Papers from the 1994 meeting represent a broad review of contemporary experimental work on quantum phenomena, emphasizing state-of-the-art experimental science. Useful as an introductory manual for young researchers, the volume addresses topics that include: experiments with single and ultracold ato.

These are the proceedings of the Workshop on Quantum Logic held in Erice (Sicily), December 2 - 9, 1979, at the Ettore Hajorana Centre for Scientific Culture. A conference of this sort was originally proposed by Giuliano Toraldo di Francia, who suggested the idea to Antonino Zichichi, and thus laid the foundation for the Workshop. To both of them we express our appreciation and thanks, also on behalf of the other participants, for having made this conference possible. There were approximately (...) fifty participants; their names and institutions are listed in the text. Quantum logic, which has now a history of some forty or more years, has seen remarkable growth during the sixties and seventies. The papers in the present volume presuppose, by and large, some acquaintance with the elements of the subject. These may be found in the well-known books by J.H. Jauch (Foundations of Quantum Hechanics; Reading, 1968), V.S. Varadarajan (Geometry of Quantum Theory: Princeton, 1968), and C. Piron (Foundations of Quantum Theory; New York, 1976). The initial program for the conference listed about twenty-five invited papers. But in the context of a very active and qualified attendance, other contributions were offered. This volume contains all of them. The program listed six main topics: I. Classification or different areas of quantum logic, and open problems. II. Comparison and unification of different approaches to quantum theories; problems of interpretation. III. Formal quantum logic; axiomatics. IV. Hodal interpretations of quantum logic. v vi FOREWORD V. Quantum set theory. (shrink)

A Bell-type inequality is defined as an inequality of the type 0⩽L⩽1,where L is a linear combination with real coefficients of probabilities p i and joint probabilities p ij ,p ijk ,...,p l ,...,n corresponding to n events. A general theorem on the validity of such inequalities in correspondence to physical assumptions about commutativity or noncommutativity is given. Examples and possible physical applications are discussed.

ObjectiveA rapid review was conducted to identify the most effective stress reduction techniques for health care providers dealing with patients infected with severe coronavirus.MethodsPubMed, PsychInfo, Embase, and CINAHL databases were searched to identify relevant studies. Searches were restricted by date. All empirical quantitative and qualitative studies in which relaxation techniques of various types implemented on health care providers caring for patients during severe coronavirus pandemics and articles that consider the implementation of mental health care services considered to be pertinent, such (...) as commentaries, were included.ResultsFourteen studies met the selection criteria, most of which were recommendations. Only one study described a digital intervention, and user satisfaction was measured. In the recommendations, both organizational and individual self-care interventions were suggested.ConclusionsFurther research is necessary to establish tailor-made effective stress reduction interventions for this population, during these challenging and particular times. (shrink)

The probability pattern emerging in two-slit experiments is a typical quantum feature whose essential ingredients are examined by translating them into the spin- $ \frac{1}{2} $ formalism. In view of the existence of extensions of quantum theory preserving some classical structure, we discuss how the two-slit probabilities behave under such extensions. We consider a generalization of the standard classical probability theory, to be called operational probability theory, that turns out to host the so called quantum probabilities.

We discuss a generalization of the standard notion of probability space and show that the emerging framework, to be called operational probability theory, can be considered as underlying quantal theories. The proposed framework makes special reference to the convex structure of states and to a family of observables which is wider than the familiar set of random variables: it appears as an alternative to the known algebraic approach to quantum probability.

We study the possibility of representing the proposition lattice associated with a quantum system by a linear vector space with coefficients from ap-adic field. We find inconsistencies if the lattice is assumed, as usual, to be irreducible, complete, orthocomplemented, atomic, and weakly modular.

We provide a retrospective of 25 years of the International Conference on AI and Law, which was first held in 1987. Fifty papers have been selected from the thirteen conferences and each of them is described in a short subsection individually written by one of the 24 authors. These subsections attempt to place the paper discussed in the context of the development of AI and Law, while often offering some personal reactions and reflections. As a whole, the subsections build into (...) a history of the last quarter century of the field, and provide some insights into where it has come from, where it is now, and where it might go. (shrink)

A rigorous ab initio derivation of the (square of) Dirac’s equation for a particle with spin is presented. The Lagrangian of the classical relativistic spherical top is modified so to render it invariant with respect conformal changes of the metric of the top configuration space. The conformal invariance is achieved by replacing the particle mass in the Lagrangian with the conformal Weyl scalar curvature. The Hamilton-Jacobi equation for the particle is found to be linearized, exactly and in closed form, by (...) an ansatz solution that can be straightforwardly interpreted as the “quantum wave function” of the 4-spinor solution of Dirac’s equation. All quantum features arise from the subtle interplay between the conformal curvature acting on the particle as a potential and the particle motion which affects the geometric “pre-potential” associated to the conformal curvature itself. The theory, carried out here by assuming a Minkowski metric, can be easily extended to arbitrary space-time Riemann metric, e.g. the one adopted in the context of General Relativity. This novel theoretical scenario appears to be of general application and is expected to open a promising perspective in the modern endeavor aimed at the unification of the natural forces with gravitation. (shrink)

Conflicts of interest held by researchers remain a focus of attention in clinical research. Biases related to these relationships have the potential to directly impact the quality of healthcare by influencing decision-making, yet conflicts of interest remain underreported, inconsistently described, and difficult to access. Initiatives aimed at improving the disclosure of researcher conflicts of interest are still in their infancy but represent a vital reform that must be addressed before potential biases associated with conflicts of interest can be mitigated and (...) trust in the impartiality of clinical evidence restored. In this review, we examine the prevalence of conflicts of interest, evidence of the effects that disclosed and undisclosed conflicts of interest have had on the reporting of clinical evidence, and the emerging approaches for improving the completeness and consistency of disclosures. Through this review of emerging technologies, we recognize a growing interest in publicly accessible registries for researcher conflicts of interest and propose five desiderata aimed at maximizing the value of such registries: mandates for ensuring that researchers keep their records up to date; transparent records that are made available to the public; interoperability to allow researchers, bibliographic databases, and institutions to interact with the registry; a consistent taxonomy for describing different classes of conflicts of interest; and the ability to automatically generate conflicts of interest statements for use in published articles. (shrink)

Conceptualism is the thesis that, for any perceptual experience E, (i) E has a Fregean proposition as its content and (ii) a subject of E must possess a concept for each item represented by E. We advance a framework within which conceptualism may be defended against its most serious objections (e.g., Richard Heck's argument from nonveridical experience). The framework is of independent interest for the philosophy of mind and epistemology given its implications for debates regarding transparency, relationalism and representationalism, demonstrative (...) thought, phenomenal character, and the speckled hen objection to modest foundationalism. (shrink)

Enrico Berti has had a profound influence on the birth and development of Italian studies in ancient philosophy. His sizable work has shaped a great part of Italian studies on Aristotle and other ancient philosophers. To celebrate him and express their gratitude for his work, some of his disciples, under the impulse of the late Franco Volpi, have brought together a volume in his honour, requesting the participation of some foreign scholars particularly close to him. The volume comprises essays (...) by Pierre Aubenque, Jonathan Barnes, Terence H. Irwin, Tomás Calvo-Martínez, Jaap Mansfeld, Pierre Pellegrin, Gerhard Seel and Alejandro G. Vigo. The main themes are Aristotle's metaphysics and practical philosophy. A Selected Bibliography by E. Berti himself completes the volume."--Publisher's website. (shrink)

I. In analytic philosophy, so-called 'univocalism' is the prevailing interpretation of the meaning of terms such as 'being' or 'existence', i.e. the thesis that these terms have only one meaning (see Russell, White, Quine, van Inwagen). But some analytical philosophers, inspired by Aristotle, maintain that 'being' has many senses (Austin, Ryle). II. Aristotle develops an argument in favour of this last thesis, observing that 'being' and 'one' cannot be a single genus, because they are predicated of their differences (Metaph. B (...) 3). III. But 'being' for Aristotle has also a unity, i.e. 'focal meaning', which coincides with substance (Metaph. Γ 2), and substance has not only an ontological priority, but also a logical priority, in respect to the other beings, as was shown by G. E. L. Owen. IV. This 'focal meaning' cannot be identified with primary substance, i.e. with the unmovable mover, as some interpreters pretend, because this latter has only an ontological, not a logical, priority in respect to the world. V. The impossibility of this interpretation results from Aristotle's rejection of an essence and a substance of being (Metaph. B 4), i.e. the rejection of what the Christian philosophers called esse ipsum subsistens. (shrink)

Ensuring the trustworthiness of autonomous systems and artificial intelligence is an important interdisciplinary endeavour. In this position paper, we argue that this endeavour will benefit from technical advancements in capturing various forms of responsibility, and we present a comprehensive research agenda to achieve this. In particular, we argue that ensuring the reliability of autonomous system can take advantage of technical approaches for quantifying degrees of responsibility and for coordinating tasks based on that. Moreover, we deem that, in certifying the legality (...) of an AI system, formal and computationally implementable notions of _responsibility_, _blame_, _accountability_, and _liability_ are applicable for addressing potential responsibility gaps (i.e. situations in which a group is responsible, but individuals’ responsibility may be unclear). This is a call to enable AI systems themselves, as well as those involved in the design, monitoring, and governance of AI systems, to represent and reason about who can be seen as responsible in prospect (e.g. for completing a task in future) and who can be seen as responsible retrospectively (e.g. for a failure that has already occurred). To that end, in this work, we show that across all stages of the design, development, and deployment of trustworthy autonomous systems (TAS), responsibility reasoning should play a key role. This position paper is the first step towards establishing a road map and research agenda on how the notion of responsibility can provide novel solution concepts for ensuring the _reliability_ and _legality_ of TAS and, as a result, enables an effective embedding of AI technologies into society. (shrink)

The relevance of Aristotle’s philosophy today is the survival of many Aristotelian concepts, definitions, distinctions, in the culture of many countries. In some cases, e. g. in the fields of logic and of metaphysics, the Aristotelian concepts survive as useful instruments for reasoning, like the concepts of category, contrariety, contradiction, or the distinctions between matter and form and between potency and act. But in other fields, like biology and psychology, some Aristotelian doctrines serve equally as examples of conceptual innovations, as (...) was recognised by the biologist Max Delbrück about the discovery of DNA and by Anthony Kenny about the discussion of the “Mind-Body Problem.” Even in the fields of ethics and of politics, the revival of the practical philosophy of Aristotle has been an occasion for developing new models of social life and organisation of society, as is shown by philosophers like Alasdair MacIntyre and Martha C. Nussbaum, and by economists like Amartya Sen. (shrink)

After a long time, people are still debating over “Cartesian-like Dualism” (CLD), i.e. towards the separation of “res-extensa” from “res-cogitans”. Since we suspect that this is due to a general attraction of mind towards the darkness of metaphysics, we have investigated the mental origin of this attraction. In human mind, we can envisage three different functional levels emerging one from the other like in a Matrioska; the three levels cause the arousal of as many forms of “dualisms”: 1) The 1st-level (...) corresponds to the “Dual-state” of mind, an archetypic dualism made of Unconscious Mind (UM, the domain of biophysical/biochemical signals) and Conscious Mind (CM, the domain of thoughts, images and sounds), genetically committed to reciprocal and fruitful interactions. 2) the 2nd-level corresponds to “Double-perspective” dualism; it emerges from CM’s splitting into two opposite perspectives: the 1st-order perspective (1PP) (subjective, emotional, Self-oriented, etc.) and the 3rd-order perspective (3PP) (rational, objective, Self-detached, etc.), that are in psychological contraposition. During individual growth, Ego-sense installs in CM with the illusion of possessing FW, and dominates 1PP. Conversely, 3PP is typically interested in scientific argumentations and investigations; so, 3PP confutes 1PP’s convictions on scien-tific bases (e.g. 1PP’s conviction that the binomial Ego-FW is real). Yet, on the one hand, 3PP hasn’t got a scientific alternative to explain “who we really are”, on the other hand, 1PP exhibits a great success in everyday life cognition. Then, we necessarily step over the dualism of the 3rd-level, “Cartesian-like Dualism” (CLD). The emotional origin of this CLD holds back 1PP’s trick to claim its supremacy over 3PP. (shrink)

En su libro Verdad y Método H.G. Gadamer fomentó el renacimiento de la filosofía práctica de Aristóteles. Sin embargo, de acuerdo a su interpretación, la filosofía práctica tiende a ser identificada con la phrónesis, i.e. con la sabiduría práctica. Para Aristóteles, la filosofía práctica es un conocimiento científico, si bien es menos rigurosa que la filosofía teórica, y hace uso de demostraciones, aunque sus demostraciones no son siempre válidas, sino sólo en la mayoría de los casos. Además, la filosofía práctica (...) emplea un método dialéctico que consiste en la discusión de diferentes opciones a la luz de las premisas más aceptadas. La phrónesis, por el contrario, es una virtud, i.e. una excelencia de la razón, que consiste en la capacidad de llevar a cabo una deliberación correcta, i.e. escoger los medios que resulten más aptos para alcanzar un fin adecuado. Consecuentemente, para Aristóteles el phrónimos no necesita ser filósofo pero, en cambio, el filósofo que desea alcanzar la sophía, debe ser un phrónimos. (shrink)

Detlev Clüver (1645-1708) was among the first to criticize Leibniz's new infinitesimal analysis. Although his criticisms were vague and his methods inconsistent, Leibniz had always for him a friendly sort of consideration. The article presents Clüver's biography, writings, and thought, together with a detailed description of Leibniz's relations to him and of their correspondence, and contains a bibliography of Clüver's writings.

In informationally mature societies, almost all organisations record, generate, process, use, share and disseminate data. In particular, the rise of AI and autonomous systems has corresponded to an improvement in computational power and in solving complex problems. However, the resulting possibilities have been coupled with an upsurge of ethical risks. To avoid the misuse, underuse, and harmful use of data and data-based systems like AI, we should use an ethical framework appropriate to the object of its reasoning. Unfortunately, in recent (...) years, the space for data-related ethics has not been precisely defined in organisations. As a consequence, there has been an overlapping of responsibilities and a void of clear accountabilities. Ethical issues have, therefore, been dealt with using inadequate levels of abstraction (e.g. legal, technical). Yet, if building an ethical infrastructure requires the collaboration of each body, addressing ethical issues related to data requires leaving room for the appropriate level of abstraction. This paper first aims to show how the space of data ethics is already latent in organisations. It then highlights how to redefine roles (chief data ethics officer, data ethics committee, etc.) and codes (code of data ethics) to create and maintain an environment where ethical reasoning about data, information, and AI systems may flourish. (shrink)

La Monadologie est au même temps une oeuvre du philosophe allemand G.W. Leibniz entitulée ainsi par un éditeur qui inventa le mot, et une théorie. Les essais réunis ici en concernent l'origine, l'histoire et l'enjeu philosophique. F. Piro analyse le développements de la conception de l'individuation chez le jeune Leibniz. M. Fichant étudie en détail la constitution du concept de monade. La nature limitée des monades créées est ramenée par G. Mormino à la doctrine leibnizienne de la contingence et de (...) la création. E. Pasini reconstitue la genèse de la Monadologie, prototype du traité monadologique, pour montrer que sa nature n'est pas dans son origine. La monadologie va même inviter les détournements matérialistes du jeune Feuerbach - l'essai de V. Morfino porte sur les insuffisances de sa reformulation purement transcendantale chez Husserl, face à la théorie du transindividuel. (shrink)

Comparaison entre la philosophie pratique aristotélisante d'aujourd'hui, représentée en Allemagne surtout par H.G. Gadamer, J. Ritter et leurs élèves, et les théories d'Aristote sur la phronesis et l'ethos, visant à montrer que ces dernières, dans la pensée du Stagirite, ne remplissent pas, contrairement à ce que croient ces interprètes, le rôle de la philosophie pratique toute entière. Contrast between the aristotelizing practical philosophy of today, represented in Germany especially by H.G. Gadamer, J. Ritter and their followers, and Aristotle's theories on (...) phronesis and ethos, in order to show that these theories, in the Stagirite's thought, don't play, against the opinion of those interpreters, the rôle of the whole practical philosophy. (shrink)

In recent years, increasing attention has been devoted to the underrepresentation, exclusion or outright discrimination experienced by women and members of other visible minority groups in academic philosophy. Much of this debate has focused on the state of contemporary Anglophone philosophy, which is dominated by the tradition of analytic philosophy. Moreover, there is growing interest in academia and society more generally for issues revolving around linguistic justice and linguistic discrimination (sometimes called ‘linguicism’ or ‘languagism’) (see e.g. Van Parijs 2011). Globalization (...) and the increasing adoption of English as global linguistic vehicle or lingua franca push these issues at the forefront of much of the world’s attention. The convergence of these two trends suggests the appropriateness of an analysis of the condition of non-native speakers of English in analytic philosophy. (shrink)

In order to explain the contemporary relevance of Aristotle’s thought, the following discussion explores various examples of Aristotelian theories, concepts, and distinctions which remain at the centre of the philosophical debate. From the domain of logic we consider the notion of category, which was developed by G. Ryle, the distinction between apophantic and semantic discourse, that was stressed by J. Austin, the debate on the principle of non- contradiction, and the theory of fallacies; from the domain of physics, we examine (...) the concepts of substrate, form, continuum, and time, which have been discussed by I. Prigogine and R. Thom; from the field of biology, we consider the function of form in animal generation, which M. Delbrück has compared to the role of DNA; from the field of psychology, we look at the notion of soul as a complex of dispositions, which has been identified by many philosophers as a solution of the “Mind-Body Problem;” from the realm of ethics, we investigate the distinction between action and production, an approach developed by H. Arendt, and the virtue of phronesis, which has been developed by H. G. Gadamer and A. McIntyre. In particular, we discuss the Aristotelian theory of the ambiguity of the concept of being, the notion of “focal meaning,” that has been developed by G. E. L. Owen, and the function of form in the identification of individuals, which has been pursued by M. Frede. (shrink)

The so called “revival of practical philosophy”, started in 1960 by H.G. Gadamer with his Wahrheit und Methode e metodo”, has often provoked a confusion between the authentic prac-tical philosophy of Aristotle and the virtue he calls phronêsis or wisdom. Actually, they repre-sent two forms of knowledge very different. Wisdom is the virtue of practical reason which consists in the ability of correctly deliberate, that is in the ability of individuating the action more suitable for realizing a good end. On (...) the contrary, practical philosophy is a science, that is an habit of theoretical reason, even if it is a practical science, which has as its end in the good action and has a degree of rigour inferior to that of theoretical sciences. Practical philosophy is the science of the supreme good for man, that is happiness – the full flourishing of all human capabilities-, which is determined by means of a dialectical discussion with the thesis of the various philosophers. (shrink)

[ES] El así llamado «regreso de la filosofía práctica», empezado en 1960 por H. G. Gadamer con su Wahrheit und Methode, ha provocado a menudo confusión entre la auténtica filosofía práctica de Aristóteles y la virtud que él llama phronêsis o sabiduría. En efecto, éstas representan dos formas de conocimiento muy diferentes. La sabiduría es la virtud de la razón práctica que consiste en la habilidad de deliberar correctamente, es decir en la habilidad de identificar la acción más adecuada para (...) realizar un buen fin. Al revés, la filosofía práctica es una ciencia, o sea un hábito de razón teórica, a pesar de ser una ciencia práctica, que tiene su fin en la buena acción y tiene un nivel de rigor inferior a aquello de las ciencias teóricas. La filosofía práctica es la ciencia del supremo bien para el hombre, es decir la felicidad —el pleno florecimiento de todas las capacidades humanas—, la cual se determina por medio de la discusión dialéctica con las tesis de varios filósofos. [EN] The so called «revival of practical philosophy», started in 1960 by H.G. Gadamer with his Wahrheit und Methode, has often provoked a confusion between the authentic practical philosophy of Aristotle and the virtue he calls phronêsis or wisdom. Actually, they represent two forms of knowledge very different. Wisdom is the virtue of practical reason which consists in the ability of correctly deliberate, that is in the ability of individuating the action more suitable for realizing a good end. On the contrary, practical philosophy is a science, that is an habit of theoretical reason, even if it is a practical science, which has its end in the good action and has a degree of rigour inferior to that of theoretical sciences. Practical philosophy is the science of the supreme good for man, that is happiness —the full flourishing of all human capabilities —, which is determined by means of a dialectical discussion with the thesis of the various philosophers. (shrink)

Notwithstanding fundamental methodological advancements, scientific information about disorders of consciousness (DOCs)—e.g. Vegetative State/Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (VS/UWS) and Minimally Conscious State (MCS)—is incomplete. The possibility to discriminate between different levels of consciousness in DOC states entails treatment strategies and ethical concerns. Here we attempted to investigate Italian clinicians’ and basic scientists’ opinions regarding some issues emerging from the care and the research on patients with DOCs. From our survey emerged that Italian physicians working with patients with DOCs give a central role (...) to ethics. Current Italian regulation regarding basic research conducted in patients with DOCs apparently risks to be inadequate to support scientific advancement, and would deserve a different assessment compared to ordinary treatments. We think the results of our survey deserve attention from an international audience because they exemplify the difficulty to define a shared approach to the issues related to patients with DOCs and the necessity to better assess both the ordinary and experimental treatment of patients with DOCs at the ethical and legal level. (shrink)