The present volume is the first comprehensive reference work for research on part-whole relations. The Handbook of Mereology offers a wide scope, inclusive presentation of contemporary research on part-whole relations that draws out systematic, historical, and interdisciplinary trajectories, shows the subject’s fertility, and inspires future explorations. In particular, we want to impress that mereology is much more than the study of axiomatised systems. The relationship between part and whole is a basic schema of cognitive organisation that operates not only at (...) the level of language and propositional thought, but also at the level of sensory input processing, especially visual and auditory. In the natural, social, and human sciences, as well as in the Humanities, part-whole relations organize all three: data domains, methods, and theories. In short, part-whole relations play a fundamental role in how we perceive and interact with nature, how we speak and think about the world and ourselves, as societies and as individuals. (shrink)

As far as the law of preservation of matter and the existence of ether are concerned, Kant, Lomonossow and Lavoisier had very similar views. Nevertheless, according to historical evidence they worked out their theories never taking each other's results for granted. Whereas it is well known that Lavoisier did not base his experiments on the former ones by Lomonossow, it has been argued that Kant based his philosophy of nature on Lavoisier's experiments. I try to show here, that Kant had (...) his philosophy of nature done, prior to Lavoisier's Elements of Chemistry. Further that the only one to have been able to influence Kant was not Lavoisier but Lomonossow. But Kant never mentioned Lomonossow. There is strong evidence that the similarity of views in Kant, Lomonossow and Lavoisier is not due to any kind of interaction between them. This also holds of the mistakes, which Kant and Lomonossow made. The only substantial difference is that Kant thought, that some laws of nature may be logically inferred without experiments. (shrink)

Petrus Hispanus, Logische Abhandlungen. Foreword by H. Burkhardt. Introductions by W. Degen and B. Pabst. Translated into German by W. Degen and B. Pabst. Munich: Philosophia, 2006. XXVIII + viii +...

In this article, I offer two different formalizations for prescriptions which correspond to two different forms of biblical prohibitions. I discuss the known fact that the prohibitive commandments of the Decalogue according to the Septuagint and the Vulgate, Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5, are formulated with normative future tense indicatives. However, the Greek and Latin sources provide in Mark 10:19 variants of five biblical prohibitive commandments which are formulated with prohibitive subjunctives. I argue that there are semantic differences between normative (...) future tense indicatives and prohibitive subjunctives. These semantic differences are of importance for the understanding of the Decalogue. (shrink)

This article discusses rationality gaps triggered by self-referential/cyclic choice, the latter being understood as choosing according to a norm that refers to the choosing itself. The Crocodile Paradox is reformulated and analyzed as a game—named CP—whose Nash equilibrium is shown to trigger a cyclic choice and to invite a rationality gap. It is shown that choosing the Nash equilibrium of CP conforms to the principles Wolfgang Spohn and Haim Gaifman introduced to, allegedly, guarantee acyclicity but, in fact, does not prevent (...) self-referential/cyclic choice and rationality gaps. It is shown that CP is a counter-example to Gaifman's solution of the rationality gaps problem. (shrink)

In this paper several assumptions concerning omniscience and future contingents on the one side, and omniscience and self-reference on the other, areexamined with respect to a classical and a three-valued semantic setting (the latter pertains especially to Łukasiewicz’s, Kleene’s and Blau’s three-valued logics).Interesting features of both settings are highlighted and their basic assumptions concerning omniscience are explored. To generate a context in which the notion of omniscience does not deviate from some basic intuitions, two special futurity operators are introduced in (...) this article: one for what will definitely take place and another one for what is indeterminate as to whether it will take place. Once these operators are introduced, some puzzles about omniscience in combination with future contingents are removed. An analogous solution to some puzzles concerning omniscience and selfreferentiality is also provided. (shrink)

An eleventh-century Greek text, in which a fourth-century patristic text is discussed, gives an outline of a solution to the Liar Paradox. The eleventh-century text is probably the first medieval treatment of the Liar. Long passages from both texts are translated in this article. The solution to the Liar Paradox, which they entail, is analysed and compared with the results of modern scholarship on several Latin solutions to this paradox. It is found to be a solution, which bears some analogies (...) to contemporary game semantics. Further, an overview of other Byzantine scholia on the Liar Paradox is provided. The findings and the originality of the discussed solution to the Liar Paradox suggest a change in the way in which Byzantine Logic is traditionally regarded in contemporary scholarship. (shrink)

Die Studie stellt einen direkten Vergleich zwischen der Scholastik und der byzantinischen Philosophie und Theologie dar. Sie stellt Lehren der Philosophie und Theologie des Hoch- und Spätmittelalters einander gegenüber und bespricht diese in kritischer, jedenfalls nicht in doxographischer Hinsicht. Die Zeitlogik hat ihren Ursprung in der Antike. In der Spätantike und insbesondere im Mittelalter erlangten ihre Resultate auch eine theologische und politische Brisanz. Das Studium der Semantik von Sätzen über Zukunftsereignisse, die eintreten oder auch ausbleiben können, sowie das Studium der (...) Semantik von Sätzen über Vergangenheitsereignisse lehren uns Einiges über Zukunftserwartungen. Zusätzlich ist der Vergleich lateinischer und griechischer mittelalterlicher Quellen zur Zeitlogik bezeichnend für die Reichweite der philosophischen Reflektion in der mittelalterlichen Weltanschauung. (shrink)

I try to explain the difference between three kinds of negation: external negation, negation of the predicate and privation. Further I use polygons of opposition as heuristic devices to show that a logic which contains all three mentioned kinds of negation must be a fragment of a Łukasiewicz-four-valued predicate logic. I show, further, that, this analysis can be elaborated so as to comprise additional kinds of privation. This would increase the truth-values in question and bring fragments of (more generally speaking) (...) Łukasiewicz-n-valued predicate logics into the scene. (shrink)

The square of opposition is a diagram related to a theory of oppositions that goes back to Aristotle. Both the diagram and the theory have been discussed throughout the history of logic. Initially, the diagram was employed to present the Aristotelian theory of quantification, but extensions and criticisms of this theory have resulted in various other diagrams. The strength of the theory is that it is at the same time fairly simple and quite rich. The theory of oppositions has recently (...) become a topic of intense interest due to the development of a general geometry of opposition (polygons and polyhedra) with many applications. A congress on the square with an interdisciplinary character has been organized on a regular basis (Montreux 2007, Corsica 2010, Beirut 2012, Vatican 2014, Rapa Nui 2016). The volume at hand is a sequel to two successful books: The Square of Opposition - A General Framework of Cognition, ed. by J.-Y. Béziau & G. Payette, as well as Around and beyond the Square of Opposition, ed. by J.-Y. Béziau & D. Jacquette, and, like those, a collection of selected peer-reviewed papers. The idea of this new volume is to maintain a good equilibrium between history, technical developments and applications. The volume is likely to attract a wide spectrum of readers, mathematicians, philosophers, linguists, psychologists and computer scientists, who may range from undergraduate students to advanced researchers. (shrink)

After a short presentation of Aristotle’s views on morally acceptable pleasures vis-á-vis the hedonist and the Platonic views, the Byzantine commentaries published in CAG 19.2 and 20 on knowledge as pleasure are discussed. It is shown that the Byzantine commentators are eventually keen in discovering problems in the Aristotelian account, in a way reminiscent of their Christian premises and akin to Platonism.

Aristotle produced several arguments to vindicate the futura contingentia and to refute the conception of modalities which do not allow incidental facts. This conception was coined mainly by Diodorus Cronus and implied the view that whatever may happen, is to happen necessarily. Although Aristotle condemned this view and refuted the theology which it implies, Diodorean modalities were employed by the scholastics to support their theology. Abaelard’s Diodorean formula reads: God wishes no more and no less than what He is able (...) to do – i. e. God’s ability to do something implies necessity. In the Summa theologiae, Thomas Aquinas employed Diodorean modalities along with this result of Abaelard’s. Leibniz himself confessed his debt to Diodorean modalities as well as to the work of Abaelard in formulating his own ontological proof. Kurt Gödel was under the influence of Leibniz when he wrote his »Ontological Proof«, which employs Diodorean modalities. — For the Greek-speaking scholars of the Middle Ages, however, Aristotelian influences were stronger than Diodorean as regards theory building on modalities. Philosophers from the East from the 2nd to the 11th century A.D., such as Alexander of Aphrodisias, John Philoponus and Michael Psellos, condemned Diodorean modalities as fallacious. In the same period, Greek Church Fathers such as Cyril of Alexandria, Maximus Confessor and John of Damascus gave an orthodox account of God and the modalities, according to which God is able to do whatever He wishes. The absence of Leibniz-like modal ontological proofs in the Greek tradition seems more plausible under these circumstances. (shrink)

Aristotle produced several arguments to vindicate the futura contingentia and to refute the conception of modalities which do not allow incidental facts. This conception was coined mainly by Diodorus Cronus and implied the view that whatever may happen, is to happen necessarily. Although Aristotle condemned this view and refuted the theology which it implies, Diodorean modalities were employed by the scholastics to support their theology. Abaelard's Diodorean formula reads: God wishes no more and no less than what He is able (...) to do - i. e. God's ability to do something implies necessity. In the Summa theologiae, Thomas Aquinas employed Diodorean modalities along with this result of Abaelard's. Leibniz himself confessed his debt to Diodorean modalities as well as to the work of Abaelard in formulating his own ontological proof. Kurt Gödel was under the influence of Leibniz when he wrote his »Ontological Proof«, which employs Diodorean modalities. — For the Greek-speaking scholars of the Middle Ages, however, Aristotelian influences were stronger than Diodorean as regards theory building on modalities. Philosophers from the East from the 2nd to the 11th century A.D., such as Alexander of Aphrodisias, John Philoponus and Michael Psellos, condemned Diodorean modalities as fallacious. In the same period, Greek Church Fathers such as Cyril of Alexandria, Maximus Confessor and John of Damascus gave an orthodox account of God and the modalities, according to which God is able to do whatever He wishes. The absence of Leibniz-like modal ontological proofs in the Greek tradition seems more plausible under these circumstances. (shrink)

The feasibility of posthumous reproduction when the surviving partner is female has brought to light many ethical, moral, social, and legal issues. This review aims to summarize these issues and to assist clinicians who may be faced with such requests. A question list, used for health technologies assessment, was utilized in a question-answer approach as the review methodology. Of the 1,208 publications identified through a comprehensive literature search in biomedical, psychological, and ethical databases, 31 articles included arguments related to one (...) or more questions from the predefined question set. Key stakeholders identified include the deceased, the requesting party, the resultant child, the physician, and society. Key ethical issues relevant to posthumous reproduction include the four traditional pillars of medical ethics—autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice—as well as the stakeholders’ rights and sociocultural attitudes. The ethical framework formulated by these issues has been incorporated in a clinical ethics decision-making tool that could prove useful to clinicians and decision makers. (shrink)

Dans ce livre, compos de deux volets, mon intention est de confronter l'humanisme ancien l'humanisme moderne.

Comme une symphonie, la justice s’écoute et se déchiffre grâce aux notes qui la composent. Le résultat est l’effet dynamique des notes. On ne dit pas ce qu’est la justice, mais ce qui est conforme à la justice qui fait partie de nous, de l’Être et de la société. Dans la symphonie de la justice, le droit ou les droits interviennent comme une sorte d’interludes pour assurer l’oralité et les tonalités musicales de la justice.Le droit ou les droits prescrivent les (...) contours de la justice. Les interludes garantissent l’accord des discordants dans une cohésion sonore qui témoigne de proportions musicales. Dans ce livre, nous proposons une nouvelle lecture de la culture juridique et politique des Hellènes ainsi que les perspectives qu’elle ouvre pour la postmodernité, autour des chapitres suivants : a. Le cosmos chez les Hellènes. Le droit en éthique et politique ; b. Le pathétique philosophique et tragique dans la musique de la physis ; c. Les harmoniques du dikaion physikon (droit naturel) et les notes de la dialectique dans l’univers de la justice politique ; d. L’existence et la personne avec les prétendants de la justice dans les interludes de l’Être ; e. Les interludes de la justice personnaliste moderne ; f. Les revenants grecs dans les visions d’aujourd’hui. (shrink)

Qu'est-ce que la personne ? (Armand Collin, 1999), la Personne, l'humanisme et le droit (Presses de l'Université de Laval, 2002) et La Personne, criminel et victime constituent une trilogie mettant en lumière la personne, dans ses ...

Dans ce livre, nous explorons la philosophie du marquis de Sade dans ses perspectives, morale, juridique, politique et sociale à travers l' enchantement des sens, du coeur et de l'esprit. Son incantation des abimes existentiels dévoile l'actualité de ses idées dans le monde d'aujourd'hui. Sade fasciné par le roi-philosophe platonicien donne sa propre version situe ce personnage dans le monde moderne. Les héros sadiens semblent se mouvoir dans l'univers de Dom Juan. Il tempère l'optimisme de la Révolution française nous offrant (...) sa propre conception de la mise à mort de Louis XVI. Tributaire sans doute des sophistes, il déconstruit le mythe du contrat social. Enfin, l'optique kaléidoscopique du marquis pour décortiquer les phénomènes du monde donne accès à des interprétations originales de grands événements qui ont marqué l'Histoire (i.e. la psychologie du bourreau des victimes juives) Par ses connaissances approfondies tant des Anciens que des Modernes, Sade concède à ses lecteurs une riche culture sur Dieu, l'individu, le peuple et ses gouvernants ainsi que le tableau de plusieurs formes de l'humanisme qui a traversé la civilisation occidentale. Sans préjugés, il fait la dissection de l'homme et des phénomènes en interférence avec la force des plaisirs qui porte tant l'habit de l'impérium que celui du dominium. (shrink)

La criminologie de l'acte se donne pour tâche de connaître, comprendre et expliquer l'acte criminel dans sa réalité sociale (l'actuel), afin de pouvoir proposer des mesures préventives. A l'aide de la philosophie pénale, discipline qui cherche le sens profond et les valeurs intrinsèques des choses, elle vise à dépasser tout excès auquel est enclin l'utilitarisme. A partir de la philosophie pénale, la criminologie de l'acte recherche la dimension réaliste de la justice, analysant de façon critique son être et ses finalités (...) (la dimension onto-axiologique du juste). La criminologie de l'acte et la philosophie pénale étudient le délinquant et la victime en fonction de leur qualité de personne: individus pourvus des droits fondamentaux qui garantissent leur dignité. Or, sans cette dimension éthique, la victime restera blessée, malgré les dédommagements matériels, et le criminel manquera sa meilleure occasion de se reconstruire comme membre créateur de la destinée communautaire. Cet ouvrage est destiné à tous ceux qui, étudiants en droit, philosophie, sociologie ou psychologie, souhaitent approfondir leur connaissance du phénomène criminel en tant qu'il met en jeu et interroge les fondements éthiques de nos sociétés occidentales. (shrink)

Qu'est-ce que la loi? Et d'ailleurs, qui la connaît? Protéiforme et polysémique, elle semble avoir envahi tous les moments de notre existence. Elle régit aujourd'hui jusqu'au plus petit détail de la vie. Pourtant, dans le même temps, elle semble avoir sensiblement perdu de son autorité sociale, au point que nombre de nos concitoyens, tout en l'ignorant, la violent. Ce n'est pas tout. La loi est même parfois consciemment transgressée au nom des droits individuels ou bien au nom du droit humanitaire. (...) Quels sont alors les rapports entre la loi et ces expressions du droit? Toute l'actualité du sujet peut se poser ainsi sans la loi, notre société ne saurait exister. Seul l'ordre juridique peut assurer une symbiose entre les citoyens et les différentes communautés. Grâce à la loi peut se construire l'Europe. La loi devient le symbole de l'union et, par là, la condition fondamentale de la cohésion des cultures. La loi peut-elle pourtant redonner à l'Europe ses lettres de noblesse, alors qu'une loi inique, voire une erreur judiciaire fondée sur la loi, peuvent transformer un Etat démocratique en dictature? La loi garantira-t-elle notre culture? La diversité des opinions et la grande richesse des personnalités qui ont accepté de collaborer à cette réflexion sur les visages de la loi, contribuent à apporter à l'ensemble de ces interrogations des réponses à la fois originales et ouvertes sur notre monde en pleine évolution. (shrink)

La justice classique relève de la vision dialectique des choses cosmologiques. Dans le cadre de la polis, elle est le fruit de la dialectique didactique. Elle est liée à la prudence et appartient à la sphère de la science politique. La justice hellénique est d'une nature éthique car elle poursuit le kalon : ce qui est moralement beau. D'ailleurs, le science politique étudie en commun la noblesse morale et ce qui est juste. La dikaiosynè se rapporte au politès, le membre (...) de la cité, membre qui participe à l'histoire de cette dernière. L'homme juste incarne l'idéal politique du kalos kagathos politès. Les droits de l'homme concernent en revanche un être humain a-historique. Ils figurent le ratio iuris d'un statut abstrait et se rattachent à une morale utilitaire. Il s'agit des droits absolus qui reposent sur la volonté de posséder et d'agir. Cette volonté, loin de viser à un juste partage, doit satisfaire la nécessité de la coexistence des individus. Tout n'est pourtant pas négatif dans la conception des droits de l'homme. Etroitement liés à des idéologies politiques, ils seront récupérés par des protagonistes nationaux des pays qui se trouvent sous le joug de l'esclavage. Nous faisons allusion au cas de Régas Pheraios. Ce héros grec donnera une interprétation déformée des droits de l'homme, afin de défendre des causes nationales: la libération de la Grèce et des autres pays balkaniques de l'empire ottoman. Les monarques de l'Europe n'étaient pas très favorables à un changement du statu quo en Europe. Ainsi les droits de l'homme impliquent finalement l'idée que le despotisme ne saurait être éternel. (shrink)