The exchange of goods and services between individuals is often formalised by a contract in which the parties establish norms to define what is expected of each one. Norms use deontic statements of obligation, prohibition, and permission, which may be in conflict. The task of manually detecting norm conflicts can be time–consuming and error-prone since contracts can be vast and complex. To automate such tasks, we develop an approach to identify potential conflicts between norms. We show the effectiveness of our (...) approach and its individual components empirically using two publicly available corpora, and contribute with a new annotated test corpus for norm conflict identification. (shrink)

The behaviour of autonomous agents may deviate from that deemed to be for the good of the societal systems of which they are a part. Norms have therefore been proposed as a means to regulate agent behaviours in open and dynamic systems, where these norms specify the obliged, permitted and prohibited behaviours of agents. Regulation can effectively be achieved through use of enforcement mechanisms that result in a net loss of utility for an agent in cases where the agent’s behaviour (...) fails to comply with the norms. Recognition of compliance is thus crucial for achieving regulation. In this paper, we propose a general framework for observation of agents’ behaviour, and recognition of this behaviour as constituting, or counting as, compliance or violation. The framework deploys monitors that receive inputs from trusted observers, and processes these inputs together with transition network representations of individual norms. In this way, monitors determine the fulfillment or violation status of norms. The paper also describes a proof of concept implementation of the framework, and its deployment in electronic contracting environments. (shrink)

In this paper we argue that defenders of Frankfurt-style counterexamples to the Principle of Alternative Possibilities do not need to construct a metaphysically possible scenario in which an agent is morally responsible despite lacking the ability to do otherwise. Rather, there is a weaker (but equally legitimate) sense in which Frankfurt-style counterexamples can succeed. All that's needed is the claim that the ability to do otherwise is no part of what grounds moral responsibility, when the agent is indeed morally responsible.

It’s constitutive of classical theism that there is a necessarily existent personal god who is also the creator of the universe, where the latter claim includes at least the following three theses: (i) God is wholly distinct from the natural world; (ii) God is the originating or sustaining cause of the natural world; and (iii) God created the natural world ex nihilo, i.e., without the use of pre-existing materials. Call this tripartite component of classical theism the classical view of creation. (...) In this paper, I offer a new argument against classical theism. In particular, I argue that creation ex nihilo is prima facie impossible, and that since the doctrine of creation ex nihilo is constitutive of classical theism, classical theism is false. (shrink)

Em Leis, a mousikḗ é restabelecida na constituição da cidade (Magnésia) como um instrumento para a educação dos cidadãos. Segundo o Estrangeiro Ateniense, a regulação e preservação das formas corretas da mousikḗ, através de mélos e skhē̂ma, é também responsável pela manutenção da estabilidade cultural e política de Magnésia. Neste contexto, Platão enuncia um elogio à arte egípcia, que teria mantido o seu estilo e, consequentemente, a política egípcia estáveis por um longo tempo. Este artigo apresentará uma tradução do trecho (...) 653c — 654a e três interpretações contemporâneas deste elogio. Por fim, as interpretações expostas serão avaliadas e uma possibilidade de aproximação entre o elogio platônico e a própria arte egípcia será sugerida, considerando suas prováveis funções sociais, religiosas e políticas. (shrink)

This chapter provides an overview and critical discussion of cosmological arguments for theism, with special focus on the Kalam argument and arguments from contingency.

The primary aim of this chapter is to evaluate whether considerations about a priori domains and abstract objects favor atheism over theism.

This article investigates the relationship between emotional sharing and the extended mind thesis. We argue that shared emotions are socially extended emotions that involve a specific type of constitutive integration between the participating individuals’ emotional experiences. We start by distinguishing two claims, the Environmentally Extended Emotion Thesis and the Socially Extended Emotion Thesis. We then critically discuss some recent influential proposals about the nature of shared emotions. Finally, in Sect. 3, we motivate two conditions that an account of shared emotions (...) ought to accommodate: Reciprocal Other-awareness and Integration. Consideration of and discussion of relational accounts of joint attention lead us to the proposal that a construal of socially extended emotions in terms of a constitutive integration of the participating individuals’ experiences is more promising than proposals that simply appeal to various forms of social situatedness, embeddedness, or scaffolding. (shrink)

O objetivo deste ensaio é passar em revista a crítica que vem sendo elaborada por Lazzarato à concepção “positiva” de poder de Foucault, cuja síntese está no conceito de biopolítica. Isto, tomando como marco balizador o modelo neoliberal de governamentalidade, caro a ambos os autores. O pensamento de Lazzarato acolhe apenas parcialmente a noção foucaultiana – segundo ele demasiadamente ampla e pouco atenta às factualidades históricas (atinentes à financeirização, às relações coloniais centro-periferia, às “guerras totais”, às crises e revoluções ininterruptas) (...) - de “arte liberal de governar”. As ideias de “ação sobre a ação” - de um “governo sobre os comportamentos” cujas técnicas consistiriam em incluir, incitar e produzir - seriam úteis à compreensão apenas de uma das duas faces da governamentalidade neoliberal. Ocultando a outra - a da máquina de guerra que estaria constantemente explorando (pelo trabalho), ocultando e matando - o conceito foucaultiano de biopolítica teria prestado uma espécie de desserviço ao que o Lazzarato chama de teorias críticas contemporâneas: teria induzido estas a um diagnóstico inverossímil e estéril sobre o funcionamento do poder nas sociedades ocidentais liberais e neoliberais contemporâneas. Pois tal conceito teria abdicado categorias imprescindíveis como classes sociais, fascismo, guerra, revolução, financeirização e capital. (shrink)

Don Miguel de Unamuno, sin la menor duda, es el más importante representante de la llamada Generación del 98. Fue un personaje genuinamente heterodoxo, difícilmente clasificable y resueltamente indomable, a la par que ligeramente insociable y pedante. Poseía una cultura vastísima y dominaba todos los géneros literarios, desde la poesía, el drama, el ensayo, hasta la novela. Era, además, filósofo; eso sí, sin escuela. Hasta su forma de filosofar era diferente. Su preocupación principal era la vida, a la cual consideraba (...) trágica; además —y quizás por eso—, su finitud le sacaba de casillas: él quería ser inmortal, por lo que no era extraño que se cuestionara la religión. Todas sus preocupaciones las exponía en sus nivolas: la existencia humana, el hombre concreto, y la problemática religiosa. De ahí que me pregunte si era filósofo existencial o filósofo religioso. Palabras clave: Generación del 98, inmortalidad, nivolas, filosofía existencial, filosofía de la religión, sentimiento trágico de la vida. (shrink)

El narcotráfico no es una realidad nueva en España, pero sí carecía de producciones culturales tales como novelas, series de televisión, películas y piezas musicales tan comunes como populares en América Latina. En la última década la narcocultura comenzó a cimentar en España, con especial énfasis en Galicia. En efecto, al menos a nivel simbólico Galicia ocupa el sitio protagónico como epicentro del narcotráfico. ¿Cómo es representado el narcotráfico en Galicia? ¿Existen diferencias sustanciales entre las narcoficciones gallegas y las latinoamericanas? (...) Este trabajo responde a estas preguntas desde la formulación de tres tesis relacionas con la violencia y el consumo. (shrink)

This book provides an up to date, high-level exchange on God in a uniquely productive style. Readers witness a contemporary version of a classic debate, as two professional philosophers seek to learn from each other while making their cases for their distinct positions. In their dialogue, Joshua Rasmussen and Felipe Leon examine classical and cutting-edge arguments for and against a theistic explanation of general features of reality. The book also provides original lines of thought based on the authors’ own (...) contributions to the field, and offers a productive and innovative inquiry into on one of the biggest questions people ask: what is the ultimate explanation of things? (shrink)

Critical Thinking in Clinical Research explains the fundamentals of clinical research in a case-based approach. The core concept is to combine a clear and concise transfer of information and knowledge with an engagement of the reader to develop a mastery of learning and critical thinking skills. The book addresses the main concepts of clinical research, basics of biostatistics, advanced topics in applied biostatistics, and practical aspects of clinical research, with emphasis on clinical relevance across all medical specialties.

El objetivo de este artículo es dar cuenta de la conexión establecida por Aristóteles entre la stásis y la democracia en el Libro V de la Política. Condiciones básicas de ocurrencia de la stásis en una democracia son la existencia de una desigualdad elemental dentro de la ciudad, la acción de un demagogo que explota esta realidad, y la sensación de injusticia percibida por los pobres. La stásis en la democracia, según un análisis comprensivo de lo expuesto en la Política, (...) no lleva nunca a una situación políticamente mejor o más estable. (shrink)

Replicability is widely taken to ground the epistemic authority of science. However, in recent years, important published findings in the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences have failed to replicate, suggesting that these fields are facing a “replicability crisis.” For philosophers, the crisis should not be taken as bad news but as an opportunity to do work on several fronts, including conceptual analysis, history and philosophy of science, research ethics, and social epistemology. This article introduces philosophers to these discussions. First, I (...) discuss precedents and evidence for the crisis. Second, I discuss methodological, statistical, and social-structural factors that have contributed to the crisis. Third, I focus on the philosophical issues raised by the crisis. Finally, I discuss proposed solutions and highlight the gaps that philosophers could focus on. (shrink)

On a widely held characterization, triadic joint attention is the capacity to perceptually attend to an object or event together with another subject. In the last four decades, research in developmental psychology has provided increasing evidence of the crucial role that this capacity plays in socio-cognitive development, early language acquisition, and the development of perspective-taking. Yet, there is a striking discrepancy between the general agreement that joint attention is critical in various domains, and the lack of theoretical consensus on how (...) to account for it. This paper pursues three interrelated aims: (i) it examines the contrast between reductive and non-reductive views of (triadic) joint attention, by bringing into focus the notion of recursive mindreading; (ii) it assembles, advances, and discusses a number of arguments against reductive views; (iii) finally, in dialogue with some prominent non-reductive views, it outlines the case for a non-reductive view that gives pride of place to the idea that co-attenders relate to one another as a ‘you’. (shrink)

This collection highlights the new trend away from rationalism and toward empiricism in the epistemology of modality. Accordingly, the book represents a wide range of positions on the empirical sources of modal knowledge. Readers will find an introduction that surveys the field and provides a brief overview of the work, which progresses from empirically-sensitive rationalist accounts to fully empiricist accounts of modal knowledge. Early chapters focus on challenges to rationalist theories, essence-based approaches to modal knowledge, and the prospects for naturalizing (...) modal epistemology. The middle chapters present positive accounts that reject rationalism, but which stop short of advocating exclusive appeal to empirical sources of modal knowledge. The final chapters mark a transition toward exclusive reliance on empirical sources of modal knowledge. They explore ways of making similarity-based, analogical, inductive, and abductive arguments for modal claims based on empirical information. Modal epistemology is coming into its own as a field, and this book has the potential to anchor a new research agenda. (shrink)

Neste trabalho, investigo a possibilidade de compatibilidade entre o pessimismo filosófico e a compreensão da morte como um mal para quem morre. Por pessimismo filosófico, compreendo a doutrina filosófica que mantém como tese fundamental que a não-existência é preferível à existência, de modo que o pessimismo é tomado como a filosofia de que a vida não vale a pena ser vivida. Por mal da morte, me refiro à compreensão da morte como um dano para o indivíduo que morre, cujo pressuposto (...) em diferentes abordagens contemporâneas é o de que a morte só é um mal no caso de continuar existindo ser preferível a deixar de existir. Desse modo, o problema discutido é a aparente incompatibilidade entre a tese de que a não-existência é preferível à existência e a tese de que continuar existindo é preferível a deixar de existir. Busco demonstrar que essa (in)compatibilidade depende do modo como fundamentamos o pessimismo filosófico. Para tanto, examino dois argumentos para o pessimismo filosófico e suas implicações para o mal da morte: o argumento a priori de Arthur Schopenhauer e o argumento da assimetria de David Benatar. Concluo que o primeiro desses argumentos nos leva para a conclusão de que a morte não é um mal, mas que o segundo argumento compatibiliza o pessimismo filosófico e a compreensão da morte como um mal para quem morre. (shrink)

. Este artículo se propone discutir las dificultades que pertenecen al ejercicio de pensarnos en cuanto corporales. Guía de estas reflexiones son los índices heideggerianos sobre la corporalidad humana realizados en Zollikoner Seminare. Dichos seminarios advierten que la actual experiencia de nuestro cuerpo, pese a poder ser estimada como inmediata, se halla mediada por nuestros propios supuestos epocales y se enraiza ya en el pensar ontológico de Occidente. Así, este artículo intentará examinar las aporías filosóficas de tal mediación histórico-epocal, exponiendo (...) la reflexión heideggeriana del cuerpo desde el claro del ser como una respuesta a la idea tradicional de subjetividad fundada en la noción de “mera presencia”. (shrink)

The reward system of science is the priority rule. The first scientist making a new discovery is rewarded with prestige, while second runners get little or nothing. Michael Strevens, following Philip Kitcher, defends this reward system, arguing that it incentivizes an efficient division of cognitive labor. I argue that this assessment depends on strong implicit assumptions about the replicability of findings. I question these assumptions on the basis of metascientific evidence and argue that the priority rule systematically discourages replication. My (...) analysis leads us to qualify Kitcher and Strevens’s contention that a priority-based reward system is normatively desirable for science. (shrink)

Una interpretación aristotélica del concepto de desarrollo humano propone como fin último del desarrollo la eudaimonía o felicidad, esto es, la plena realización de la capacidad eudemónica en el alma humana. Para esto se requiere del desarrollo de sus partes racional e irracional, lo que demanda como medios una ética y una dianoética del desarrollo, referidos a los modos de ser de las respectivas partes del alma. La interacción entre ambas partes genera siempre un ciclo virtuoso, existiendo la posibilidad de (...) influencias externas a través de la educación, la costumbre, la economía, la legislación y la política. (shrink)

This article proposes three reflexive movements. The first one offers an introduction to Fees Must Fall, pointing to some aspects that allow us to understand it as a social movement and some of its basic features. The second movement is a theoretical one, constructing the notion of emancipatory politics. It is based on the distinctions suggested by Jacques Rancière between ‘police and politics’ and by Michael Neocosmos between ‘excessive and expressive’ politics. It will also present the Freirean notion of ‘conscientisation (...) and dialogicity’, emphasising the learning experience from the political praxis within emancipatory social movements. The third movement offers, as conclusion, an apocalyptic politics as suggested by Žižek, envisioned through the lens of Christian eschatology, as a critical approach to social movements towards the radical transformation of society. (shrink)

While most people believe the best possible life they could lead would be an immortal one, so‐called “immortality curmudgeons” disagree. Following Bernard Williams, they argue that, at best, we have no prudential reason to live an immortal life, and at worst, an immortal life would necessarily be bad for creatures like us. In this article, we examine Bernard Williams' seminal argument against the desirability of immortality and the subsequent literature it spawned. We first reconstruct and motivate Williams' somewhat cryptic argument (...) in three parts. After that, we elucidate and motivate the three best (and most influential) counterarguments to Williams' seminal argument. Finally, we review, and critically examine, two further distinct arguments in favor of the anti‐immortality position. (shrink)

El concepto de desarrollo humano del Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD) surge en 1990 como una crítica a la consideración de la economía como el fin último de los esfuerzos del desarrollo. En la visión del PNUD, la economía es considerada un fin relativo, es decir, un fin y un medio para el desarrollo humano. Al considerar, por su parte, el fin del desarrollo humano, este es identificado con el ensanchamiento de las opciones y libertades de (...) que gozan los individuos. En este sentido, este concepto de desarrollo humano hace alusión a una práctica política más que a un entendimiento ético-ontológico del ser humano, evitando referirse a desarrollo humano entendido como un desarrollo del ser humano. Este artículo explora los antecedentes del concepto del desarrollo humano del PNUD y los fines que consideran estos enfoques previos. Se observa que la consideración subjetivista del PNUD proviene de la teoría de Amartya Sen, quien queda sujeto a la crítica objetivista de Martha Nussbaum al no considera un fin objetivo para los asuntos humanos, crítica que puede de igual manera aplicarse al concepto de desarrollo humano del PNUD. (shrink)

The experimental interventions that provide evidence of causal relations are notably similar to those that provide evidence of constitutive relevance relations. In the first two sections, I show that this similarity creates a tension: there is an inconsistent triad between Woodward’s popular interventionist theory of causation, Craver’s mutual manipulability account of constitutive relevance in mechanisms, and a variety of arguments for the incoherence of inter-level causation. I argue for an interpretation of the views in which the tension is merely apparent. (...) I propose to explain inter-level relations without inter-level causation by appealing to the notion of fat-handed interventions, and an argument against inter-level causation which dissolves the problem. (shrink)

Advocates of the self-corrective thesis argue that scientific method will refute false theories and find closer approximations to the truth in the long run. I discuss a contemporary interpretation of this thesis in terms of frequentist statistics in the context of the behavioral sciences. First, I identify experimental replications and systematic aggregation of evidence (meta-analysis) as the self-corrective mechanism. Then, I present a computer simulation study of scientific communities that implement this mechanism to argue that frequentist statistics may converge upon (...) a correct estimate or not depending on the social structure of the community that uses it. Based on this study, I argue that methodological explanations of the “replicability crisis” in psychology are limited and propose an alternative explanation in terms of biases. Finally, I conclude suggesting that scientific self-correction should be understood as an interaction effect between inference methods and social structures. (shrink)

This essay presupposes that Friedrich Nietzsche and Rudolf Carnap champion contrasting reactions to the fact that, throughout history, persons have been engaged in metaphysical disputes. Nietzsche embraces a libertarian reaction that is in agreement with his anti-democratic aristocratic political views, whereas Carnap endorses an egalitarian reaction aligned with his democratic and socialist political views. After characterizing these reactions, the essay argues for two claims. The first claim is that the stated contrasting reactions are to be considered, not only by the (...) few scholars who are interested both in Nietzsche’s and Carnap’s writings, but by a far larger group that includes those who have addressed the continental-analytic gap; those who are concerned with the development of contemporary philosophy; and/or those who are interested in the writings of Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, David Lewis and/or Peter van Inwagen. The second claim is that we have to entertain a synthesis of Nietzsche’s libertarian and Carnap’s egalitarian reaction in order to overcome the continental-analytic gap. (shrink)

This article engages critically with Margaret Gilbert’s proposal that joint commitments are necessary for collective emotions. After introducing Gilbert’s concept of joint commitment (Section 2), and the joint commitment account of collective emotions (Section 3), we argue in Section 4 that research from developmental psychology challenges the necessity of joint commitments for collective emotions. In that section, we also raise a more principled objection to Gilbert’s account, independently of developmental considerations. Section 5 develops a complementary line of argument, focused on (...) the notion of mutual recognition. While we agree with Gilbert that mutual recognition has an important role to play in an account of collective emotions, we take issue with her attempt to analyse face-to-face based mutual recognition in terms of the concept of joint commitment. We conclude by sketching an alternative analysis of collective emotions that highlights the role of interpersonal identification and socially mediated self-consciousness. (shrink)

This essay focuses on the similarities between Nietzsche’s and Carnap’s views on metaphysics, without ignoring their obvious differences. The essay argues that Nietzsche and Carnap endorse but interpret differently an overcoming metametaphysics characterized by the conjunction of the following three claims: an overcoming of metaphysics ought to be performed; this overcoming is to be performed by adopting a method of linguistic analysis that is suspicious of the metaphysical use of language and that interprets such use through a different use of (...) language which aims to avoid metaphysics; and this overcoming contributes to the political task of resisting “diseased” metaphysical practices and promoting “healthy” non-metaphysical practices. (shrink)

The enduring replication crisis in many scientific disciplines casts doubt on the ability of science to estimate effect sizes accurately, and in a wider sense, to self-correct its findings and to produce reliable knowledge. We investigate the merits of a particular countermeasure—replacing null hypothesis significance testing with Bayesian inference—in the context of the meta-analytic aggregation of effect sizes. In particular, we elaborate on the advantages of this Bayesian reform proposal under conditions of publication bias and other methodological imperfections that are (...) typical of experimental research in the behavioral sciences. Moving to Bayesian statistics would not solve the replication crisis single-handedly. However, the move would eliminate important sources of effect size overestimation for the conditions we study. (shrink)

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar quais são os pressupostos teóricos contidos na intuição doadora de sentido husserliana e na ontologia fundamental heideggeriana que possibilitaram a Marion pensar na fenomenologia da doação. Para tanto, retomamos a teoria da intuição de Husserl conforme a sua obra Investigações lógicas ; refletimos a partir dos Prolegômenos de Heidegger sobre uma possível crítica ao projeto de redução do ser à intuição categorial e de sua transposição à esfera da existência; e, em Marion, recorremos às (...) obras Redução e doação e Sendo dado para discorrer criticamente sobre a tese de que Heidegger, ao mesmo tempo que volta ao estudo do ser, indica a possibilidade de pensar a doação como horizonte de pertencimento do próprio ser. Palavras-chave: Intuição doadora. A priori. Doação. Jean-Luc Marion. (shrink)

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar como se constitui o sentido do objeto a partir da experiência antepredicativa da consciência como expresso na Vª Investigação Lógica de Husserl. Compreendemos a experiência antepredicativa como a base de sustentação dos atos intencionais da consciência, sendo esta experiência da ordem do que é vivido e não do que é objetivado. A experiência antepredicativa está fundada nos dados sensuais da consciência, isto é, das sínteses que ocorrem sem qualquer atividade explícita de objetivação. Para atingir (...) este objetivo, dividimos este trabalho em duas etapas: § 1 Conteúdo enquanto Matéria das Sensações e § 2 Conteúdo enquanto Matéria dos Atos Intencionais. Assim, é possível uma arguição sobre o papel fundamental do conteúdo, enquanto matéria do ato intencional, ser uma vivência constituinte da consciência. E isso faz-nos acreditar que todo conhecimento, na fenomenologia husserliana, começaria a partir da experiência antepredicativa. Tal crença está fundamentada na retomada husserliana da concepção kantiana de que todo o conhecimento começaria com a experiência, mas não resultaria só dela. Os dados hiléticos surgiriam como o substrato da experiência do vivido, fazendo parte constituinte da trama do ato intencional. Consideramos, então, ser possível demostrar que a fenomenologia husserliana não abandona os dados sensíveis, mas lhe reserva um espaço de fundamental importância quando trata das bases que constituem o sentido do objeto. (shrink)

This work has as its central theme the semantic axis parallel the gospel according to Luke 1,46-55 - pericope corresponding to the canticle of the Magnificat - with the Church, in regard to its nature from the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium. This community of disciples, shining attitudes proclaimed the biblical hymn in question, should reflect the beauty of the world believe, witnessing mainly through service to those who need it most. The main objective refers to rethink their apostolate in the (...) Church, as a "cell" alternative community in the contemporary world. Relating up Scripture and Dogmatic Theology, presents the elemental importance of disciplinary integration in plural current context, in order to orthodoxy orthopraxy its translation. Observe the "intersection" of the Magnificat with the ecclesial identity, indicating the hope of a different world, inclusion and participation, hermeneutic view expressed by their theological research. (shrink)

A Semiótica ergue-se enquanto uma ramificação dos estudos linguísticos, debruçada sobre as questões da linguagem, comunicação, manifestas não somente nas palavras, entretanto nas imagens e símbolos. A religião por si só é uma manifestação profundamente simbólica. Neste estudo, tomamos o rito católico romano da missa com sua simbologia adjacente, e submetemos a ele algumas indagações semiológicas, demonstrando que a leitura ritual é melhor efetivada na medida em que o receptor está imerso na trama de significados propostos pela religião, concedendo sentido (...) ao que contempla, permitindo-o uma autêntica compreensão, e por conseguinte, participação. (shrink)

One way to theorize about we-identities—the identities that individual subjects have as ‘one of us’—is in terms of the uniformity, interchangeability, and prototypicality of group members. The social-psychological theory of self-categorization epitomizes this approach, which has strongly influenced contemporary phenomenological research on the we. This paper argues that this approach has one important and largely overlooked limitation: the we-identities tied to close personal relationships—exemplified by long-term friendships and romantic partnerships—are based on patterns of interpersonal interaction and integration through which individuals (...) tend to grasp their non-substitutability and complementarity. This limitation suggests that another approach is needed to tackle the we-identities characteristic of close personal relationships. I outline such an approach, by combining resources from classical phenomenology and ongoing research on the socially extended mind. (shrink)