Social interaction, especially for older people living alone is a challenge currently facing human-robot interaction (HRI). There has been little research on user preference towards HRI interfaces. In this paper, we took both objective observations and participants’ opinions into account in studying older users with a robot partner. The developed dual-modal robot interface offered older users options of speech or touch screen to perform tasks. Fifteen people aged from 70 to 89 years old, participated. We analyzed the spontaneous actions of (...) the participants, including their attentional activities and conversational activities, the temporal characteristics of these social behaviours, as well as questionnaires. It has been revealed that social engagement with the robot demonstrated by older people was no different from what might be expected towards a human partner. This study is an early attempt to reveal the social connections between human beings and a personal robot in real life. (shrink)

In the tradition of justified true belief theory, I provide an epistemic responsibility-based philosophical analysis of collective knowledge which is both coherentist and reliabilist.

The harm usually associated with psychopathy requires therapeutically, legally, and ethically satisfactory solutions. Scholars from different fields have, thus, examined whether empirical evidence shows that individuals with psychopathic traits satisfy concepts, such as responsibility, mental disorder, or disability, that have specific legal or ethical implications. The present paper considers the less discussed issue of whether psychopathy is a disability. As it has been shown for the cases of the responsibility and mental disorder status of psychopathic individuals, we argue that it (...) is undecided whether psychopathy is a disability. Nonetheless, based on insights from disability studies and legislations, we propose that interventions to directly modify the propensities of individuals with psychopathic tendencies should be balanced with modifications of the social and physical environments to accommodate their peculiarities. We also suggest how this social approach in some practical contexts that involve non-offender populations might be effective in addressing some of the negative effects of psychopathy. (shrink)

Neuromodulatory effects of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) have been extensively studied in chronic pain. A hypothetic mechanism of action would be to prevent or revert the ongoing maladaptive plasticity within the pain matrix. In this review, the authors discuss the mechanisms underlying the development of an abnormal plasticity in patients with chronic pain and the putative mechanisms of NIBS in modulating synaptic plasticity in neuropathic pain conditions.

Given the hundreds of articles and books that have been written in epistemology over the span of just the past few decades, relatively little has been written specifically on epistemic responsibility. What has been written rarely considers the nature of epistemic responsibility and its possible role in epistemic justification or knowledge. Instead, such work concerns philosophical analyses and arguments about related concepts such as epistemic virtues or duties, rather than epistemic praiseworthiness and blameworthiness.2 It is epistemic responsibility in the blameworthiness (...) and praiseworthiness senses that is the primary concern of this paper, though the duty sense of epistemic responsibility is explored in terms of its pertinence to epistemic virtue. What is epistemic responsibility? And what, if anything, is its relationship to justification and knowledge? (shrink)

The history of scholarship, philosophical or otherwise, about Plato and his writings reveals a quandary pertaining to the interpretation of the contents of Plato's dialogues. To understand Plato one must come to terms with this problem: how ought Plato's writings to be interpreted?

This paper explicates and challenges John Rawl's argument concerning a rule-utilitarian theory of punishment. In so doing, it argues in favour of a retributivist theory of punishment, one that seeks to justify, not only particular forms of punishment, but the institution of punishment itself. Some crucial objections to retributivism are then considered: one regarding the adverse effects of punishment on the innocent, another concerning proportional punishment, a third pertaining to vengeance and retribution, a Marxian concern with retributive punishment, and a (...) concern with the concept of desert. Each objection is deflected in order to ward-off what seem to be the most serious criticisms of a retributivist view of punishment and to clarify the depth of the retributivist position. (shrink)

This article presents philosophical-ethical arguments concerning the extent to which NCAA inter-collegiate football is a public good and some implausible implications of the claim that it constitutes a public good and ought to be publicly subsidized as part of a component of U.S. higher education generally as is currently the case. Underlying this main argument is one concerning who or what should have the responsibility for subsidizing the necessary costs of the sport, including its associated healthcare and medical costs.

A educação do homem interior: O cultivo da vontade em Agostinho de Hipona Resumo: O estudo aqui apresentado tem como objetivo principal a investigação da formação humana nas obras filosóficas Comentários Literal ao Gênesis, A Trindade e O livre-arbítrio, de Agostinho de Hipona. Para isso, aborda-se a noção da antropologia do referido autor; a sua compreensão de corpo e alma (dimensão humana no homem animal) e, por último, objetiva-se explicitar alguns pressupostos de uma educação do ser humano orientada a uma (...) boa formação da vontade. Trata-se de uma pesquisa bibliográfica, exploratória e de caráter hermenêutico. Agostinho concebe a ideia de homem como um ser dotado de corpo e alma. A alma, quando bem formada, pode conduzir os indivíduos à vida com sabedoria e, portanto, a uma beata vita. A vontade é o que movimenta toda as outras dimensões do ser humano e, por isso, ela deve ser bem formada. A educação da vontade, para o pensador, consiste em realizar o jogo de utilizar os objetos que servem de meio para algo e fruir ou contemplar aquilo que é fim em si mesmo. A vontade humana difere do que se passa no reino animal e é capaz de guiar bem o homem, concedendo-lhe minimamente uma relação de desprendimento com a matéria. Conclui-se, a partir dessas linhas mestras do pensamento do autor, que a ética agostiniana ao mesmo tempo que estabelece princípios para o bem agir e lograr uma vida feliz, exige, para isso, um processo formativo que consiste na educação da vontade, uma vez que Agostinho compreende-a como livre em si, isto é, como autodeterminante, ela pode voltar-se por si àquilo que é presença constante, isto é, a objetos de foro contemplativo e afastar-se, tanto quanto possível, dos ditames de uma vida submetida ao mundo material. Palavras-chave: Formação; Vontade; Cultivo; Santo Agostinho; Alma. La educación del hombre interior: el cultivo de la voluntad en Agostinho de Hipona Resumen: El estudio aquí presentado tiene como objetivo principal la investigación de la formación humana en las obras filosóficas Comentarios Literal al Génesis, La Trinidad y El Libre-Arbitrio, de Agostinho de Hipona. Así, se trata la noción y antropología del referido autor, su comprensión de cuerpo y alma (dimensión humana en el hombre animal) y, por último, se objetiva explicitar algunos supuestos de una educación del ser humano orientada a una buena formación de la voluntad. Es una investigación bibliográfica, exploratoria y de carácter hermenéutico. Agostinho concibe la idea de hombre como un ser dotado de cuerpo y alma. El alma, cuando bien formada, puede conducir los individuos a la vida con sabiduría y, por lo tanto, a una beata vita. La voluntad es lo que conduce todas las otras dimensiones del ser humano y, de esta manera, ella debe de ser bien formada. La educación de la voluntad, para el pensador, supone realizar el juego de utilizar los objetos que sirven como medio para algo y fruir o contemplar aquello que tiene fin en sí mismo. La voluntad humana es distinta de lo que se pasa en el reino animal y es capaz de guiar bien el hombre, le permitiendo mínimamente una relación de desprendimiento con la materia. Se concluye, desde esas líneas maestras del pensamiento del autor, que la ética agostiniana al tiempo que establece principios para el bien actuar y lograr una vida feliz, exige, para eso, un proceso formativo que consiste en la educación de la voluntad, una vez que Agostinho la comprende como libre en sí, es decir, como auto determinante, ella puede volverse a lo que es presencia constante, o sea, volverse a objetos de foro contemplativo y aislarse, tanto como sea posible, de los dictados de una vida sometida al mundo material. Palabras-clave: Formación; Voluntad; Cultivo; Santo Agostinho; Alma. The education of the inner-man: The cultivation of will in Augustine of Hippo Abstract: This study is aimed at investigating human formation in the philosophical works On the literal meaning of Genesis, On the Trinity and On free choice of the will, by Augustine of Hippo. To meet that aim, the author’s notion of anthropology is addressed; his understanding of body and soul (human dimension in the human animal) and, finally, we explain some assumptions related to the education of the human being as leading to the good formation of will. This is a bibliographical, exploratory and hermeneutical study. Augustine conceives the idea of man as a being with body and soul. The soul, when well formed, can lead individuals to life with wisdom and, therefore, to a beata vita. Will moves all the other dimensions of the human being and, thus, it must be well formed. For Augustine, the education of the will consists of performing the game of using objects that work as means for something and enjoy or contemplate what is an end in itself. Human will differs from that of the animal kingdom and is capable of guiding man well, granting him a minimal relation of detachment from the material. The conclusion, based on such guidelines from Augustine’s thought, is that Augustinian ethics establishes principles for acting well and reaching a happy life and, at the same time, demands, for those aims, a formative process that consists of the education of the will, as Augustine understands it as free in itself, i.e., as self-determining, for it can turn by itself to what is a constant presence, i.e., to objects of contemplative scope and move away, as far as possible, from the dictates of a life submitted to the material world. Keywords: Formation; Will; Cultivation; Saint Augustine; Soul. Data de registro: 07/03/2020 Data de aceite: 22/09/2021. (shrink)

Adotei uma abordagem experimental para essa questão. Atos de vontade livre são precedidos por uma mudança elétrica específica no cérebro 3, que inicia 550 milissegundos antes do ato. As pessoas tomaram consciência da intenção de agir 350-400 milissegundos depois do início do RP e 200 milissegundos antes do ato motor. O processo volitivo é, portanto, iniciado inconscientemente. Mas a função consciente ainda poderia controlar o resultado; pode vetar o ato. O livre-arbítrio não é, portanto, excluído. Essas descobertas impõem restrições às (...) visões de como o livre-arbítrio pode operar; não faria iniciar um ato voluntário, mas poderia controlar a realização. As descobertas também afetam perspectivas de culpa e responsabilidade. (shrink)

Resenha acadêmica de: RAMOS, Marcos Vinícius. O Apocalipse Siríaco de Daniel. São Paulo: Paulus, 2017. 120 pp. ISBN 978-85-349-4496-0.

Resenha crítica do livro: OSBORNE, Grant R. Apocalipse: Comentário Exegético. São Paulo: Vida Nova, 2014.999 pp. ISBN 978-85-275-0562-8. Título original: Revelation.

In some recent articles, Dr. Leigh Turner [Doffing the Mask: Why Manuscript Reviewers Ought to Be Identifiable,” Journal of Academic Ethics, 1 (2003), pp. 41–48; “Promoting F.A.I.T.H. in Peer Review: Five Core Attributes in Effective Peer Review,” Journal of Academic Ethics, 1 (2003), pp. 181–188.] makes some rather critical observations regarding the processes of peer-review in academic journals. I shall note them in turn, note wherein I concur and wherein I disagree, and discuss some of Turner's suggestions to resolve such (...) difficulties. It is hoped that my comments on Turner's much-appreciated points will engage readers of this august and well-edited journal to take more seriously Turner's arguments for the sake of the betterment of academic research. (shrink)

This paper challenges Professor Myles Brand’s position on the role and value of intercollegiate athletics in U.S. colleges and universities on the ground that it fails to account for considerations of deep fiscal responsibility. It presents both a philosophical and ethical criticism of his position that broadens the discussion beyond athletics to include a particular kind of higher educational institution more generally.

In this paper, we generalize the set-theoretic translation method for poly-modal logic introduced in [11] to extended modal logics. Instead of devising an ad-hoc translation for each logic, we develop a general framework within which a number of extended modal logics can be dealt with. We first extend the basic set-theoretic translation method to weak monadic second-order logic through a suitable change in the underlying set theory that connects up in interesting ways with constructibility; then, we show how to tailor (...) such a translation to work with specific cases of extended modal logics. (shrink)

Digital contact tracing is used in different countries to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic. It raises challenging empirical and ethical questions due to its complexity and widespread effects calling for a broader approach in ethical evaluation. However, existing approaches often fail to include all relevant value perspectives or lack reference to empirical data on the artifact in question. In this paper, we describe the development of an interdisciplinary framework to analyze digital contact tracing from an empirical and ethical perspective. Starting (...) with an analysis of methodological tensions in the attempt to analyze digital contact tracing, we, firstly, set out three methodological premises regarding (a) a specific view of technology, (b) a fruitful normative perspective, and (c) ways to gather empirical knowledge about the object under investigation. Secondly, we inspect consequences of these premises to develop our research methodology. In doing so, we argue for a postphenomenological perspective on technology, solidarity as an important concept to guide the ethical perspective, and an empirical approach based on qualitative social science research and the concept of affordances. We illustrate these considerations by referring to our analysis of the German Corona-Warn-App as an instance of contact tracing based on the Exposure Notification Framework by Google and Apple. We then discuss the implications of using such a framework, including considerations concerning future developments of technologies similar to or inspired by the current concepts of contact tracing. (shrink)

We present a generalization of the problem of pattern recognition to arbitrary probabilistic models. This version deals with the problem of recognizing an individual pattern among a family of different species or classes of objects which obey probabilistic laws which do not comply with Kolmogorov’s axioms. We show that such a scenario accommodates many important examples, and in particular, we provide a rigorous definition of the classical and the quantum pattern recognition problems, respectively. Our framework allows for the introduction of (...) non-trivial correlations between the different species involved, opening the door to a new way of harnessing these physical resources for solving pattern recognition problems. Finally, we present some examples and discuss the computational complexity of the quantum pattern recognition problem, showing that the most important quantum computation algorithms can be described as non-Kolmogorovian pattern recognition problems. (shrink)

In this paper I shall discuss various philosophical theories of collective punishment: marxian annihilism, metaphysical collectivism and methodological individualism. After refuting metaphysical collectivism and its modified version, I defend a modification of methodological individualism.

This paper investigates philosophically the question of whether or not college and university athletes in the USA are doing something morally wrong should they terminate their college or university experience prior to graduation and enter the professional athletic ranks. Various moral arguments are brought to bear in order to attempt to shed light on this issue. One reason why such athletes ?turn professional? before they graduate is the perceived economic exploitation they experience as essentially underpaid workers earning much revenue for (...) their respective institutions. But who is exploiting whom here? Is it just student athletes who are exploited by the system? I expand the reasoning about the exploitation of intercollegiate athletics to include not just student athletes, but their supporting colleges and universities. In the end, it is proposed that the National Collegiate Athletic Association and similar academically related athletic agencies should permit and encourage each of their constituent institutions as a matter of policy to protect themselves (and their supporting taxpayers, in the cases of public institutions) contractually from economic exploitation by professional sports franchises. Thus the question of student athletes leaving college for professional sports contracts has hidden beneath it questions of private professional sports franchises? exploitation of the institutions with which such student athletes are affiliated. (shrink)

This article has come about from two considerations: on one hand, living together in a work environment is becoming more and more challenging; on the other, training professionals at work represents a used and relevant action incentive in order to support and improve individual, group, and organizational development. In light of the fact that organizations are asking more and more complex questions, this work aims at developing a reflection on how adopting a certain perspective and educational method is particularly suitable (...) to support the organization to achieve substantial outcomes, such as developing generative living and working together in organizations. In this article, we will analyze two illustrative cases, underlining evolution and learning process with a particular focus on the consequences of living and working together in organizations. (shrink)

Equality and Liberty: Analysing Rawls and Nozick is an indispensable source for those seriously interested in some rigorous assessments of the ideas of America's two most popular political philosophers. The essays in this volume cover a wide range of topics, some engaging each other in their analyses of particular Rawlsian or Nozickian themes. This collection of recent essays brings the student up-to-date concerning some of the more recent developments and assessments of Rawlsian and Nozickian ideas.

This paper examines philosophically the nature and possible moral justification of racial profiling in terms of color profiling. Precisely what is such profiling, and can it ever be morally justified? If so, under what conditions is it morally justified?

A philosophical assessment of Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, exposing some errors of reasoning that undermine part of the foundation of his atheism. Distinctions between theism, atheism and agnosticism are also provided and explored for their significance to Dawkins' argument.

Introduction : approaching Plato's dialogues -- The mouthpiece interpretation -- The anti-mouthpiece interpretation -- A Socratic interpretation of the concept of art as mimesis -- Conclusion : appreciating Plato's dialogues.