This paper argues that the positive allocative decisions paradigmatically carried out by the application of legal rules are a necessary condition for arguments about particular justice (i.e., distributive and commutative justice) to make sense. If one shifts the focus from the distinction between distributive and commutative justice to what the two aspects of particular justice are for, namely, providing criteria to judge the allocation of goods, it becomes clear that the distinction is conceptually unstable. The paper argues that stabilizing the (...) distinction is worthwhile and that this can only be accomplished by the introduction of positive allocation schemes. (shrink)

The ability to identify all legally salient properties within a complex situation is a subjective trait necessarily possessed by a lawful person. This ability is better explained as a type of perception. The paper puts forward an account of the perception of legally salient properties in which perception affords a preliminary ordering of the total information received while allowing for the formation of a remainder that explains the peripheral legal perception experienced legal practitioners develop over time. After this account of (...) legal perception is in place, the paper considers the relationship between this aspect of subjectivity and complete virtue, in particular, practical wisdom and lawfulness. (shrink)

Successful accounts of analogy in law have two burdens to discharge. First, they must reflect the fact that the conclusion of an argument by analogy is a normative claim about how to decide a certain case. Second, they must not fail to accord relevance to the fact that the source case was authoritatively decided in a certain way. We argue in the first half of this paper that the common view of the structure of analogical arguments in law cannot overcome (...) these hurdles. In the second half we develop an original account that aims to succeed where others failed. (shrink)

This short piece is the introduction to the Special Issue on ‘Virtue and the Law’ published by Jurisprudence in March 2019 (vol 9, issue 1). It explains the scope of the project and its place in the unfolding of virtue jurisprudence that has occurred in the past few decades, as well as introducing the topics addressed in the volume. In the first couple of pages the authors/editors outline a very brief genealogy of virtue jurisprudence and of its relation to both (...) legal theory and virtue theory. The rest of the text presents the contributions to the volume in turn, identifying some of the substantive issues addressed by each of them and their place in the investigation of the interface between virtue theory and legal theory. (shrink)

En este trabajo nos proponemos acercarnos a la noción del conocimiento simbólico en la obra de Gottfried Leibniz, rastreándola en diversos textos de su autoría en que se encuentra diseminada. Comenzamos con la importante distinción entre idea y concepto, que separa el planteo de nuestro autor de las formulaciones de otros como Descartes, Malebranche y Spinoza. Seguimos con la clasificación de los tipos de conceptos que el filósofo de Leipzig lleva acabo, en la que divide a los conceptos simbólicos de (...) los intuitivos. Abordamos después las ventajas epistemológicas que presenta el pensamiento simbólico frente al pensamiento verbal, analizando sus funciones cognitivas y su rol en diferentes tipos de sistemas semióticos. Continuamos asentando el simbolismo epistemológico dentro de una teoría general de la representación, que sostiene cierto isomorfismo entre las esferas del lenguaje, el pensamiento y la realidad. Finalmente, fundamentamos ontológicamente esta analogía representativa estructural en la noción leibniziana de expresión y la vinculamos con el perspectivismo monadológico, poniendo de relieve su cercanía con algunos planteos fenomenológicos y hermenéuticos de nuestros días. (shrink)

For fifty years the philosophy of language has been experiencing a stalemating conflict between the old descriptive and internalist orthodoxy (advocated by philosophers such as Frege, Russell, Wittgenstein, Strawson, and Searle) and the new causal-referential and externalist orthodoxy (mainly endorsed by Kripke, Putnam, and Kaplan). Although the latter is dominant among specialists, the former retains a discomforting intuitive plausibility. The ultimate goal of this book is to overcome the stalemate by means of a non-naïve return to the old descriptivist-internalist orthodoxy. (...) Concerning proper names, this means introducing second-order description-rules capable of systemizing descriptions of the proper name’s cluster to provide us with the right changeable conditions of satisfaction for its application. Such rules can explain how a proper name can become a rigid designator while remaining descriptive, disarming Kripke's and Donnellan’s main objections. In the last chapter, this new perspective is extended to indexicals in a discussion of David Kaplan’s and John Perry’s views, and of general terms, in a discussion of Hilary Putnam’s externalism. (shrink)

International regulation of autonomous weapon systems (AWS) is increasingly conceived as an exercise in risk management. This requires a shared approach for assessing the risks of AWS. This paper presents a structured approach to risk assessment and regulation for AWS, adapting a qualitative framework inspired by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It examines the interactions among key risk factors—determinants, drivers, and types—to evaluate the risk magnitude of AWS and establish risk tolerance thresholds through a risk matrix informed by (...) background knowledge of event likelihood and severity. Further, it proposes a methodology to assess community risk appetite, emphasizing that such assessments and resulting tolerance levels should be determined through deliberation in a multistakeholder forum. The paper highlights the complexities of applying risk-based regulations to AWS internationally, particularly the challenge of defining a global community for risk assessment and regulatory legitimization. (shrink)

Composition is Identity is the thesis that a whole is, strict and literally, its parts considered collectively. Mereological Nihilism is the thesis that there are no composite objects whatsoever instead. This paper argues that they are equivalent, at least insofar as Composition is Identity is phrased in a particular way. It then addresses some consequences of such equivalence.

This paper provides new arguments for the following claim: either strong composition as identity cannot retain the full strength of both the logical principles of one-one identity and its semantical principles or it only delivers cases of boring composition in that it entails mereological nihilism.

This is a brief sequel to Max Black 's classic dialogue on the Identity of Indiscernibles. Interlocutor A defends the bundle theory by endorsing the view according to which Black 's world does not contain two indiscernible spheres but rather a single, bi-located sphere. His opponent, B, objects that A cannot distinguish such a world from a world with a single, uniquely located sphere, hence that the view in question adds nothing to A's original response to Black 's challenge. A (...) is simply denying that there can be worlds with two or more indiscernible entities. (shrink)

David Lewis famously endorsed Unrestricted Composition. His defense of such a controversial principle builds on the alleged innocence of mereology. This innocence defense has come under different attacks in the last decades. In this paper I pursue another line of defense, that stems from some early remarks by van Inwagen. I argue that Unrestricted Composition leads to a better metaphysics. In particular I provide new arguments for the following claims: Unrestricted Composition entails extensionality of composition, functionality of location and four-dimensionalism (...) in the metaphysics of persistence. Its endorsement yields an impressively coherent and powerful metaphysical picture. This picture shows a universe that might not be innocent but it is certainly elegant. (shrink)

Composition as Identity is the thesis that a whole is, strictly and literally, identical to its parts, considered collectively. McDaniel [2008] argues against CAI in that it prohibits emergent properties. Recently Sider [2014] exploited the resources of plural logic and extensional mereology to undermine McDaniel’s argument. He shows that CAI identifies extensionally equivalent pluralities – he calls it the Collapse Principle – and then shows how this identification rescues CAI from the emergentist argument. In this paper I first give a (...) new generalized version of both the arguments. It is more general in that it does not presuppose an atomistic mereology. I then go on to argue that the consequences of CP are rather radical. It entails mereological nihilism, the view that there are only mereological atoms. I finally show that, given a mild assumption about property instantiation, namely that there are no un-instantiated properties, this argument entails that CAI and emergent properties are incompatible after all. (shrink)

We address Steel’s Programme to identify a ‘preferred’ universe of set theory and the best axioms extending $\mathsf {ZFC}$ by using his multiverse axioms $\mathsf {MV}$ and the ‘core hypothesis’. In the first part, we examine the evidential framework for $\mathsf {MV}$, in particular the use of large cardinals and of ‘worlds’ obtained through forcing to ‘represent’ alternative extensions of $\mathsf {ZFC}$. In the second part, we address the existence and the possible features of the core of $\mathsf {MV}_T$ (where (...) T is $\mathsf {ZFC}$ +Large Cardinals). In the last part, we discuss the hypothesis that the core is Ultimate-L, and examine whether and how, based on this fact, the Core Universist can justify V=Ultimate-L as the best (and ultimate) extension of $\mathsf {ZFC}$. To this end, we take into account several strategies, and assess their prospects in the light of $\mathsf {MV}$ ’s evidential framework. (shrink)

Este trabalho estabelece um diálogo entre o discurso filosófico e literário. Os autores que fundamentam esta tentativa são John Dewey e George Orwell. Pensamento Reflexivo e Comunicação são os conceitos aqui empregados. A assim chamada novilíngua tem, na obra de Orwell, a pretensão de restringir o próprio pensamento individual manipulando o processo social da comunicação. Discutir sobre a possibilidade de uma manipulação em massa da mentalidade conduz a um exame crítico das noções presentes no pensamento deweyano sobre educação.

Examina a relação entre a leitura e os programas computacionais de mineração de textos, no contexto das Humanidades Digitais (HD). Através da pesquisa bibliográfica e da reunião de fontes textuais relevantes para o argumento, esta relação é descrita sob a forma de uma simbiose entre o ser humano e o computador, nos termos propostos inicialmente por Asimov (2005). Uma concepção da leitura como operação da inteligência é posta em diálogo com o conceito e as aplicações da mineração de textos. Da (...) reflexão sobre a simbiose entre leitura e mineração de textos é obtido, como resultado, um ponto de vista em relação às HD, entendida como um conjunto de estratégias para o crescimento e a adaptação da cultura humana no ambiente digital. (shrink)

Este estudo reflete sobre fundamentos epistemológicos da ciência da informação. Segue métodos compatíveis com a reflexão epistemológica, baseia-se numa pesquisa bibliográfica de autores e temáticas relevantes à construção do argumento. Analisa os trabalhos recuperados mediante a interpretação crítica de suas teses. A hipótese que mobiliza a discussão é a de que a teoria objetiva do conhecimento, da qual resulta a noção de ‘mundo 3’ de Karl Popper, tem consequências relevantes para uma concepção epistemológica da informação e, consequentemente, da ciência da (...) informação. Apresenta uma interpretação do ‘mundo 3’, em sintonia com os fundamentos da ciência da informação, com base no exame das evidências encontradas nas obras do próprio Popper. Trabalhos de autores da ciência da informação que se referem às teorias de Popper são discutidos, a fim de fundamentar a linha interpretativa do argumento. Conclui-se por uma identificação entre o ‘mundo 3’ de Popper e a cultura humana. Disto resulta a noção de um processo evolutivo da informação, no qual a ciência da informação desempenha um papel relevante. Nesta imagem, a ciência da informação teria a função de moldar o ambiente, substituindo a informação desordenada pela informação cultivada e criada para interesses produtivos humanos. (shrink)

The relation between noise and disturbance is investigated within the general framework of Galois connections. Within this framework, we introduce the notion of leak of information, mathematically defined as one of the two closure maps arising from the observable-channel compatibility relation. We provide a physical interpretation for it, and we give a comparison with the analogous closure maps associated with joint measurability and simulability for quantum observables.

In the present work we provide a logical analysis of normatively determined and non-determined propositions. The normative status of these propositions depends on their relation with another proposition, here named reference proposition. Using a formal language that includes a monadic operator of obligation, we define eight dyadic operators that represent various notions of “being normatively (non-)determined”; then, we group them into two families, each forming an Aristotelian square of opposition. Finally, we show how the two resulting squares can be combined (...) to form an Aristotelian cube of opposition. (shrink)

La justicia social internacional -- La participación política en América Latin -- Apuntes acerca de la dialéctica democracia-autoritarismo en América Latina.

The present article is devoted to a logical inquiry on the notions of permanence and termination, which play a central role in many areas of temporal reasoning. In the first part, we introduce a bimodal framework to represent these notions and provide a syntactic and semantic comparison with a monomodal framework representing the notion of future necessity. In the second part, we focus on the problem of defining synonymous logical systems over the two frameworks; as an example, we provide an (...) extended analysis of two systems, the monomodal K4 and the bimodal S4X. The third part of the article indicates possible developments of the proposed line of inquiry, such as finding a simple representation in the bimodal language of some interesting properties of time and identifying further pairs of synonymous systems. (shrink)

In this article we follow the reception made by Augustine of Hippo of the Manichean myth; in this we see his visceral reaction against the doctrine of Mani, since –in addition to the apologetic elements properly– there is a clear attempt to take psychological distance from a religious experience that marked it in depth, in every way. In this controversial context we can also discern central aspects of a text that had liturgical value and which, as such, was of capital (...) importance to the Manichaean communities. This Augustinian reading has as horizon the near collapse of the Roman Empire of the West and the ever-increasing confrontation of Constantinople with Persian Empire, the mobility of its borders and the partly political and partly religious persecutions that Manichaeism underwent. (shrink)

The arrow paradox is an argument purported to show that objects do not really move. The two main metaphysics of motion, the At–At theory of motion and velocity primitivism, solve the paradox differently. It is argued that neither solution is completely satisfactory. In particular it is contended that there are no decisive arguments in favor of the claim that velocity as it is constructed in the At–At theory is a truly instantaneous property, which is a crucial assumption to solve the (...) paradox. If so the At–At theory faces the threat that most of our physical theories turn out to be non-Markovian. Finally it is considered whether all those threats and paradoxes are dispelled if only a new metaphysics of persistence is taken into account, namely four-dimensionalism. (shrink)

In this paper, we address an infamous argument against divisibility that dates back to Zeno. There has been an incredible amount of discussion on how to understand the critical notions of divisibility, extension, and infinite divisibility that are crucial for the very formulation of the argument. The paper provides new and rigorous definitions of those notions using the formal theories of parthood and location. Also, it provides a new solution to the paradox of divisibility which does not face some threats (...) that can possibly undermine the standard Lebesgue measure solution to such a paradox. (shrink)

Historical discourses in cinema have generally given rise to cinematographic genres. In Chilean fiction films, however, a different scope is necessary to study its discourses. This essay proposes that it is possible to recognize three main aesthetic strategies by which Chilean fiction films use historical discourse in order to produce certain “verisimilitude effects”: contextual comment, hegemonic or counterhegemonic reinforcement, and narrative subordination.

In questo lavoro si presenta un nuovo esperimento mentale che solleva un particolare problema per quello che possiamo chiamare “fisicalismo minimale” in filosofia della mente. In particolare si argomenta che il fisicalismo minimale o i) non è in grado di fornirne un resoconto adeguato dell’esperimento mentale presentato, o ii) viene costretto a fornire un resoconto che è fortemente in contrasto con la nostra immagine scientifica del mondo. Il problema sollevato è un particolare esempio di quelli che Chalmers (1996) definisce hard (...) problems in filosofia della mente. Questa è la struttura del lavoro. Nella sezione 2. si presenta l’esperimento mentale, che chiameremo di Shem-Shaun1. Nella sezione 3. illustriamo il nostro argomento principale contro il fisicalismo minimale a partire dall’esperimento mentale della sezione precedente. Nella sezione conclusiva si discutono diversi modi di controbattere all’argomento principale e le sue conseguenze per il fisicalismo. (shrink)

In this article we explore the semantic category of graduation, specifically force, which builds the symbolic dimension of time in historical discourses. Our aim is to provide a more refined and extensive theoretical framework to analyse the symbolic construction of time in historical discourses – one that allows us to take into consideration how social, political and economic processes and events are represented and valued in historical discourses. We propose that this symbolic ‘scenification’ of time is constructed in the discourse (...) by a combination and accumulation of congruent and metaphorical lexico-grammatical resources. In this manner, meanings of quantification of time as duration and sequencing tend to be expressed in a more congruent way, whereas meanings of intensification of time as accelerating, deepening and expectation tend to be expressed in a more metaphorical manner by means of processes and nominalizations. The chronological dimension of time imbricates the symbolic dimension in a way that allows historians and sociologists to legitimate particular historical memories of the recent Chilean past. (shrink)

The author traces the main outlines of the scientific work and teaching of the late Professor Giuliano Marini, who was a distinguished member of the Scientific Board of the «Archivio di storia della cultura» since its foundation in 1988.