In the story of Coriolanus, as depicted mainly by Plutarch and Shakespeare, we become aware of the norms and parameters of the nobility, the sincerity and the legitimacy of violence, both in diction and action, both political and personal, both as a rhetorical strategy and as a way of living. These attributes indicate a firm culture of violence and a definite system of values, which, within the span of Roman antiquity and history, comprises an early idea of chivalry and which (...) aims at gloria. (shrink)

Acidic substances were known for thousands of years, and their macroscopic-sensory characteristics were reflected by words in most ancient languages. In the Western canon, the history of the concept of acidity goes back to Ancient Greece. In Greek, the word associated with acidity from its early literary references was ὀξύς (“sharp”), and still in contemporary Greek the words “sour” and “acidic” have the same root. This paper makes a short presentation of the appearance of the abstract concept in the works (...) of Plato and Aristotle and relates it, on one side to the already existing theological-philosophical tradition, starting with Hesiod´s Theogony and on the other, to the then available to the Greeks organoleptic experiences of sourness-vinegar and sour milk. (shrink)

v. 1. Religion and mystery -- v. 2. Mystery and philosophy.

Trail-And-Error machines have been proposed by Hintikka and Mutanen as an alternative formulation of the notion of computation. These machines extend the capabilities of the Turing machine and widen the theory of computation.

Résumé Cet article porte sur trois textes de Jacques Derrida – Circonfession (1991), Passions (1993) et Force de loi (1994) – qui ont marqué le tournant politique et autobiographique de sa pensée. Il se penche sur la « grammaire imaginative » de la déconstruction et son objectif est de voir quel type de disparition est présupposé par cette grammaire, vue comme un dialogue entre l’appel à ce qui est condamné à ne pas se dire et la réponse de ce qui (...) émerge en cédant sa place à un nouveau non-dit. En passant par les notions de la justice, du secret et de l’idiome, l’article essaie de mettre en place une poétique déconstructive de la disparition. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Byzantinische Zeitschrift Jahrgang: 112 Heft: 1 Seiten: 252-256.

The last years of Michael Psellos' life are clouded in obscurity. He was certainly active at the court of his student Michael VII (1071–1078), but when Nikephoritzes, the logothetes tou dromou, became imperial advisor (Attaleiates, Historia, 200,12ff) he practically disappeared from the scene. One of the last chronological references found in his Chronographia is the death of Crispinus in 1075 (VII, b 39, 3–4). In that year he also wrote a description of the “usual miracle” which occurred regularly in the (...) church of Blachernai and somewhat later a funeral oration for Patriarch Ioannes Xiphilinos. Among his writings survives another funeral oration which he dedicated to the young Andronikos Doukas. This work is transmitted only in part by cod. Parisinus gr. 1182 and is dated in 1076. From that point on, practically nothing is known about his subsequent life. (shrink)

Vagueness is a linguistic phenomenon as well as a property of physical objects. Fuzzy set theory is a mathematical model of vagueness that has been used to define vague models of computation. The prominent model of vague computation is the fuzzy Turing machine. This conceptual computing device gives an idea of what computing under vagueness means, nevertheless, it is not the most natural model. Based on the properties of this and other models of vague computing, an attempt is made to (...) formulate a basis for a philosophy of a theory of fuzzy computation. (shrink)

Trail-And-Error machines have been proposed by Hintikka and Mutanen as an alternative formulation of the notion of computation. These machines extend the capabilities of the Turing machine and widen the theory of computation.

Generally, an object is vague when its properties cannot precisely defined. The ontic view of vagueness is the idea that vagueness is a fundamental property of Nature. This simply means that everything is vague: animals, plants, molecules, atoms, etc. Furthermore, if atoms and molecules are vague, then the subject matter of chemistry is vague. However, we first need to understand why molecules and atoms are vague.

The book provides the first full length exploration of fuzzy computability. It describes the notion of fuzziness and present the foundation of computability theory. It then presents the various approaches to fuzzy computability. This text provides a glimpse into the different approaches in this area, which is important for researchers in order to have a clear view of the field. It contains a detailed literature review and the author includes all proofs to make the presentation accessible. Ideas for future research (...) and explorations are also provided. Students and researchers in computer science and mathematics will benefit from this work. (shrink)

The book starts with the assumption that vagueness is a fundamental property of this world. From a philosophical account of vagueness via the presentation of alternative mathematics of vagueness, the subsequent chapters explore how vagueness manifests itself in the various exact sciences: physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, computer science, and engineering.

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is an open access, dynamic reference work designed to organize professional philosophers so that they can write, edit, and maintain a reference work in philosophy that is responsive to new research. From its inception, the SEP was designed so that each entry is maintained and kept up to date by an expert or group of experts in the field. All entries and substantive updates are refereed by the members of a distinguished Editorial Board before they (...) are made public. (shrink)

Proceedings from the Symposium Philosophiae Antiquae Secundum Therense, which took place in Santorini, 30th June - 7th July 2002. The theme of this second symposium was Aristotle's account and criticism of Plato's metaphysical theory regarding the fundamental structure of reality, in effect his examination of Plato's theory of concrete things, mathematicals, ideas, and first principles. Contributors: Harold Tarrant; Margherita Isnardi-Parente; David Fowler; Klaus Brinkmann; Andrew Smith; Ian Mueller; Elisabetta Cattanei; Mary Louise Gill; Andreas Graeser; David Ambuel; Kenneth Sayre; and (...) class='Hi'>Apostolos Pierris. (shrink)

Vol. presents a method for critically evaluating relevance in arguments based on case studies & a new relevance theory incorporating techniques of argumentation theory, logic & artificiaI intelligence. For scholars/students in argumentation & rhetoric.

When making decisions, humans can observe many kinds of information about others' activities, but their effects on performance are not well understood. We investigated social learning strategies using a simple problem-solving task in which participants search a complex space, and each can view and imitate others' solutions. Results showed that participants combined multiple sources of information to guide learning, including payoffs of peers' solutions, popularity of solution elements among peers, similarity of peers' solutions to their own, and relative payoffs from (...) individual exploration. Furthermore, performance was positively associated with imitation rates at both the individual and group levels. When peers' payoffs were hidden, popularity and similarity biases reversed, participants searched more broadly and randomly, and both quality and equity of exploration suffered. We conclude that when peers' solutions can be effectively compared, imitation does not simply permit scrounging, but it can also facilitate propagation of good solutions for further cumulative exploration. (shrink)

A "slippery slope argument" is a type of argument in which a first step is taken and a series of inextricable consequences follow, ultimately leading to a disastrous outcome. Many textbooks on informal logic and critical thinking treat the slippery slope argument as a fallacy. Walton argues that used correctly in some cases, they can be a reasonable type of argument to shift a burden of proof in a critical discussion, while in other cases they are used incorrectly. Walton identifies (...) and analyzes four types of slippery slope argument. Walton presents guidelines that show how each type of slippery slope argument can be used correctly or incorrectly, using over fifty case studies of argumentation on controversial issues. These include abortion, medical research on human embryos, euthanasia, the decriminalization of marijuana, pornography, and censorship, and banning of American flag burning. (shrink)

The problem this paper addresses is network based, systematic tax extortion. Four key extortion system elements are considered which expose corruption links between political, administrative and judicial bodies. Based on action‐learning theory, a number of intervention methods for resisting and reforming systematic tax extortion are considered. The strengths and limitations of the methods are considered in the context of a number of case studies. Since the problem of tax extortion is more network based and systematic than it is isolated and (...) individual, any successful method of intervention must target network processes rather than isolated individual behaviours. What appears particularly promising is a social movement‐based combination and sequence of methods that includes dialogue among reformers about system‐level problems, win‐win alliances with instrumental allies, and win‐lose methods against selected opponents to extortion reform. (shrink)

This collection of essays, which includes a revised version of a famous article on the "male lesbian," addresses such issues as race, gender, and sexuality, and explores the body as a physical, psychological, and cultural construct.

De Feuerbach a Derrida, de la gastronomie au cannibalisme et de la saveur a la terreur, cette etude decline les differentes postures du sujet mangeant.<BR> Plus precisement, et resolument ancre dans un corps place au centre du present volume, c'est d'abord un sujet phagique jouissif qui triomphe dans l'autobiographie gastronomique. Mais l'etude examine egalement les modalites d'apparition d'un sujet dysphorique, emiette, spectralise ou vampirise, aussi bien dans les litteratures de l'eclatement de soi que dans les mises en spectacle des dechirements (...) identitaires de l'art corporel. Les contributions permettent enfin de voir comment la metaphore (auto)phagique, pathologique chez les grands lecteurs, toujours digestive, voire stercoraire, se litterarise dans une quotidiennete diarique recyclee ad nauseam, se redefini philosophiquement dans un rapport circulaire au monde et voit son essence sondee par la philosophie anti-idealiste et postmoderne.<BR> Enrichies de l'apport de disciplines differentes, les AutoBioPhagies aspirent en effet a reunir ce que la tradition occidentale a desuni: les deux fonctions principales de la bouche, celle de la parole et celle de la nourriture.". (shrink)

Employing the concept of “layering,” this book seeks to rethink our relation to textual tradition against the background of the emergence of digital culture, the increasing spectacularization of psychic as well as social life, the renegotiation of historical thinking and the precarious position of the theoretical humanities within academia.

Employing the concept of “layering,” this book seeks to rethink our relation to textual tradition against the background of the emergence of digital culture, the increasing spectacularization of psychic as well as social life, the renegotiation of historical thinking and the precarious position of the theoretical humanities within academia.