The star-positions on the rete of a European astrolabe made in 1420 and now private German property, emphasize how some medieval European star-tables had been incorrectly copied and misunderstood. The star-coordinates and star-names on the astrolabe in question are based on John of London's star-table (1246). The style of the star-pointers and the aequinoctial bar on the rete, some inscriptions, and also the sundial engraved on the alidade are reminiscent of the earliest known Western Islamic astrolabe. The plates are engraved (...) with curves for latitude 45° though the markings stand for different latitudes. (shrink)
Let g E(m, n)=o mean that n is the Gödel-number of the shortest derivation from E of an equation of the form (m)=k. Hao Wang suggests that the condition for general recursiveness mn(g E(m, n)=o) can be proved constructively if one can find a speedfunction s s, with s(m) bounding the number of steps for getting a value of (m), such that mn s(m) s.t. g E(m, n)=o. This idea, he thinks, yields a constructivist notion of an effectively computable function, (...) one that doesn't get us into a vicious circle since we intuitively know, to begin with, that certain proofs are constructive and certain functions effectively computable. This paper gives a broad possibility proof for the existence of such classes of effectively computable functions, with Wang's idea of effective computability generalized along a number of dimensions. (shrink)
The contributions in this volume not only do justice to the breadth of the topic, they also cover the entire period from the Pre-Socratics to Late Antiquity.
This article addresses the wider issues of continuity and change in the context of the globalization of Tibetan Buddhism. Specifically, it looks at the emergence of lay oriented convert movements within the global Karma bKa? brgyud school, which are led by ?crazy wise? teachers. Firstly, the activities of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1939?1987) are interpreted on the background of the tension between tradition and modernity. In dialogue with modernity, Trungpa gradually pushed the borders of Tibetan Buddhist identity to the point of (...) collapse and established a secular teaching lineage and discourse. Trungpa's case is then compared to the development of one of the fastest growing and largest global lay movements of contemporary Tibetan Buddhism, the Diamond Way of the Danish lay teacher Ole Nydahl. The Diamond Way has transitioned into a late-charismatic stage, in which the traditionalist and modernizing features of Nydahl's teachings are creating an increasing tension. Post-Buddhist secularization and modernist packaging of neo-orthodoxy emerge as contesting paradigms of the globalization of these Tibetan Buddhist movements, which produce surprising intertextualities and shed light on the negotiation of converted Buddhist identities in a global context. (shrink)
There is now a renewed concern for moral psychology among moral philosophers. Moreover, contemporary philosophers interested in virtue, moral responsibility and moral progress regularly refer to Plato and Aristotle, the two founding fathers of ancient ethics. The book contains eleven chapters by distinguished scholars which showcase current research in Greek ethics. Four deal with Plato, focusing on the Protagoras, Euthydemus, Symposium and Republic, and discussing matters of literary presentation alongside the philosophical content. The four chapters on Aristotle address problems such (...) as the doctrine of the mean, the status of rules, equity and the tension between altruism and egoism in Aristotelian eudaimonism. A contrast to classical Greek ethics is presented by two chapters reconstructing Epicurus' views on the emotions and moral responsibility as well as on moral development. The final chapter on personal identity in Empedocles shows that the concern for moral progress is already palpable in Presocratic philosophy. (shrink)
This document discusses the status of research on detection and prevention of financial fraud undertaken as part of the IST European Commission funded FF POIROT (Financial Fraud Prevention Oriented Information Resources Using Ontology Technology) project. A first task has been the specification of the user requirements that define the functionality of the financial fraud ontology to be designed by the FF POIROT partners. It is claimed here that modeling fraudulent activity involves a mixture of law and facts as well as (...) inferences about facts present, facts presumed or facts missing. The purpose of this paper is to explain this abstract model and to specify the set of user requirements. (shrink)
According to Kant, justifying the application of mathematics to objects in natural science requires metaphysically constructing the concept of matter. Kant develops these constructions in the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science (MAdN). Kant’s specific aim is to develop a dynamic theory of matter to replace corpuscular theory. In his Preface Kant claims completely to exhaust the metaphysical doctrine of body, but in the General Remark to MAdN ch. 2, “Dynamics,” Kant admits that once matter is reconceived as basic forces, it (...) is no longer possible to construct the concept of matter. I argue that Kant’s admission is only the tip of the problem, and that none of Kant’s commentators has fully grasped the problems infecting the MAdN that underlie Kant’s admission. I show that Kant’s proof that matter consists of forces is fallacious. I then re-analyze the circularity in Kant’s definition of density, criticizing both Adickes’ formulations and his later dissolution of it. I also show that a third circularity infects the relations between Kant’s treatment of “Dynamics” and “Mechanics” (MAdN ch. 3). These three fundamental problems demonstrate the untenability of Kant’s metaphysical method, and they require the radical revision of the relation between mathematics and metaphysics Kant undertakes in his opus postumum. I show that some of Kant’s most surprising and critical later claims about the Critical philosophy are correct, and that they require the sorts of remedies Kant contemplates in the opus postumum. (I defend the essentially correct analyses offered by Burkhard Tuschling and Eckart Forster against criticisms by Michael Friedman.). (shrink)
In contrast to relying on something (on natural or social processes and on what others are expected to do), trust implies to believe more or less deeply in the other himself - in view of his genuine otherness which escapes our knowledge and calculation of risks. Having faith in others exposes us to severe disappointment in the case that they do not justify our belief, that is, our deep trust (which is faith). This essay examines trust in an historical perspective (...) as a specific dimension of human vulnerability - in contrast to "systemic" trust. (shrink)
Beginning with an examination of Lukasiewicz’s remarks on the logical status of the law of contradiction, I examine several systems of modal logic in which the law is said to fail. This raises the issue of hypercontradiction and bivalence in the semantics of modal systems, and these are examined in the context of constructing senses for ‘truth’ and ‘meaning’ within systems where the law no Ionger holds. FoIlowing an examination of the work of several later logicians and similar efforts on (...) their part, I conclude that the notion of ‘truth’ is not part or any system of format logic or metalogic. (shrink)
This paper raises the question whether language and violence are internally connected. It starts from the experience of violence and from its theoretical interpretation as violence in the context of political forms of life which are challenged by complaints about violence. Such forms of life have to confront this issue because they are supposed to be responsive to claims and demands of others who articulate violence as an experience of violation. Whether a kind of responsive ethos may be based on (...) the suspected inner connection between language and violence is being discussed at the end. (shrink)
