesis is that, rather than representing a radical conceptual novelty, the ethical thought of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, strained between freedom and situation, constitutes a revisiting and updating of philosophical positions from the landscape of the Third Republic. To demonstrate this, the thought of Frédéric Rauh is examined. Indeed, anticipating (...) what de Beauvoir would later call “ambiguity”, Rauh sought to develop an ethics of action that would constitute a third way between sociological objectivism and the empty abstractions of idealism and rationalism. By reconstructing the transitions from one generation and historical context to the next, the article shows how, and through which mediators, the existentialists were well aware of this debate and, in their own way, developed a philosophy of action, of ethical experience, similar to Rauh’s. (shrink)

Al lettore che nella produzione speculativa di Anselmo si sofferma in modo particolare su De veritate, De libertate arbitrii, De casu diaboli e De concordia, la volontà si manifesta come un indiscutibile centro di interesse della riflessione anselmiana, tesa a determinare teoreticamente il valore e l'efficacia della iustitia, intesa come rectitudo voluntatis propter se servata, in ambito etico ed ontologico. La voluntas si presenta così quale protagonista del rapporto tra Dio e creatura, tra natura, storia ed eternità, perché è proprio (...) mediante gli atti volontari che la creatura può inserirsi od opporsi attivamente al rectus ordo della creazione, che a sua volta costituisce come una forma di libera oggettivazione del farsi altro da sé, rimanendo se stessa, della summa rectitudo. Attraverso questo movimento la rectitudo e la recta voluntas divina si pongono e si mostrano come l'essenza della realtà. Rivelando voluntas e rectitudo una valenza ad un tempo etica e metafisica, si potenzia il significato della volontà come responsabilità e come agente intrinsecamente libero che Anselmo le attribuisce. La voluntas, che vuole perché vuole, si sottrae al regno della necessità e si impone, in quanto artefice di libertà, come la protagonista aporetica della relazione tra la stabilità dell'ordine della realtà e la novità della storia, inchiodando Anselmo, amante della necessità razionale, alla celebrazione di una forza decisiva e ultimativa, che sembra sfuggire al pieno controllo della ratio. (shrink)

In the so-called digital culture, there is a constant presence of radical transformations on the cognitive and affective dimensions of the relations established among teachers and students. Upon this ubiquitous accessibility of information, the very historical and hierarchically verticalized relation between teachers and students has been increasingly questioned. Upon this situation, the authors in this article aim at stating that the revitalization of concepts developed by Paulo Freire, mainly the ones discussed in the books: ‘Pedagogy of Hope’, that sought a (...) re-encounter with ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’, ‘Extension or Communication’ and ‘Pedagogy of Freedom’ became essential to understanding how the relationship between teachers and students can be mutually re-signified. In these times of digital culture, we argue that the revitalization of the critical thinking proposed by Freire is able to foment a dialogical communication both in the pedagogical link shared by teachers and students and in the transformation of information into substantially and ethically experienced concepts. Such substantial and ethical experiences are the ones able to attest that the pedagogy of hope and the pedagogy of freedom are possible, provided they are constituted with the students and not for them. (shrink)