The problem, of man falls into a category of problems of human knowledge that are both ‘eternal’ and ever new. Countless legends, myths, philosophical systems, religious doctrines, scientific conceptions and fantastic visions have been the fruit of man's ungovernable desire to know himself, to know his essence, his purpose in the world, his fate, his future. Not to mention the ingenious hypotheses and Utopian fantasms, scientific truths and galling mistakes, bold projects and cowardly superstitions handed on by human civilization in (...) its Indefatigable search for the ‘magic crystal’ which would at last reveal man's true nature. All periods have made their contribution In this everlasting quest and all have relied on the few parcels of truth gleaned by humanity at earlier stages of development. Our times, the most dramatic and revolutionary of all, are by no means an exception and can be distinguished from the rest only by the exceptional acuity and urgency of the problem. (shrink)

The weak non-finite cover property (wnfcp) was introduced in [1] in connection with "axiomatizability" of lovely pairs of models of a simple theory. We find a combinatorial condition on a simple theory equivalent to the wnfcp, yielding a direct proof that the non-finite cover property implies the wnfcp, and that the wnfcp is preserved under reducts. We also study the question whether the wnfcp is preserved when passing from a simple theory T to the theory TP of lovely pairs of (...) models of T (true in the stable case). While the question remains open, we show, among other things, that if (for a T with the wnfcp) TP is low, then TP has the wnfcp. To study this question, we describe "double lovely pairs", and, along the way, we develop the notion of a "lovely n-tuple" of models of a simple theory, which is an analogue of the notion of a beautiful tuple of models of stable theories [2]. (shrink)

For a supersimple SU-rank 1 theory T we introduce the notion of a generic elementary pair of models of T . We show that the theory T* of all generic T-pairs is complete and supersimple. In the strongly minimal case, T* coincides with the theory of infinite dimensional pairs, which was used in 1184–1194) to study the geometric properties of T. In our SU-rank 1 setting, we use T* for the same purpose. In particular, we obtain a characterization of linearity (...) for SU-rank 1 structures by giving several equivalent conditions on T*, find a “weak” version of local modularity which is equivalent to linearity, show that linearity coincides with 1-basedness, and use the generic pairs to “recover” projective geometries over division rings from non-trivial linear SU-rank 1 structures. (shrink)

We continue the study of the connection between the “geometric” properties of SU -rank 1 structures and the properties of “generic” pairs of such structures, started in [8]. In particular, we show that the SU-rank of the theory of generic pairs of models of an SU -rank 1 theory T can only take values 1 , 2 or ω, generalizing the corresponding results for a strongly minimal T in [3]. We also use pairs to derive the implication from pseudolinearity to (...) linearity for ω -categorical SU -rank 1 structures, established in [7], from the conjecture that an ω -categorical supersimple theory has finite SU -rank, and find a condition on generic pairs, equivalent to pseudolinearity in the general case. (shrink)

We study expansions of an algebraically closed field K or a real closed field R with a linearly independent subgroup G of the multiplicative group of the field or the unit circle group \\), satisfying a density/codensity condition. Since the set G is neither algebraically closed nor algebraically independent, the expansion can be viewed as “intermediate” between the two other types of dense/codense expansions of geometric theories: lovely pairs and H-structures. We show that in both the algebraically closed field and (...) real closed field cases, the resulting theory is near model complete and the expansion preserves many nice model theoretic conditions related to the complexity of definable sets such as stability and NIP. (shrink)

We study the theory of lovely pairs of geometric structures, in particular o-minimal structures. We use the pairs to isolate a class of geometric structures called weakly locally modular which generalizes the class of linear structures in the settings of SU-rank one theories and o-minimal theories. For o-minimal theories, we use the Peterzil–Starchenko trichotomy theorem to characterize for a sufficiently general point, the local geometry around it in terms of the thorn U-rank of its type inside a lovely pair.

We study definable groups in dense/codense expansions of geometric theories with a new predicate P such as lovely pairs and expansions of fields by groups with the Mann property. We show that in such expansions, large definable subgroups of groups definable in the original language \ are also \-definable, and definably amenable \-definable groups remain amenable in the expansion. We also show that if the underlying geometric theory is NIP, and G is a group definable in a model of T, (...) then the connected component \ of G in the expansion agrees with the connected component \ in the original language. We prove similar preservation results for \^n\), the P-part of G in a lovely pair, and for subgroups of G in pairs where R is a real closed field and G is a subgroup of \ or the unit circle \\) with the Mann property. (shrink)

Given a lovely pair P ≺ M of models of a simple theory T, we study the structure whose universe is P and whose relations are the traces on P of definable (in ℒ with parameters from M) sets in M. We give a necessary and sufficient condition on T (which we call weak lowness) for this structure to have quantifier-elimination. We give an example of a non-weakly-low simple theory.

We study the theory of the structure induced by parameter free formulas on a “dense” algebraically independent subset of a model of a geometric theory T. We show that while being a trivial geometric theory, inherits most of the model theoretic complexity of T related to stability, simplicity, rosiness, the NIP and the NTP2. In particular, we show that T is strongly minimal, supersimple of SU‐rank 1, has the NIP or the NTP2 exactly when has these properties. We show that (...) if T is superrosy of thorn rank 1, then so is, and that the converse holds if T satisfies acl = dcl. (shrink)

We study the class of weakly locally modular geometric theories introduced in [4], a common generalization of the classes of linear SU-rank 1 and linear o-minimal theories. We find new conditions equivalent to weak local modularity: "weak one-basedness", absence of type definable "almost quasidesigns", and "generic linearity". Among other things, we show that weak one-basedness is closed under reducts. We also show that the lovely pair expansion of a non-trivial weakly one-based ω-categorical geometric theory interprets an infinite vector space over (...) a finite field. (shrink)

We introduce the notion of a lovely pair of models of a simple theory T, generalizing Poizat's “belles paires” of models of a stable theory and the third author's “generic pairs” of models of an SU-rank 1 theory. We characterize when a saturated model of the theory TP of lovely pairs is a lovely pair , finding an analog of the nonfinite cover property for simple theories. We show that, under these hypotheses, TP is also simple, and we study forking (...) and canonical bases in TP. We also prove that assuming only that T is low, the existentially universal models of the universal part of a natural expansion TP+ of TP, are lovely pairs, and “simple Robinson universal domains”. (shrink)

Based on the work done in [][] in the o‐minimal and geometric settings, we study expansions of models of a supersimple theory with a new predicate distiguishing a set of forking‐independent elements that is dense inside a partial type, which we call H‐structures. We show that any two such expansions have the same theory and that under some technical conditions, the saturated models of this common theory are again H‐structures. We prove that under these assumptions the expansion is supersimple and (...) characterize forking and canonical bases of types in the expansion. We also analyze the effect these expansions have on one‐basedness and CM‐triviality. In the one‐based case, when T has SU‐rank and the SU‐rank is continuous, we take to be the type of elements of SU‐rank and we describe a natural “geometry of generics modulo H” associated with such expansions and show it is modular. (shrink)

We study the class of ω-categorical structures with n-degenerate algebraic closure for some n ε ω, which includes ω-categorical structures with distributive lattice of algebraically closed subsets , and in particular those with degenerate algebraic closure. We focus on the models of ω-categorical universal theories, absolutely ubiquitous structures, and ω-categorical structures generated by an indiscernible set. The assumption of n-degeneracy implies total categoricity for the first class, stability for the second, and ω-stability for the third.

Comment devient-on philosophe? Par quel sursaut un Aristoclès se fait-il Platon, jusqu'à s'imposer dans la liste des " auteurs philo " Il faut enquêter, non pas sur la vie privée, mais sur la vie intime : rumination intellectuelle, ton sur lequel on parle, motivations amoureuses... Ce qui fait un philosophe, c'est un immense travail sur soi, et la rencontre d'autres philosophes, vivants, de leurs problématiques. Mémoire sémantique + obsession métaphysique, voilà le code génétique du philosophe. Il débute par un attentat (...) religieux, puisqu'il commence sa carrière en niant tel ou tel sacré. Bien sûr, il vaut mieux être mâle, communiquer par les livres adopter la langue dominante, écrire quand on est célibataire. Comment gagner sa vie? Pas forcément en étant enseignant, comme c'est le cas aujourd'hui. Le profil du philosophe nous le révèle orphelin, vivant à l'étranger, souvent laid, jamais fou, et serial thinker, prêt à changer de philosophie pourvu qu'il reste, lui, à menacer le monde donnera ou donnera pas du sens à notre vie? Le philosophe est l'être inquiet qui pense inquiéter l'Être par deux trois mots bien aiguisés. (shrink)

While there are numerous doubts, controversies and lack of consensus on alternative definitions of human death, it is argued that it is more ethical to allow people to choose either cessation of cardio-respiratory function or loss of entire brain function as the definition of death based on their own views. This paper presents the law of organ transplantation in Japan, which allows people to decide whether brain death can be used to determine their death in agreement with their family. Arguably, (...) Japan could become a unique example of individual choice in the definition of death if the law is revised to allow individuals choose definition of death independently of their family. It suggests that such an approach is one of the reasonable policy options a country can adopt for legislation on issues related to the definition of death. (shrink)

How (Not) to Be Secular is what Jamie Smith calls "your hitchhiker's guide to the present" -- it is both a reading guide to Charles Taylor's monumental work A Secular Age and philosophical guidance on how we might learn to live in our times. Taylor's landmark book A Secular Age (2007) provides a monumental, incisive analysis of what it means to live in the post-Christian present -- a pluralist world of competing beliefs and growing unbelief. Jamie Smith's book is a (...) compact field guide to Taylor's insightful study of the secular, making that very significant but daunting work accessible to a wide array of readers. Even more, though, Smith's How (Not) to Be Secular is a practical philosophical guidebook, a kind of how-to manual on how to live in our secular age. It ultimately offers us an adventure in self-understanding and maps out a way to get our bearings in today's secular culture, no matter who "we" are -- whether believers or skeptics, devout or doubting, self-assured or puzzled and confused. This is a book for any thinking person to chew on. (shrink)

Extraterrestrial Altruism examines a basic assumption of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI): that extraterrestrials will be transmitting messages to us for our benefit. This question of whether extraterrestrials will be altruistic has become increasingly important in recent years as SETI scientists have begun contemplating transmissions from Earth to make contact. Technological civilizations that transmit signals for the benefit of others, but with no immediate gain for themselves, certainly seem to be altruistic. But does this make biological sense? Should we (...) expect altruism to evolve throughout the cosmos, or is this only wishful thinking? Is it dangerous to send messages to other worlds, as Stephen Hawking has suggested, or might humankind benefit from an exchange with intelligence elsewhere in the galaxy? Would extraterrestrial societies be based on different ethical principles, or would we see commonalities with Earthly notions of morality? Extraterrestrial Altruism explores these and related questions about the motivations of civilizations beyond Earth, providing new insights that are critical for SETI. Chapters are authored by leading scholars from diverse disciplines—anthropology, astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, cosmology, engineering, history of science, law, philosophy, psychology, public policy, and sociology. The book is carefully edited by Douglas Vakoch, Director of Interstellar Message Composition at the SETI Institute and professor of clinical psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies. The Foreword is by Frank Drake. This interdisciplinary book will benefit everybody trying to understand whether evolution and ethics are unique to Earth, or whether they are built into the fabric of the universe. (shrink)

Introduction: Conversion and the practice of transformation -- The philosophical structure of Jonathan Edwards's religious affections -- Habit, habit change, and conversion in C.S. Peirce -- Reconstructing faith : religious overcoming in Dewey's pragmatism -- Transforming obligation in William James -- Dwelling in absence: the reflective origin of conversion -- Creative transformation : the work of conversion -- The evasion of conversion in recent American philosophy.

Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951) was an extraordinarily original thinker, whose influence on twentieth-century thinking far outside the bounds of philosophy alone. In this engaging Introduction, A.C. Grayling makes Wittgenstein's thought accessible to the general reader by explaining the nature and impact of Wittgenstein's views. He describes both his early and later philosophy, the differences and connections between them, and gives a fresh assessment of Wittgenstein's continuing influence on contemporary thought.

Background: The magnitude of bullying and harassment among psychiatrists is reportedly high, yet no peer-review published studies addressing this issue could be found. Therefore, it was decided to conduct a pilot study to assess the degree of the problem, the types of bullying/harassment and to provide some insights into the situation.Methods and Principal Findings: Following multiple focus group meetings, a yes/no response type questionnaire was developed to assess the degree and type of bullying and harassment experienced by psychiatrists. Over a (...) 3-month period the questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 60 psychiatrists. 57 out of the 60 psychiatrists reported harassment and bullying. Frequencies of the following response variables are presented in descending order: rumours 40% ; defamation 20% ; passing remarks 20% ; false accusations 15% ; threats 13.3% ; verbal abuse 13.3% ; unjustified complaints 13.3% ; promotion blocked 13.3% ; humiliation 13% ; bad reference given 10% ; credentials questioned 8.3% ; physical attacks 5% ; termination 5% ; derogatory remarks 1.7% and 1.7% were subjected to personal work. As a result of being subjected to harassment, 66.7% of the psychiatrists did not take any action, whereas 33.3% confronted the person they believed responsible. Asked whether the bullying and harassment caused distress, 18.3% of the psychiatrists did not report any effect, 30% reported mild distress, 40% moderate distress and severe distress was reported by 11.7%.Conclusions: It was concluded that the magnitude of bullying and harassment among psychiatrists may be quite high, as evidenced by this pilot study. There is a need for extensive systematic studies on this subject and to establish strategies to prevent and address this issue at a national and regulatory level. (shrink)

The urgency of the research topic is that the theoretical and methodological principles of psychology of managerial activity of the head in the conditions of the information society help to increase the levers of management and guidance. The purpose of management - the receipt of the desired result, which must be obtained after the actions of the management of the head as the main operating force, which is heading for transformations, tries to increase the self-governing principle in the organization. The (...) problem of research is that for effective management it is necessary to develop reliable mechanisms for the identification and development of manager's abilities, to increase the level of professionalism and competence of the head to the highest level, so that the management organism does not disorient. A person who works as a specialist, a professional, a competent person can be qualified to carry out the work of a manager. The hypothesis is put forward that the manager of a high level of professionalism and competence is able to form the psychological foundations of the organization, so that it worked as a single social organism. The task of the research is to analyze the psychological foundations of management activity in the conditions of the information society, which would allow the most optimal management of a particular organization. The methodological foundations of the psychology of management as the basis of effective leadership include methods of cultural development, which are used to solve the problems of organization, the formation of psychological culture, devoid of conflicts, contradictions, disasters. Methodological basis of scientific research of psychological principles of administrative activity as the basis of effective management are methods, such as system, structural, structural-functional, historical, comparative, which allow to achieve a higher level of organization and self-organization at the expense of skilful leadership. Therefore, the manager must use the whole set of methods, techniques, algorithms of actions, techniques, methods of achieving certain results that will lead to the management of a high level. It is concluded that the determinants of the optimization of the managerial psychology of the head is a model aimed at regulating relationships, which would use the resources of the information society, which is based on high information provision for improving the efficiency of management work. (shrink)

This introduction to the basic ideas of structural proof theory contains a thorough discussion and comparison of various types of formalization of first-order logic. Examples are given of several areas of application, namely: the metamathematics of pure first-order logic (intuitionistic as well as classical); the theory of logic programming; category theory; modal logic; linear logic; first-order arithmetic and second-order logic. In each case the aim is to illustrate the methods in relatively simple situations and then apply them elsewhere in much (...) more complex settings. There are numerous exercises throughout the text. In general, the only prerequisite is a standard course in first-order logic, making the book ideal for graduate students and beginning researchers in mathematical logic, theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. For the new edition, many sections have been rewritten to improve clarity, new sections have been added on cut elimination, and solutions to selected exercises have been included. (shrink)

This exciting new Handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the contemporary state of the field. The editors' introduction and forty-five essays cover feminist critical engagements with philosophy and adjacent scholarly fields, as well as feminist approaches to current debates and crises across the world. Authors cover topics ranging from the ways in which feminist philosophy attends to other systems of oppression, and the gendered, racialized, and classed assumptions embedded in philosophical concepts, to feminist perspectives on prominent subfields of philosophy. The (...) first section contains chapters that explore feminist philosophical engagement with mainstream and marginalized histories and traditions, while the second section parses feminist philosophy's contributions to with numerous philosophical subfields, for example metaphysics and bioethics. A third section explores what feminist philosophy can illuminate about crucial moral and political issues of identity, gender, the body, autonomy, prisons, among numerous others. The Handbook concludes with the field's engagement with other theories and movements, including trans studies, queer theory, critical race, theory, postcolonial theory, and decolonial theory. The volume provides a rigorous but accessible resource for students and scholars who are interested in feminist philosophy, and how feminist philosophers situate their work in relation to the philosophical mainstream and other disciplines. Above all it aims to showcase the rich diversity of subject matter, approach, and method among feminist philosophers. (shrink)

The Problem of Perception offers two arguments against direct realism--one concerning illusion, and one concerning hallucination--that no current theory of ...

One of Hume's most well-known works and a masterpiece of philosophy, A Treatise of Human Nature is indubitably worth taking the time to read.

The philosophy of Epictetus, a freed slave in the Roman Empire, has been profoundly influential on Western thought: it offers not only stimulating ideas but practical guidance in living one's life. A. A. Long, a leading scholar of later ancient philosophy, gives the definitive presentation of the thought of Epictetus for a broad readership. Long's fresh and vivid translations of a selection of the best of Epictetus' discourses show that his ideas are as valuable and striking today as they were (...) amost two thousand years ago. This is a book for anyone interested in what we can learn from ancient philosophy about how to live our lives. (shrink)

In this article, we present results from a literature review of intrinsic, instrumental, and relational values of nature conducted for the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, as part of the Methodological Assessment of the Diverse Values and Valuations of Nature. We identify the most frequently recurring meanings in the heterogeneous use of different value types and their association with worldviews and other key concepts. From frequent uses, we determine a core meaning for each value type, which is (...) sufficiently inclusive to serve as an umbrella over different understandings in the literature and specific enough to help highlight its difference from the other types of values. Finally, we discuss convergences, overlapping areas, and fuzzy boundaries between different value types to facilitate dialogue, reduce misunderstandings, and improve the methods for valuation of nature's contributions to people, including ecosystem services, to inform policy and direct future research. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. (shrink)

Provability, Computability and Reflection.

We apply Hrushovski-Fraïssé's amalgamation procedure to obtain a theory of fields of prime characteristic of Morley rank 2 equipped with a definable additive subgroup of rank 1.

Resumo: A técnica é a ação de um agente Intencional, com uma determinada finalidade, sobre específicas propriedades físicas, ação que constitui um objeto técnico. O reconhecimento desta Intencionalidade da ação dos autores da técnica é necessário para o processo de compreensão desses objetos pelos receptores, principalmente para a compreensão dos objetos técnicos caracterizados também como suportes semióticos. A minha hipótese é que essa Intencionalidade pode vir “mascarada” pela própria ação técnica constituinte da forma do objeto, e também pelo discurso institucional, (...) dificultando a compreensão desses objetos pelo público. Trata-se também de esclarecer quais as propriedades que são realmente ontológicas nos objetos técnicos.: A technique is an action of an Intentional agent, with a determined purpose, upon specific physical properties. This action constitutes a technical object. Identifying the Intentionality of authors' actions is necessary for the comprehension of these objects by receivers, particularly for the comprehension of technical objects which are also characterized as semiotic supports. My hypothesis is that this Intentionality can be “disguised” by the technical action itself, particularly in questions of form, and also by institutional discourse, which problematizes the comprehension of these same objects by the public. It will be a matter as well of clarifying the ontological properties of technical objects. (shrink)

This book explores for the first time an idea common to both Plato and Aristotle: although people are separate, their lives need not be; one person's life may overflow into another's, so that helping someone else is a way of serving oneself. Price considers how this idea unites the philosophers' treatments of love and friendship (which are otherwise very different), and demonstrates that this view of love and friendship, applied not only to personal relationships, but also to the household and (...) even the city-state, promises to resolve the old dichotomy between egoism and altruism. (shrink)