In the history of the Indian grammatical tradition, Bhartṛhari (about fifth century C.E.) is the fourth great grammarian - after Pāṇini, Kātyāyana and Patañjali - and the first to make the philosophical aspects of language and grammar the main subject of an independent work. This work, the Vākyapadīya (VP), consists of about 2000 philosophical couplets or kārikās. Since the latter half of the nineteenth century, the VP has been known to Western Sanskritists, but its language-philosophical contents have started to receive (...) serious attention only in the last few decennia. The subject matter of the VP resonates strongly with crucial themes in twentieth-century Western thought, although the background and the way the issues are elaborated are quite different. Scholars have compared and contrasted Bhartṛhari's ideas with those of de Saussure, Wittgenstein and Derrida. A theme which, as a leitmotiv, pervades the entire VP is the relation between language, thought and reality. In several Indian traditions, a proper insight into this relation was (and still is) held to be of importance for attaining 'liberation'. (shrink)

This paper is devoted to theoretical and methodical considerations on our study and understanding of macroscopic transitions in the world of Sanskrit intellectuals from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century (cf. Pollock, Indian Economic and Social History Review 38(1):3–31, 2001). It is argued that compared to his immediate predecessors Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita’s contribution to Prakriyā grammars was modest. It was to a large extent on account of changed circumstances—over the centuries mainly a slow but steady decline—in the position of Sanskrit and (...) the general public’s need for a simple definition of authoritatively correct Sanskrit that Bhaṭṭoji’s grammar met with success so quickly, so widely, and so solidly. I once knew a little boy in England who asked his father, “Do fathers always know more than sons?” and the father said “Yes.” The next question was, “Daddy, who invented the steam engine?” and the father said “James Watt.” And then the son came back with “But why didn’t James Watt’s father invent it?” Gregory Bateson (1972, p. 21). (shrink)

ABSTRACT The goal of this paper is to improve heuristics for hard news discourse by proposing a cognitive model of abstraction, regarding social media contexts. To this end, hard news is discussed as a genre, structure and metalanguage, under the formal definition of a semiotic mode. Annotation is a successful technology to control the effects of genre operations, reveal relations, and to inquire about data and documents. It proceeds to characterize Twitter’s interface, in terms of formal and material regularities, employed (...) recursively. It further demonstrates the formalization of a semantics for hard news discourse in the so-called logical forms, which has been adapted from analytical tools developed by the Segmented Theory of Discourse Representation (SDRT) in order to examine coherence in different levels of detail. Finally, the implication of this approach as a discipline is discussed, regarding the production of transversal knowledge aiming at digital literacy, which urges in present times.1. (shrink)

O artigo desenvolve uma reflexão sobre o conceito winnicottiano de núcleo isolado do si-mesmo, ao qual se atribui o caráter de ser permanentemente desconhecido e incomunicável. O tema é discutido a partir de um outro conceito do mesmo autor, o de cisão da personalidade em verdadeiro e falso si-mesmo, com a ajuda de textos de Marion Milner em que esta questiona Winnicott acerca do isolamento e incomunicabilidade. Na sequência, é examinada a importância terapêutica do "objeto que sobrevive". Sobre este último (...) tema, é oferecida uma ilustração clínica.The article develops a reflection on Winnicott's concept of isolated self, to which are attributed characters of being permanently unknown and incommunicable. This topic is further discussed with the help of another concept of the same author, that of scision into the true and the false self, and of some texts by Marion Milner where Winnicott's ideas of isolation and incommunicability are questioned. In the sequence, the therapeutic significance of the "object which survives" is examined. To that end, a clinical exemple is presented and analized. (shrink)

That "truth is subjectivity" is a claim made by one of Kierkegaard's pseudonyms, Johannes Climacus, and not Kierkegaard himself. Nevertheless, the view is associated with Kierkegaard and has been widely accepted as meaning that "truth is subjective." This paper first clarifies Climacus' claim that "truth is subjectivity" in Concluding Unscientific Postscript, and then it explores Unamuno's reception and use of the concept. The two main aspects of "truth is subjectivity" that Unamuno gleans from Climacus are that in order for truth (...) to matter, it must be lived, and that in order for the truth to be lived, it must be appropriated in passion. There are significant differences between the two authors concerning the existence of objective truth and the use of doubt, but both Climacus and Unamuno recognize the need for truth to be lived passionately for a person truly to be a human being. /// A declaração de que "a verdade é subjectividade" foi feita por um dos pseudónimos de Kierkegaard, Johannes Climacus, e não pelo próprio Kierkegaard. Apesar disso, esta posição tern sido associada com Kierkegaard e tern sido amplamente difundida no sentido de significar que a "verdade é subjectiva". Objectivo do presente artigo é, por isso, antes de mais, clarificar o sentido da expressão de Climacus de que "a verdade é subjectividade" na obra Postscript, para depois explorar a recepção e o uso que Miguel de Unamuno faz do conceito. Os dois aspectos associados com a afirmação de que a "verdade é subjectividade" que Unamuno recebe de Climacus são os de que em ordem a que a questão da verdade seja realmente importante é necessário que ela seja vivida, e que em ordem a que a verdade seja vivida é necessário que ela seja apropriada com paixão. O artigo mostra, assim, que existem diferenças significativas entre os dois autores a propósito da existência de uma verdade objectiva e do uso da dúvida, mas também que tanto Climacus como Unamuno reconhecem a necessidade de que a verdade seja vivida apaixonadamente para que uma pessoa viva a plenitude da sua condição humana. (shrink)

RESUMO O objetivo do artigo é aperfeiçoar heurísticas para o discurso das notícias por meio do desenvolvimento de um modelo cognitivo de abstração, em contextos de mídia social. Para tal, discute-se a notícia como gênero, estrutura e metalinguagem, partindo da noção formal de modo semiótico. A anotação sob essa visada é uma tecnologia bem-sucedida para controlar os efeitos das restrições de gênero, revelar relações e inquirir sobre dados e documentos. Procede-se à anotação da notícia na interface do Twitter, caracterizada em (...) termos de suas regularidades formais e materiais empregadas recursivamente. Demonstra-se a formalização de uma semântica para o discurso da notícia nas chamadas formas lógicas, adaptada de ferramentas desenvolvidas pela Segmented Discourse Representation Theory (SDRT), a fim de construir novas hipóteses sobre coerência em diferentes níveis de detalhe. Por fim, discute-se a implicação desta abordagem como disciplina na produção de conhecimento transversal com vistas à literacia digital, em tempos urgentes1. (shrink)

O artigo tem por objetivo investigar a particular relação que se estabelece entre a temática do início da filosofia – que é de extrema importância para toda a “escola fenomenológica de Freiburg” – e a concepção da essência da filosofia tal como desenvolvida especificamente no pensamento de Martin Heidegger e Eugen Fink. A partir da reinterpretação e radicalização operadas em relação à abordagem estabelecida pela fenomenologia husserliana, mostraremos como a figura de Husserl se impõe tanto como pano de fundo quanto (...) como alvo polêmico das reflexões de Heidegger e Fink. Assim, se o primeiro desenvolve uma concepção da filosofia como práxis radical de um “outro” pensamento, que procede por tentativas e experimentações, o segundo transforma a fenomenologia husserliana no sentido de uma filosofia da liberdade. (shrink)

Die Debatten zu den Themen Physikalismus, Willensfreiheit und Künstliche Intelligenz stehen seit einigen Jahren im Mittelpunkt der Philosophie des Geistes. In den Debatten um den Physikalismus geht es dabei u.a. um folgende Fragen: Lässt sich alles, was es gibt, physikalisch erklären - auch der menschliche Geist? Lässt sich alles auf das Physische reduzieren? Ist der Bereich des Physischen kausal geschlossen? Realisiert das Physische das Mentale? Wie lässt sich mentale Verursachung erklären? In den Debatten um Willensfreiheit fragt man sich: Sind wir (...) physikalisch determiniert? Können wir freie Entscheidungen treffen? Sind wir für unsere Handlungen verantwortlich? Wie verhalten sich Freiheit und Determinismus zueinander? Welchen Beitrag kann die empirische Forschung leisten? In den Debatten um Künstliche Intelligenz werden diese Fragen verhandelt: Können Maschinen denken? Unterscheiden sich Menschen von Maschinen? Sind uns Computer geistig überlegen? Stellt maschinelle Intelligenz ein Modell für menschliche Kognition dar? Welchen wissenschaftlichen Nutzen kann Künstliche Intelligenz haben? Zu jedem der drei Themen Physikalismus, Willensfreiheit und Künstliche Intelligenz bietet das Buch drei Originalbeiträge von renommierten Wissenschaftlern verschiedener Disziplinen sowie jeweils einen kritischen Kommentar. Auf diese Weise soll deutlich werden, dass die drei Themen nicht nur eng miteinander zusammenhängen, sondern auch interdisziplinär von großem Interesse sind. (shrink)

O presente artigo apresenta um estudo detalhado sobre a dimensão performativa implícita na redução fenomenológica a partir de uma análise das obras de Edmund Husserl e da sua reinterpretação nas contribuições de Eugen Fink. Atribuindo à função do espectador transcendental a estrutura de janela, estrutura esta previamente desenvolvida nas pesquisas sobre os atos das presentificações em geral e sobre a consciência de imagem em particular, Fink consegue demonstrar a medialidade característica da redução, verdadeiro centro operativo da fenomenologia. Essa função medial (...) — situada, como uma janela, entre o âmbito mundano e a esfera transcendental — será um elemento fundamental tanto para o desenvolvimento da fenomenologia constitutiva de Husserl e suas análises sobre a história transcendental, quanto para a teoria transcendental do método e sua tematização pelo pensamento fenomenológico in fieri, bem como para a declinação meôntica da fenomenologia proposta por Fink. Neste sentido, a operação da redução será radicalizada numa performance que pretende “fissurar” a “superfície da vida transcendental”, criando aí uma abertura ao transcendental. A partir deste topos medial, o espectador transcendental se torna, portanto, uma espécie de panopticum “não envolvido” e “imparcial” do jogo da constituição, o qual ele pode enxergar através da janela aberta pela redução entre o âmbito natural e o transcendental como um imenso espetáculo. O espetáculo da “ontogênese” transcendental — anteriormente escondida uma latência anônima, sepultada na profundidade de um esquecimento “antigo como o mundo” — apresenta-se entre a subjetividade constituinte transcendental e seu produto final: a finitude, a correlação experiencial constituída entre ser humano e mundo. Finalmente, retomando as sugestões implicadas no fenômeno da imagem, as conclusões traçam um paralelismo com os famosos Cortes de Luciano Fontana, obras de arte performativa que, substituindo a represented spatiality por uma acted spatiality, rompem com o espaço “natural” e tradicional da imagem para adentrar, através da criação de uma cesura, de um corte na superfície da imagem, o infinito. (shrink)

Um dos livros mais comentados naIdade Média foi o Liber de causis, também conhecidocomo O livro da suprema felicidade.Trata-se de um pequeno texto, baseado na obraElementos teológicos de Proclo. Embora sejampoucas as referências diretas a'o homem ou àÉtica, contudo, é possível elaborar, em linhasgerais, a partir dele, tanto uma Antropologiacomo uma Ética.

Dieser Band versammelt originäre Beiträge am Schnittpunkt von Philosophie, Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Kultur- und Theaterwissenschaft. Auf der Grundlage von Falluntersuchungen zum 17. Jahrhundert trägt er zum Verständnis der Rolle bei, die Instrumente im Schnittfeld von Wissenschaft und Kunst spielen. Die Beiträge verfolgen dabei die Hypothese, dass die Entwicklung und Gestaltung von Instrumenten wesentlich zur Eröffnung neuer Felder des Wissens, zur Entstehung neuer kultureller Praktiken, aber auch zur Abgrenzung bestimmter Genres, Methoden und Disziplinen beiträgt. Diese Perspektive führt die Beiträge dieses Bandes dazu, auf (...) neue Weise das, was ein Instrument überhaupt ausmacht, zu durchdenken und eine Reihe von Grundfragen zur Bestimmung des Instrumentes zu erarbeiten: Welche Handlungen verkörpert das Instrument? Welche Handlungen werden durch das Instrument ermöglicht? Wann werden Untersuchungsobjekte ihrerseits Instrumente? Welche Fähigkeiten setzt der Instrumentengebrauch voraus, welche produziert er? Durch die Kombination neuer theoretischer Modelle und historischer Fallstudien, durch den detailgenauen Nachweis des gegenseitigen Einflusses von Kunst und Wissenschaft am Schnittpunkt des Instrumentes betritt dieser Band Neuland. Er ist von großem Wert für alle, die sich für die Vorgeschichte unsere instrumentengeleiteten Wahrnehmung interessieren. Zu den Autoren des Bandes zählen neben den Herausgebern Jörg Jochen Berns, Olaf Breidbach, Georges Didi-Huberman, Peter Galison, Sybille Krämer, Dieter Mersch, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Wilhelm Schmidt-Biggemann und Otto Sibum. (shrink)

Presumption of Equality requires that individuals be treated equally in the absence of relevant information that would discriminate between them. Our objective is to make this principle more precise, if viewed as a principle of fairness, and to determine why and under what conditions it should be obeyed. Presumption norms are procedural constraints, but their justification can be sought in the possible or expected outcomes of the procedures they regulate. This is the avenue pursued here. The suggestion is that in (...) the absence of information that would discriminate between the individuals, equal treatment minimizes the expected unfairness of the outcome. A related suggestion is that equal treatment under these circumstances also minimizes the maximal possible unfairness of the outcome. Whether these suggestions are correct or not depends on the properties of the underlying unfairness measure. The required properties are specified. (shrink)

O presente ensaio aborda a presença de Nietzsche nos Cadernos negros de Heidegger com o intuito de esclarecer e analisar o papel filosófico que Nietzsche aí desempenha. A partir de ferramentas hermenêuticas básicas para a leitura e interpretação do conjunto dos textos que compõem o conjunto chamado Cadernos negros, composto de textos enigmáticos e únicos em relação ao corpus heideggeriano, a figura de Nietzsche aparece não apenas como um centro de referência privilegiado para o pensamento heideggeriano da década de 1930-40, (...) mas também, e principalmente, como o impulso fundamental da profunda reformulação de suas coordenadas principais. (shrink)

Estudo introdutório de apresentação, seguido de tradução, da palestra “Fenomenologia e antropologia”, ministradas por Edmund Husserl nas sedes da Kantgesellschaft de Frankfurt, Berlim e Halle em 1931, na qual avalia criticamente, a partir dos pressupostos transcendentais da fenomenologia, a tendência da filosofia alemã dos anos 20 do século passado para uma antropologia filosófica.

resumo Neste artigo exploramos algumas indicações, presentes nos textos de Patočka, que apontam para uma concepção da linguagem que não a põe mais como camada derivada com relação a um solo perceptivo originário. Dissociando intuitividade e originariedade, Patoˇcka estabelece uma co-originariedade entre linguagem e percepção, co-originariedade da qual procuramos ao mesmo tempo esclarecer o sentido e determinar os limites. palavras-chave linguagem – percepção – fenomenologia – intuição – fala.

Este artigo apresenta a pertinência do olhar dissidente de Jan Patočka para a atualidade. A partir de sua obra fundamental, tecemos considerações em torno à sua perspectiva fenomenológico-existencial. O intuito é destacar seu engajamento filosófico existencial, a pertinência de suas críticas ao totalitarismo e sua preocupação com o avanço de uma tecnocracia que ameaça a existência humana. Argumenta-se que a postura filosófica do filósofo de Praga torna-se paradigmática para a conjuntura atual e para a práxis filosófica autêntica.

En este trabajo describimos las líneas básicas del análisis fenómeno-lógico de la corporalidad en Patočka. El estudio de la corporalidad es un elemento clave en el proyecto de fenomenología asubjetiva de Jan Patočka. Es en ella donde se da la inserción del sujeto finito en el mundo y es en ella donde se hace compren-sible el dinamismo del sujeto en el mundo, un sujeto que no “constituye” el mundo sino que es una fuerza en el campo de fuerzas del aparecer.In (...) this paper we describe the basic lines of Jan Patočka’s analysis of em-bodiment. The study of corporeality is a key element in Patočka’s project of an a-subjetive Phenomenology. It is within corporeality where the finite subject’s inser-tion in the world takes place and it is there that the subject’s dynamism becomes understandable; this subject does not “constitute” the world but is a force in the field of forces of appearance. (shrink)

En este trabajo describimos las líneas básicas del análisis fenómeno-lógico de la corporalidad en Patočka. El estudio de la corporalidad es un elemento clave en el proyecto de fenomenología asubjetiva de Jan Patočka. Es en ella donde se da la inserción del sujeto finito en el mundo y es en ella donde se hace compren-sible el dinamismo del sujeto en el mundo, un sujeto que no “constituye” el mundo sino que es una fuerza en el campo de fuerzas del aparecer.In (...) this paper we describe the basic lines of Jan Patočka’s analysis of em-bodiment. The study of corporeality is a key element in Patočka’s project of an a-subjetive Phenomenology. It is within corporeality where the finite subject’s inser-tion in the world takes place and it is there that the subject’s dynamism becomes understandable; this subject does not “constitute” the world but is a force in the field of forces of appearance. (shrink)

Nosso número 70 traz uma série de reflexões que tocam cruzamentos entre a Filosofia, a Educação e, neles, um sentido de formação que, de alguma maneira, reúne em comum essas duas regiões do saber. Aliás, é sobretudo em torno desse sentido de comum, para além do domínio do conhecimento, mobilizando densas questões de ordem moral e política, que o dossiê Governo das diferenças e as cartografias do ingovernável na educação: entre a arte e a política, organizado pelos professores Pedro Ângelo (...) Pagni e Divino José da Silva, nos conduz entre os inúmeros desafios do Mesmo e da Diferença. Aproveitamos para convidar à leitura de sua apresentação! Nesse momento em que nos movemos, em um mundo que usávamos “partilhar” por meio da informação, e que vemos agora experienciado em comum pela presença global de uma ameaça invisível e pela intensificação de práticas de recusa da diferença: sucumbimos ou resistimos? Que controvérsias produtoras, resistências e afirmações somos capazes de sustentar? Diante do conflito entre uma tradição que nos formou, ao mesmo tempo em que cristalizava preconceitos e privilégios, e os esforços emancipatórios que clamam por diferença e equidade ética, política e material: o que pode nos oferecer o pensamento? Ele diz respeito ao que nos fortalece diante da experiência oscilante entre o medo e o enfrentamento, ao entrecruzamento mesmo entre o “pessimismo da inteligência” e o “otimismo da vontade” gramscianos. É nele que podemos sustentar o desafio do “um” nas margens e contornos da diferença, desdobrando sentidos do resistir e do formar que, em sentidos distintos de alcance e significância, podemos oferecer aos processos totalizadores de condução da existência. [...] Nós, da Revista Educação e Filosofia, esperamos que você, leitora e leitor, façam grande proveito da leitura! (shrink)

O nosso objetivo é apresentar e discutir o método de interpretar as Escrituras desenvolvido e aplicado por Spinoza. Com efeito, já se encontrando na maturidade de seu pensamento, e envolvido na política a favor de seu pensionista Jan de Witt, chefe do partido liberal, Spinoza interrompe a sua obra suma, a Ética, para escrever o Tractatus thelogico-politicus, no qual irá defender a libertas philosofandi a partir da distinção entre os campos da razão e da fé, de maneira a associar esta (...) à função de mera instrutora do vulgo incapaz de ascender à virtude pela via da luz natural: caminho próprio do sábio que não age pelo medo de coação ou pela recompensa da ação, mas unicamente pelo amor intelectual ao summum bonum. É por isso que realizará uma interpretação da Sacra Scriptura e a proposta de um método capaz de explicá-la por ela mesma, de maneira imanente à semelhança de como as ciências estudam a natureza. (shrink)

Publicado originalmente em 1974, este breve artigo de John Corcoran analisa algumas passagens da obra de Jan Lukasiewicz dedicada à silogística de Aristóteles, refutando a tese do lógico polonês de que os silogismos aristotélicos seriam condicionais universalizados.

This paper develops a probabilistic reconstruction of the No Miracles Argument in the debate between scientific realists and anti-realists. The goal of the paper is to clarify and to sharpen the NMA by means of a probabilistic formalization. In particular, we demonstrate that the persuasive force of the NMA depends on the particular disciplinary context where it is applied, and the stability of theories in that discipline. Assessments and critiques of "the" NMA, without reference to a particular context, are misleading (...) and should be relinquished. This result has repercussions for recent anti-realist arguments, such as the claim that the NMA commits the base rate fallacy. It also helps to explain the persistent disagreement between realists and anti-realists. (shrink)

In view of the philosophical problems that vex the debate on situated affectivity, it can seem wise to focus on simple cases. Accordingly, theorists often single out scenarios in which an individual employs a device in order to enhance their emotional experience, or to achieve new kinds of experience altogether, such as playing an instrument, going to the movies or sporting a fancy handbag. I argue that this narrow focus on cases that fit a ‘user/resource model’ tends to channel attention (...) away from more complex and also more problematic instances of situated affectivity. Among these are scenarios in which a social domain draws individuals into certain modes of affective interaction, often by way of attunement and habituation to affective styles and interaction patterns that are normative in the domain in question. This can lead to a phenomenon that is not so much ‘mind extension’ than ‘mind invasion’: affectivity is dynamically framed and modulated from without, often contrary to the prior orientations of the individuals in question. As an example, I discuss affective patterns prevalent in today’s corporate workplace. I claim that workplace affect sometimes contributes to what is effectively a ‘hack’ of employees’ subjectivity. (shrink)

According to influential accounts of scientific method, such as critical rationalism, scientific knowledge grows by repeatedly testing our best hypotheses. But despite the popularity of hypothesis tests in statistical inference and science in general, their philosophical foundations remain shaky. In particular, the interpretation of non-significant results—those that do not reject the tested hypothesis—poses a major philosophical challenge. To what extent do they corroborate the tested hypothesis, or provide a reason to accept it? Popper sought for measures of corroboration that could (...) adequately answer this question. According to Popper, corroboration is different from probability-raising, and grounded in the predictive success and testability of a hypothesis. As such, corroboration becomes an indicator of the scientific value of a hypothesis and guides our practical preferences over hypotheses that have been subjected to severe tests. This article proves two impossibility results for corroboration measures based on statistical relevance. The generality of these results shows that Popper’s qualitative characterization of corroboration must be misguided. I explore what a more promising and scientifically useful concept of corroboration could look like. (shrink)

This text addresses a problem that is not sufficiently dealt with in most of the recent literature on emotion and feeling. The problem is a general underestimation of the extent to which affective intentionality is essentially bodily. Affective intentionality is the sui generis type of world-directedness that most affective states – most clearly the emotions – display. Many theorists of emotion overlook the extent to which intentional feelings are essentially bodily feelings. The important but quite often overlooked fact is that (...) the bodily feelings in question are not the regularly treated, non-intentional bodily sensations (known from Jamesian accounts of emotion), but rather crucial carriers of world-directed intentionality. Consequently, most theories of human emotions and feelings recently advocated are deficient in terms of phenomenological adequacy. This text tries to make up for this deficit and develops a catalogue of five central features of intentional bodily feelings. In addition, Jesse Prinz’s embodied appraisal theory is criticized as an exemplary case of the misconstrual of the bodily nature of affective experience in naturalistic philosophy of mind. (shrink)

We introduce the working concept of “affective arrangement.” This concept is the centerpiece of a perspective on situated affectivity that emphasizes relationality, dynamics, and performativity. Our proposal relates to work in cultural studies and continental philosophy in the Spinoza–Deleuze lineage, yet it is equally geared to the terms of recent work in the philosophy of emotion. Our aim is to devise a framework that can help flesh out how affectivity unfolds dynamically in a relational setting by which it is at (...) the same time modulated in recurring ways. With this orientation, this article contributes to the interdisciplinary study of situated affectivity and to the theoretical and conceptual unification of distinct strands of research from several disciplines. (shrink)

Inductive logic generalizes the idea of logical entailment and provides standards for the evaluation of non-conclusive arguments. A main application of inductive logic is the generalization of observational data to theoretical models. In the empirical sciences, the mathematical theory of statistics addresses the same problem. This paper argues that there is no separable purely logical aspect of statistical inference in a variety of complex problems. Instead, statistical practice is often motivated by decision-theoretic considerations and resembles empirical science.

Why are conditional degrees of belief in an observation E, given a statistical hypothesis H, aligned with the objective probabilities expressed by H? After showing that standard replies are not satisfactory, I develop a suppositional analysis of conditional degree of belief, transferring Ramsey’s classical proposal to statistical inference. The analysis saves the alignment, explains the role of chance-credence coordination, and rebuts the charge of arbitrary assessment of evidence in Bayesian inference. Finally, I explore the implications of this analysis for Bayesian (...) reasoning with idealized models in science. (shrink)

This paper develops axiomatic foundations for a probabilistic-interventionist theory of causal strength. Transferring methods from Bayesian confirmation theory, I proceed in three steps: I develop a framework for defining and comparing measures of causal strength; I argue that no single measure can satisfy all natural constraints; I prove two representation theorems for popular measures of causal strength: Pearl's causal effect measure and Eells' difference measure. In other words, I demonstrate these two measures can be derived from a set of plausible (...) adequacy conditions. The paper concludes by sketching future research avenues. (shrink)

It can be tempting to think of affect as a matter of the present moment – a reaction, a feeling, an experience or engagement that unfolds right now. This paper will make the case that affect is better thought of as not only temporally extended but as saturated with temporality, especially with the past. In and through affectivity, concrete, ongoing history continues to weigh on present comportment. In order to spell this out, I sketch a Heidegger-inspired perspective. It revolves around (...) two claims. The first is that we should understand what Heidegger calls 'Befindlichkeit' (findingness) as radical situatedness. Affectivity is a matter of 'finding oneself' constellated – thrown – into the world in ways that outrun what an individual or collective might grasp and process. The second claim is that the temporal dimension, as a relatedness to the past, takes precedence in affect's situatedness. Key to affect is the way in which the past continues to hold sway over present comportment, collectively and individually. In order to articulate this perspective, it is important to overcome the idea that affect must be understood mainly in terms of feeling or experiential states of other kinds. Better suited to grasp the idea of findingness is the concept of 'disclosive posture', as proposed by Katherine Withy. I suggest that this notion should be put at the fore of a phenomenological approach to situated affectivity. (shrink)

By and large, the conditional connective in three-valued logic has two different functions. First, by means of a deduction theorem, it can express a specific relation of logical consequence in the logical language itself. Second, it can represent natural language structures such as "if/then'' or "implies''. This chapter surveys both approaches, shows why none of them will typically end up with a three-valued material conditional, and elaborates on connections to probabilistic reasoning.

One of the most troubling and persistent challenges for Bayesian Confirmation Theory is the Problem of Old Evidence. The problem arises for anyone who models scientific reasoning by means of Bayesian Conditionalization. This article addresses the problem as follows: First, I clarify the nature and varieties of the POE and analyze various solution proposals in the literature. Second, I present a novel solution that combines previous attempts while making weaker and more plausible assumptions. Third and last, I summarize my findings (...) and put them into the context of the general debate about POE and Bayesian reasoning. (shrink)

Data from medical research are typically summarized with various types of outcome measures. We present three arguments in favor of absolute over relative outcome measures. The first argument is from cognitive bias: relative measures promote the reference class fallacy and the overestimation of treatment effectiveness. The second argument is decision-theoretic: absolute measures are superior to relative measures for making a decision between interventions. The third argument is causal: interpreted as measures of causal strength, absolute measures satisfy a set of desirable (...) properties, but relative measures do not. Absolute outcome measures outperform relative measures on all counts. (shrink)

According to metaphysical coherentism, grounding relations form an interconnected system in which things ground each other and nothing is ungrounded. This potentially viable view’s logical territory remains largely unexplored. In this paper, I describe that territory by articulating four varieties of metaphysical coherentism. I do not argue for any variety in particular. Rather, I aim to show that not all issues which might be raised against coherentism will be equally problematic for all the versions of that view, which features far (...) more nuance and diversity than is typically ascribed to it. (shrink)

Subjective Bayesianism is a major school of uncertain reasoning and statistical inference. It is often criticized for a lack of objectivity: it opens the door to the influence of values and biases, evidence judgments can vary substantially between scientists, it is not suited for informing policy decisions. My paper rebuts these concerns by connecting the debates on scientific objectivity and statistical method. First, I show that the above concerns arise equally for standard frequentist inference with null hypothesis significance tests. Second, (...) the criticisms are based on specific senses of objectivity with unclear epistemic value. Third, I show that Subjective Bayesianism promotes other, epistemically relevant senses of scientific objectivity—most notably by increasing the transparency of scientific reasoning. (shrink)

Body, Community, Language, World, here made available in English for the first time is Patocka's presentation of phenomenology as a living tradition - as a philosophical heritage that requires to be rethought and redirected in light of possibilities that it has itself uncovered. Jan Patocka lived for most of his adult life in Communist Czechoslovakia where he was at times banned from publishing or teaching. Mentor of Vaclav Havel, Patocka defied the regime as one of the spokespersons for Charta 77, (...) and died in 1977, following two months of police interrogation. (shrink)

The application of probabilistic arguments to rational decisions in a single case is a contentious philosophical issue which arises in various contexts. Some authors (e.g. Horgan, Philos Pap 24:209–222, 1995; Levy, Synthese 158:139–151, 2007) affirm the normative force of probabilistic arguments in single cases while others (Baumann, Am Philos Q 42:71–79, 2005; Synthese 162:265–273, 2008) deny it. I demonstrate that both sides do not give convincing arguments for their case and propose a new account of the relationship between probabilistic reasoning (...) and rational decisions. In particular, I elaborate a flaw in Baumann’s reductio of rational single-case decisions in a modified Monty Hall Problem. (shrink)

A sequent calculus is given in which the management of weakening and contraction is organized as in natural deduction. The latter has no explicit weakening or contraction, but vacuous and multiple discharges in rules that discharge assumptions. A comparison to natural deduction is given through translation of derivations between the two systems. It is proved that if a cut formula is never principal in a derivation leading to the right premiss of cut, it is a subformula of the conclusion. Therefore (...) it is sufficient to eliminate those cuts that correspond to detour and permutation conversions in natural deduction. (shrink)

This article examines the political perspective of corporate social responsibility from the standpoint of normative Islam. We argue that large firms within Muslim majority countries have the moral obligation to assist governments in addressing challenges related to sustainable socioeconomic development and in advancing human rights. In substantiating our argument, we draw upon the Islamic business ethics, stakeholder theory, and corporate governance literatures, as well as the concepts of Maqasid al Shariah (the objectives of Islamic law) and fard al ‘ayn (obligation (...) upon all individuals within society) versus fard al kifayah (obligation upon some individuals within society) to introduce a normative model elucidating critical Islamic precepts. Finally, we propose an Islamic “political” corporate governance framework, which democratizes firm decision making by embedding “core” stakeholders, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and Shariah scholars in the corporate board, thereby enhancing the ability of businesses to respond to stakeholder concerns and priorities, while mitigating interstakeholder and intraboard power asymmetries. (shrink)

Hypothetico-deductive (H-D) confirmation builds on the idea that confirming evidence consists of successful predictions that deductively follow from the hypothesis under test. This article reviews scope, history and recent development of the venerable H-D account: First, we motivate the approach and clarify its relationship to Bayesian confirmation theory. Second, we explain and discuss the tacking paradoxes which exploit the fact that H-D confirmation gives no account of evidential relevance. Third, we review several recent proposals that aim at a sounder and (...) more comprehensive formulation of H-D confirmation. Finally, we conclude that the reputation of hypothetico-deductive confirmation as outdated and hopeless is undeserved: not only can the technical problems be addressed satisfactorily, the hypothetico-deductive method is also highly relevant for scientific practice. (shrink)