The so-called ‘type method’ widely employed in biological taxonomy is often seen as conforming to the causal-historical theory of reference. In this paper, I argue for an alternative account of reference for biological nomenclature in which taxon names are understood as descriptive names. A descriptive name, as the concept came to be known from the work of Gareth Evans, is a referring expression introduced by a definite description. There are three main differences between the DN and the causal account. First, (...) according to the DN account, rather than fixing a name to a referent, the assignment of a type specimen to serve as the name-bearer for a taxon should be seen as performatively establishing a synonymy between a name and a definite description of the form “the taxon whose type is t”. Each taxon name is therefore associated with a criterion of application, a semantic rule that establishes the connection between the name and the descriptive content. This is the second major difference from the causal account: taxon names do have some descriptive content associated with them. The final locus of dissent concerns the strength of the modality resulting from the usage of taxon names. In order to address this point, I use the DN account to focus on the debate between Matt Haber and Joeri Witteveen concerning misidentification of type specimens, misapplication of names, and the truth conditions of Joseph LaPorte’s de dicto necessary sentence “Necessarily, any species with a type specimen contains its type specimen”. Using a pragmatic variant of the distinction between attributive and referential uses of descriptions, I argue that a metalinguistic version of the de dicto sentence is in fact falsified, as previously argued by Haber. (shrink)

ABSTRACT: In this article, we intend to address the role of memory and narrative in the constitution of personal identity, based on Alice Munro’s short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” and the theoretical concepts of Paul Ricoeur (especially in Oneself as Another). This movement will allow us to underscore the idea that, contrary to what part of the analytical literature on identity and narrative has held, it is not just what we might call self-narrative that plays a role (...) in maintaining personal identity. Instead, we recover the Ricoeurian idea of a network of narratives or tangled of stories, in which self- and hetero-narratives are entangled, thus providing support to the identities it captures. (shrink)

This Special Issue brings a selection of peer-reviewed papers that were presented at the 12th Principia International Symposium: Models and Modeling in the Sciences, Florianópolis, Brazil, online, August 2021. In this preface, the chair and the secretary of the organizing committee comment the symposium's context and briefly present the issue.

El objetivo de este trabajo es poner al descubierto los principales valores cognitivos y epistemológicos desde los que Warren Weaver puso en marcha el Programa de Biología Experimental, un programa que llevado a cabo desde la presidencia de la división de ciencias naturales de la Fundación Rockefeller, marcó y condicionó en buena medida el posterior desarrollo de la investigación biológica. Para tal fin se mostrará, en primer lugar, cómo fue la llegada de Weaver a la Fundación Rockefeller, así como las (...) razones bajo las cuáles el consejo de esa institución decidió entre 1932 y 1933 dar prioridad a las investigaciones biomédicas, y la manera por la cual lo hicieron. En un segundo momento, el más extenso e importante, veremos algunos de los elementos más significativos de la perspectiva epistemológica y cognoscitiva de de Weaver. Finalizaremos viendo cómo esa perspectiva, desarrollada en conexión con el Programa de Biología Experimental, inter-actuó con la visión reduccionista de la biología a la que el programa parecía apuntar. The aim of this article is to uncover the main cognitive and epistemological values that influenced Warren Weaver in starting the Experimental Biology Program, a program carried out from the time that he became president of the Natural Sciences Division of the Rockefeller Foundation, and which significantly marked and conditioned the subsequent development of biological research. To this end, we first describe the arrival of Warren Weaver at the Rockefeller Foundation, and the reasons for which the Board of this Foundation, between 1932 and 1933, decided to prioritize biomedical research, and the manner in which they did so. Then, secondly, in the largest and most important part of the article, we will present some of the most significant elements of Weaver's epistemological and cognitive perspective. Finally, we will show how this perspective, developed in connection with the Experimental Biology Program, interacted with the reductionist view of biology to which the program seemed to point. (shrink)

The object of this paper is to suggest how the Frege–Dummettian notions of criterion of identity and criterion of application can be put to work within Putnam’s account of reference for natural kind terms in “Meaning of ‘Meaning’ ”. By doing so, some light can be shed on Putnam’s earlier views on “necessity relative to a body of knowledge” as well as his later views on sortal identity. If the Frege–Dummettian criteria are indeed at work within Putnam’s account, then we (...) must either give up rigidity or else give up the division of linguistic labor hypothesis. I will give an example from biological nomenclature that may sway us towards giving up the former. (shrink)

In 2017, Pope Francis appointed a commission to investigate the continued suitability of the Liturgiam Authenticam Instruction, approved by John Paul II, on the rules of translating liturgical texts. This article shows the genesis of this event, not necessarily the one which is marking the next stage of a “dewojtylization” of the Church, as conservative Vatican commentators would have it. The main reason for the establishment of this commission is the controversy over the two translations into English: the official one, (...) approved in 2010, which is maintained in the spirit of Liturgiam Authenticam, and the earlier one, from 1998, done in accordance with the principles of the Instruction of Paul VI of 1969, which, in fact, recommended the use of the so-called dynamic equivalence, which in practice implied the usage of contemporary colloquial language. In order to understand the essence of the dispute, the author of this article presents the concept of dynamic equivalence developed by Pastor Eugene Nida, pointing to its strengths and weaknesses. The former mainly lies in the fact that in the years around the Council it was the first serious scientific theory of translation. That concept is also full of weaknesses, which are reflected in the significant development of translation theory over the past 60 years. The most serious of these is the fact that it reduces the act to the already existing resources of the target language thus inhibiting its development. Therefore, it is essentially the opposite of the method of St. Jerome, adopted in the Catholic tradition. According to the author the Liturgiam Authenticam Instruction takes into account several decades of biblical translation practice in the post-Conciliar spirit, with its successes and failures. The conclusions of this analysis are as follows: The absolutization of dynamic equivalence as “the only scientific theory of translation” proves that there is no cooperation between the biblical studies communities and those developing contemporary theories of The Liturgiam Authenticam Instruction focuses on what is preventing the process of desacralization of liturgy, as occurring in many Protestant Churches, but also in many post-conciliar Catholic. (shrink)

Autor niniejszego artykułu stawia tezę, iż w _Biblii Paulistów_, w szczególności zaś w tłumaczeniu Ewangelii i Psalmów, zastosowano tylko pozornie „język współczesny”, gdyż jej tekst w wielu wypadkach zapożycza pełne frazy z _Biblii Tysiąclecia_. Powstaje w ten sposób pewna hybryda językowa, mieszająca język potoczny i już utrwalony tradycją „polski styl biblijny”. Tezę tę ilustrują liczne przykłady oparte o analizowany tekst. Kolejną poruszaną kwestią jest teoretyczna i praktyczna zasadność samego faktu sięgania po język współczesny, a w istocie po język potoczny w (...) przekładzie Pisma Świętego. Z teoretycznego punktu widzenia jest to jednoznacznie sprzeczne z tradycją wyznaczoną przez _Wulgatę _św. Hieronima, którego przekładowy język naruszał kanony łaciny cycerońskiej (a więc języka naturalnie brzmiącego dla ówczesnego wykształconego odbiorcy) w trosce o jak największą wierność wobec oryginału. Święty Hieronim zderzał łacinę ze strukturami składniowymi języka hebrajskiego, w wyniku czego powstała pewna nowa jakość, odbierana jeszcze długi czas później jako „dobroczynny zgrzyt językowy” (sformułowanie A. Bermana), prowadzący również do poszerzenia zasobów języka docelowego. Ta zasada została przyjęta w późniejszych katolickich przekładach Biblii, w tym w przekładzie ks. Jakuba Wujka, i odrzucona dopiero przez nową tradycję protestancką zainaugurowaną przez Marcina Lutra. Z praktycznego natomiast punktu widzenia wolno zadać pytanie o duszpasterską skuteczność używania takiego języka i sięganie do tradycji protestanckiej w sytuacji, gdy kościoły protestanckie Europy pustoszeją mimo propozycji „chrześcijaństwa ułatwionego”. (shrink)

This article is drafted on the basis of three complementary essays by Professor Jerzy Janik. The author takes a look at selected issues in the field of quantum mechanics – especially the problem of quantum superposition and supersymmetry – from perspective of great philosophical systems. The author draws attention to the fact that some of these issues reflect old philosophical problems, and – in some cases – philosophical perspective may save interpretations of quantum mechanics from paradoxes.

In philosophy /ontology/ as well as in physics one deals with various kinds of ESSE. Quantum objects do not obey the Bell inequalities, which are natural for macroscopic objects. Some beings may be real but not actual. Actual beings are those which show up NOW. For a physicist this seems to correspond to a reduction of the wave packet. Existence in an atractor.

C'est un fait que nous distinguons entre la connaissance quantitative et la connaissance qualitative. L'analyse de cette distinction remonte à l'Antiquité. Depuis Aristote, elle semble être acceptée comme définitive. L'épistémologie réaliste du Stagirite Justine la distinction par la différence objective entre les catégories de qualité et de quantité, irréductibles l'une à l'autre. Selon cette optique, les deux modes de connaissance nous offrent deux perspectives différentes sur le monde matériel. Ces deux perspectives se complètent l'une l'autre. Il faut tout de même (...) se demander si les deux sont jugées également nécessaires pour la connaissance sensible du monde perceptible. La question est d'autant plus importante qu'on considère la connaissance sensible comme point de départ du processus intellectuel qui mène, ou doit en principe mener, à la connaissance substantielle de la réalité matérielle. (shrink)

C'est peut-être faire un faux pas que de placer une pensée d'Aristote en épigraphe à un essai sur un livre dont l'auteur est partisan de l'empirisme logique. Que les adhérents de l'École de Vienne veuillent bien excuser notre manque de tact, mais le mot du Stagirite nous semble tout indiqué pour servir de pensée liminaire au thème que nous nous proposons d'aborder.

La notion de cause fait corps avec le cadre noétique du système dans lequel elle apparaît. Elle ne peut pas être plus large ou plus profonde que le système lui-même. Qui veut comprendre le sens qu'on donne au concept de cause, doit faire une étude épistémologique du contexte dont il fait partie. Une telle analyse doit éviter de s'enfermer dans le cercle vicieux auquel l'expose le rôle tout à fait fondamental que joue la notion de cause dans la formation du (...) système. En effet l'idée qu'on se fait de la causalité exerce une influence déterminante sur l'ensemble des affirmations de base sur lesquelles repose le complexe d'explications philosophiques ou scientifiques. (shrink)

In philosophy /ontology/ as well as in physics one deals with various kinds of ESSE. Quantum objects do not obey the Bell inequalities, which are natural for macroscopic objects. Some beings may be real but not actual. Actual beings are those which show up NOW. For a physicist this seems to correspond to a reduction of the wave packet. Existence in an atractor.

In this text, the word “anima” is the synonym of the notion of “conscious observer”. The paper discusses subjects from the field of physics and metaphysics in which there is a need to introduce such an observer, according to some authors.

In this text, the word “anima” is the synonym of the notion of “conscious observer”. The paper discusses subjects from the field of physics and metaphysics in which there is a need to introduce such an observer, according to some authors.

In this text, the word “anima” is the synonym of the notion of “conscious observer”. The paper discusses subjects from the field of physics and metaphysics in which there is a need to introduce such an observer, according to some authors.

In this text, the word “anima” is the synonym of the notion of “conscious observer”. The paper discusses subjects from the field of physics and metaphysics in which there is a need to introduce such an observer, according to some authors.

In this text, the word “anima” is the synonym of the notion of “conscious observer”. The paper discusses subjects from the field of physics and metaphysics in which there is a need to introduce such an observer, according to some authors.

In this text, the word “anima” is the synonym of the notion of “conscious observer”. The paper discusses subjects from the field of physics and metaphysics in which there is a need to introduce such an observer, according to some authors.

S. Jakowski introduced the discussive prepositional calculus D 2as a basis for a logic which could be used as underlying logic of inconsistent but nontrivial theories (see, for example, N. C. A. da Costa and L. Dubikajtis, On Jakowski's discussive logic, in Non-Classical Logic, Model Theory and Computability, A. I. Arruda, N. C. A da Costa and R. Chuaqui edts., North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1977, 37–56). D 2has afterwards been extended to a first-order predicate calculus and to a higher-order logic (cf. the (...) quoted paper). In this paper we present a natural version of D 2, in the sense of Jakowski and Gentzen; as a consequence, we suggest a new formulation of the discussive predicate calculus (with equality). A semantics for the new calculus is also presented. (shrink)

S. Jaśkowski introduced the discussive propositional calculus D₂ as a basis for a logic which could be used as underlying logic of inconsistent but nontrivial theories. D₂ has afterwards been extended to a first-order predicate calculus and to a higher-order logic. In this paper we present a natural version of D₂, in the sense of Jaśkowski and Gentzen; as a consequence, we suggest a new formulation of the discussive predicate calculus. A semantics for the new calculus is also presented.

Background: Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging is a neuroimaging technique that may be useful for non-invasive mapping of brain temperature over a large brain volume. To date, intra-subject reproducibility of MRSI-based brain temperature has not been investigated. The objective of this repeated measures MRSI-t study was to establish intra-subject reproducibility and repeatability of brain temperature, as well as typical brain temperature range.Methods: Healthy participants aged 23–46 years were scanned at two time points ~12-weeks apart. Volumetric MRSI data were processed by reconstructing (...) metabolite and water images using parametric spectral analysis. Brain temperature was derived using the frequency difference between water and creatine for 47 regions of interest delineated by the modified Automated Anatomical Labeling atlas. Reproducibility was measured using the coefficient of variation for repeated measures, and repeatability was determined using the standard error of measurement. For each region, the upper and lower bounds of Minimal Detectable Change were established to characterize the typical range of TCRE values.Results: The mean global brain temperature over all subjects was 37.2°C with spatial variations across ROIs. There was a significant main effect for time [F = 37.0, p < 0.0001] and for brain region [F = 2.66, p < 0.0001]. The time*brain region interaction was not significant [F = 0.80, p = 0.83]. Participants' TCRE was stable for each ROI across both time points, with ROIs' COVrep ranging from 0.81 to 3.08% ; majority of ROIs had a COVrep <2.0%.Conclusions: Brain temperature measurements were highly consistent between both time points, indicating high reproducibility and repeatability of MRSI-t. MRSI-t may be a promising diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic tool for non-invasively monitoring brain temperature changes in health and disease. However, further studies of healthy participants with larger sample size and numerous repeated acquisitions are imperative for establishing a reference range of typical brain TCRE, as well as the threshold above which TCRE is likely pathological. (shrink)

Stanisław Brzozowski was under the influence of Romanticism in the area of philosophy and ethics as he says. He managed to cover a lot of topics in letters and theories. In this way deed philosophy and then work philosophy appeared. Although Brzozowski was a discursively receptive and changeable person. His "Legenda Młodej Polski" includes the intense analysis and widespread criticism of Polish Romanticism but the idea of romanticism was valued more than German philosophy. The attitude towards Polish Romanticism (...) was used to change from the great period of fundamental changes in national movement to magical feelings. Having your head in the clouds at the same time. He was a great believer in a human being that acts through creative work. The effect of this not subjected world was the result of efforts, work and was equally basic to change the world. Work enabled the adequate recognition of himself and others. (shrink)

Jerzy Perzanowski s ideas were based on an original blend of logic and ontology in what he called onto/logic, where the slash is meant to suggest a quotient of ontology by logic. Perzanowski began as a logician, his early works being on modal logic, then gradually shifted his interest to logical philosophy, meaning not so much philosophy of logic as philosophy informed by logic. Perzanowski was a rare breed of analytical philosopher who thought that a philosophical theory of everything (...) was worthwhile. In this systematic spirit, he began with method. He presented his method of total analysis and synthesis quite simply: reduce the object of research to its simplest possible constituents, and then combine them in some way. Better still, combine them in every possible way, thereby producing a space of possibilities analogous to (and in certain cases identical with) the logical space. Thus, analysis and synthesis differ from a trivial disassembly and reassembly.". (shrink)