In every introductory course on logic, students learn that expressions like ‘somebody’, ‘nothing’ or ‘every woman’ are not names or referring expressions, but quantifiers, and that, owing to this,...

The idea that reference is multiply grounded allows causal-historical theories of reference to account for reference change. It also threatens the stability of reference in light of widespread error and confusion. I describe the problem, so far unrecognised, and provide a solution based on the phenomenon of semantic deference, which I differentiate from reference-borrowing. I conclude that deference has an authentic foundational semantic role to play.

Paul Horwich has claimed that we can derive a certain form of the principle of compositionality from a deflationary account of what it is to understand a complex expression. If this were the case, we would realize a surprising theoretical economy, and if the derivation involved basic ideas from a use theory of meaning, we would have a novel argument for use theories of meaning. Horwich does not offer a detailed derivation. In this paper I reconstruct a possible derivation and (...) show that it begs the question. I then extend my discussion to explain why it is unlikely that alternative arguments can fare better. (shrink)

Paul Horwich has claimed that we can derive a certain form of the principle of compositionality from a deflationary account of what it is to understand a complex expression. If this were the case, we would realize a surprising theoretical economy, and if the derivation involved basic ideas from a use theory of meaning, we would have a novel argument for use theories of meaning. Horwich does not offer a detailed derivation. In this paper I reconstruct a possible derivation and (...) show that it begs the question. I then extend my discussion to explain why it is unlikely that alternative arguments can fare better. (shrink)

Use theories of meaning (UTMs) seem ill-equipped to accommodate the intuition that ignorant but deferential speakers use natural kind terms (e.g. 'zinc') and technical expression (e.g. 'credit default swap') with the same meanings as the experts do. After all, their use deviates from the experts', and if use determines meaning, a deviant use ordinarily would determine a deviant meaning. Yet the intuition is plausible and advocates of UTMs believe it can be accommodated. I examine Gilbert Harman's and Paul Horwich's views, (...) and argue that they do not offer a satisfactory reconciliation of the intuition with the theory. I propose an accommodation based on a novel account of semantic deference, and show that it is consistent with UTMs that a speaker may use a word with a certain meaning without fully or adequately knowing it. (shrink)

El presente artículo se propone aclarar la doble lectura del tiempo presente en los documentos conservados de la escuela estoica, sirviéndose para ello del paralelismo existente entre el tiempo y los demás incorpóreos –la pareja vacío-lugar y el expresable– y ampliando la investigación a la Ética, disciplina que sirve de coronamiento al sistema y desde la que es posible apreciar con mayor nitidez el papel clave que la noción de tiempo desempeña en el conjunto del estoicismo y en su hostil (...) reacción frente al aristotelismo. (shrink)

This volume features essays about and by Paul Benacerraf, whose ideas have circulated in the philosophical community since the early nineteen sixties, shaping key areas in the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of language, the philosophy of logic, and epistemology. The book started as a worskhop held in Paris at the Collège de France in May 2012 with the participation of Paul Benacerraf. The introduction addresses the methodological point of the legitimate use of so-called “Princess Margaret Premises” in drawing philosophical (...) conclusions from Gödel’s first incompleteness theorem. The book is then divided into three sections. The first is devoted to an assessment of the improved version of the original dilemma of “Mathematical Truth” due to Hartry Field: the challenge to the platonist is now to explain the reliability of our mathematical beliefs given the very subject matter of mathematics, either pure or applied. The second addresses the issue of the ontological status of numbers: Frege’s logicism, fictionalism, structuralism, and Bourbaki’s theory of structures are called up for an appraisal of Benacerraf’s negative conclusions of “What Numbers Could Not Be.” The third is devoted to supertasks and bears witness to the unique standing of Benacerraf’s first publication: “Tasks, Super-Tasks, and Modern Eleatics” in debates on Zeno’s paradox and associated paradoxes, infinitary mathematics, and constructivism and finitism in the philosophy of mathematics. Two yet unpublished essays by Benacerraf have been included in the volume: an early version of “Mathematical Truth” from 1968 and an essay on “What Numbers Could Not Be” from the mid 1970’s. A complete chronological bibliography of Benacerraf’s work to 2016 is provided.Essays by Jody Azzouni, Paul Benacerraf, Justin Clarke-Doane, Sébastien Gandon, Brice Halimi, Jon Pérez Laraudogoitia, Mary Leng, Antonio Leòn-Sànchez and Ana Leòn-Mejía, Marco Panza, Fabrice Pataut, Philippe de Rouilhan, Andrea Sereni, and Stewart Shapiro. (shrink)

The paper shows how the Bohmian approach to quantum physics can be applied to develop a clear and coherent ontology of non-perturbative quantum gravity. We suggest retaining discrete objects as the primitive ontology also when it comes to a quantum theory of space-time and therefore focus on loop quantum gravity. We conceive atoms of space, represented in terms of nodes linked by edges in a graph, as the primitive ontology of the theory and show how a non-local law in which (...) a universal and stationary wave-function figures can provide an order of configurations of such atoms of space such that the classical space-time of general relativity is approximated. Although there is as yet no fully worked out physical theory of quantum gravity, we regard the Bohmian approach as setting up a standard that proposals for a serious ontology in this field should meet and as opening up a route for fruitful physical and mathematical investigations. (shrink)

A statement of hyperarithmetic analysis is a sentence of second order arithmetic S such that for every Y⊆ω, the minimum ω-model containing Y of RCA0 + S is HYP, the ω-model consisting of the sets hyperarithmetic in Y. We provide an example of a mathematical theorem which is a statement of hyperarithmetic analysis. This statement, that we call INDEC, is due to Jullien [13]. To the author's knowledge, no other already published, purely mathematical statement has been found with this property (...) until now. We also prove that, over RCA0, INDEC is implied by [Formula: see text] and implies ACA0, but of course, neither ACA0, nor ACA 0+ imply it. We introduce five other statements of hyperarithmetic analysis and study the relations among them. Four of them are related to finitely-terminating games. The fifth one, related to iterations of the Turing jump, is strictly weaker than all the other statements that we study in this paper, as we prove using Steel's method of forcing with tagged trees. (shrink)

Instead of the currently prevailing competitive model, a more collaborative strategy is needed to address the concerns related to the unsustainability of today’s business. This article aims to explore collaborative approaches where enterprises seek to build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with all stakeholders and want to produce sustainable values for their whole business ecosystem. Cases here analyzed demonstrate that alternative ways of doing business are possible. These enterprises share more democratic ownership structures, more balanced and broader governance systems, and a (...) more comprehensive view of organizational goals and performance – which goes beyond the narrow concept of financial bottom line and into a stronger and systematic care of the needs and requirements of the different stakeholder groups. Thanks to this evidence and different theoretical and empirical contributions, we suggest that the strength and sustainability of enterprises come from their ability to fit into the environmental, social, and cultural context in which they operate. By creating values for all stakeholders, enterprises can involve them and gain deep support based on their commitment. This may lead to superior performance from a multiple-bottom-line perspective. (shrink)

We defend, from a contractarian perspective, that the fair price of an insurance policy is the amount that the contracting parties agree when they are both equally uncertain about the insured event. Drawing on the approach developed by R. Sugden in _The Community of Advantage_, we answer two standard objections raised against contractarianism in the actuarial sciences: (1) people are not wise enough to assess their actuarial risks; (2) they are not rational enough to decide which insurance policy suits them (...) better. We show under which circumstances people can make fair actuarial agreements, without presupposing any objective risk or rationality benchmarks. (shrink)

A philosopher and political thinker describes a new political grammar free of modernist assumptions. In 2004 and 2005, Antonio Negri held ten workshops at the Collège International de Philosophie in Paris to formulate a new political grammar of the postmodern. Biopolitics, biopowers, control, the multitude, people, war, borders, dependency and interdependency, state, nation, the common, difference, resistance, subjective rights, revolution, freedom, democracy: these are just a few of the themes Negri addressed in these experimental laboratories. Postmodernity, Negri suggests, can (...) be described as a “porcelain factory”: a delicate and fragile construction that could be destroyed through one clumsy act. Looking across twentieth century history, Negri warns that our inability to anticipate future developments has already placed coming generations in serious jeopardy. Describing the years 1917-1968 as the “short century,” Negri suggests that by the end of it, all of the familiar markers of modernity had lost their relevance. Confronted with an intolerable reality, indignation and the revolutionary will to transform the world have both taken new forms and must be understood anew, free of modernist assumptions. In the impassioned debates recounted in this book, Antonio Negri attempts to describe the formation of an alternative political horizon and looks for a way to define the practices and modes of expression that democracy could take.Antonio Negri is a philosopher and essay writer. A political and social activist in the 1960s and 1970s in Italy, he taught political sciences for many years and has written numerous books on political philosophy including Marx beyond Marx, The Savage Anomaly, Insurgencies ; and in collaboration with Michael Hardt, Empire and Multitude. (shrink)

In this paper we prove that the category of abelianl-groups is equivalent to the category of perfect MV-algebras. Furthermore, we give a finite equational axiomatization of the variety generated by perfect MV-algebras.

San Isidoro de Sevilla destaca por poseer un saber universal. Esta universalidad de su saber también es expresada en su reflexión sobre el ministerio sacerdotal. A través de una triple aproximación «teológica», «pastoral» y «espiritual», invita a los obispos y presbíteros a vivir su ministerio de una forma «eclesial», «virtuosa» y «santa».

This essay is an attempt to establish the relevance of conceptual analysis and explication to the understanding of classical chinese philosophy. It is suggested that an employment of the methodology brings out problems of philosophical interest.

O objectivo do presente artigo é apresentar as ideias que o físico teórico austríaco Ludwig Boltzmann (1844-1906) desenvolveu acerca da natureza e do papel das leis do pensamento. Muito influenciado por Charles Darwin, Boltzmann recusou-se a compreender as leis do pensamento segundo a filosofia de Kant. Em particular, Boltzmann defendeu uma concepção evolutiva das leis do pensamento. O artigo mostra de que forma a concepção das leis do pensamento aceite por Boltzmann impôs uma transformação da sua ideia sobre aquilo que (...) seria o próprio da filosofia. /// Aim of this article is to show some of the epistemological ideas developed by Ludwig Bolzmann (1844-1906). The author of the article considers in particular Bolzmann's view on the nature and role of the laws of reason in the construction of scientific theories. Moreover, he also analyses the influence of Charles Darwin on the Austrian theoretical physicist and how this influence can be viewed as the turning point for the definition of Boltzmann's conception of philosophy. (shrink)

Assuming that $0^\#$ exists, we prove that there is a structure that can effectively interpret its own jump. In particular, we get a structure $\mathcal A$ such that \[ \textit{Sp}({\mathcal A}) = \{{\bf x}'\colon {\bf x}\in \textit{Sp}({\mathcal A})\}, \] where $\textit{Sp}({\mathcal A})$ is the set of Turing degrees which compute a copy of $\mathcal A$. More interesting than the result itself is its unexpected complexity. We prove that higher-order arithmetic, which is the union of full $n$th-order arithmetic for all $n$, (...) cannot prove the existence of such a structure. (shrink)

The paper, on the one hand, presents a reconstruction of the origin and development of the concepts of “anthropotechnics” and “homeotechnics” in Peter Sloterdijk’s thought, of the anthropological basis of his social philosophy, and of the question of subjectivity addressed in his book You Must Change Your Life (2009). On the other hand, it investigates with a critical aim the different forms of otherness that Sloterdijk theorizes in his philosophical works and the possible solipsistic implications of this concept.

El propósito de este trabajo consiste en exponer las tareas más apremiantes que, a juicio del autor, debe asumir la Filosofía del Derecho del presente y del inmediato futuro. Para ello, se analizan las dos tareas que se consideran de interés prioritario: la primera versa en torno a lo que entraña el desafío tecnológico propio de la sociedad digital que habitamos y que se concreta en la respuesta que desde la filosofía jurídica debe avanzarse respecto a la omnipresencia en todos (...) los ámbitos sociales, económicos, políticos, culturales y jurídicos de la Inteligencia Artificial (IA). Hace referencia la segunda al riesgo cultural que entraña la pretensión de determinados movimientos que se autoconsideran portavoces de los signos del universo tecnológico y los desarrollos de la tecnociencia, para inferir la propuesta ideológica del final del humanismo y el inicio de la era posthumanista. El trabajo concluye asignando a la Filosofía del Derecho la función de ser la conciencia de la IA que es Inteligencia sin conciencia; y de reivindicar la persistente necesidad de respetar y realizar los valores humanistas frente a su pretendida abolición por el posthumanismo. (shrink)

_Factory of Strategy_ is the last of Antonio Negri's major political works to be translated into English. Rigorous and accessible, it is both a systematic inquiry into the development of Lenin's thought and an encapsulation of a critical shift in Negri's theoretical trajectory. Lenin is the only prominent politician of the modern era to seriously question the "withering away" and "extinction" of the state, and like Marx, he recognized the link between capitalism and modern sovereignty and the need to (...) destroy capitalism and reconfigure the state. Negri refrains from portraying Lenin as a ferocious dictator enforcing the proletariat's reappropriation of wealth, nor does he depict him as a mere military tool of a vanguard opposed to the Ancien Régime. Negri instead champions Leninism's ability to adapt to different working-class configurations in Russia, China, Latin America, and elsewhere. He argues that Lenin developed a new political figuration in and beyond modernity and an effective organization capable of absorbing different historical conditions. He ultimately urges readers to recognize the universal application of Leninism today and its potential to institutionally--not anarchically--dismantle centralized power. (shrink)

In this paper we prove that the category of abelian l-groups is equivalent to the category of perfect MV-algebras. Furthermore, we give a finite equational axiomatization of the variety generated by perfect MV-algebras.

Among the literature of the 1970s which enthusiastically emphasized the externalist approach to the history of science was an article by John Farley and Gerald L. Geison which has often been referred to. It gave an interpretation of the spontaneous generation debate of 1859–64 between Louis Pasteur and Félix A. Pouchet, which suggests that Pasteur's victory was largely due to religious and political factors which favoured him rather than to experimental evidence. Although this view has been challenged by Nils Roll-Hansen, (...) no historian has yet appreciated the full context of the debate which involves the French Academy of Sciences. The Academy had fostered research through prize-questions on spontanteous generation and related issues for nearly twenty years. This new evidence radically alters the feasibility of Pouchet's support for spontaneous generation.A closer examination of Pouchet's writings shows that his religious beliefs influenced his work at least as much as in the case of Pasteur. Pouchet's deeply held commitment to spontaneous generation was not open to modification in the light of new experimental evidence. It was therefore a clear case of a research programme which was not ‘progressive’ and did not deserve to succeed. (shrink)

We present a new metaphysical framework for physics that is conceptually clear, ontologically parsimonious, and empirically adequate. This framework relies on the notion of self-subsisting structure, that is, a set of fundamental physical elements whose individuation and behavior are described in purely relational terms, without any need for a background spacetime. Although the specification of the fundamental elements of the ontology depends on the particular physical domain considered---and is thus susceptible to scientific progress---, the empirically successful structural features of the (...) framework are preserved through theory change. The kinematics and dynamics of these self-subsisting structures are technically implemented using the theoretical framework of Pure Shape Dynamics, which provides a completely relational physical description of a system in terms of the intrinsic geometry of a suitably defined space called shape space. (shrink)

This paper explores the question of whether it is possible to be communist without Marx. This entails encountering the ontological dimension of communism, that is, the material tenor of this ontology, its residual effectiveness, the desire of human beings to go beyond capital, and the reality of the episode of statism.