The performance of 93 children aged 3 and 4 years on a battery of different counterfactual tasks was assessed. Three measures: short causal chains, location change counterfactual conditionals, and false syllogisms—but not a fourth, long causal chains—were correlated, even after controlling for age and receptive vocabulary. Children's performance on our counterfactual thinking measure was predicted by receptive vocabulary ability and inhibitory control. The role that domain general executive functions may play in 3- to 4-year olds' counterfactual thinking development is discussed.

Latin is one of the best documented and most extensively studied of any language: nearly every area has been subject to continued and intense scrutiny, with ideas from recent subfields of linguistics providing a fresh look at some old topics. The Latin future imperative, the form that conveys commands for non-immediate execution, constitutes precisely such a topic in Latin linguistics: from the Roman Imperial period on, students have demarcated the usages, syntax and context-specific features associated with this form; more recently, (...) scholars have applied ideas from various linguistic subfields to achieve new insights. Given that the –toimperative is so well understood, it might come as a surprise to find that some matters pertaining to it are still debated. This paper will address four such contested areas: first, its register ; second, the form's politeness ; third, the temporal scope of the –toimperative ; and fourth, the sensitivity of the form to social factors, that is, to the identity of the speaker and the addressee. (shrink)

Quid ais has as its two main functions in Latin to express surprise (“what are you saying?”), and to get the addressee’s attention (“tell me something…”); the latter type has a commanding tone. It is proven that quid ais in Plautus has a decidedly male character; that is, he avoided giving the phrase to women. To explain this finding, it is noted that 91% of instances of quid ais in Plautus are of the second “attention-getting” type. With its imperatival force, (...) this quid ais was probably not felt to be appropriate for Plautus’ female characters whose speech is generally more polite and deferential than male speech. Indeed, in the three cases when a woman does utter the phrase, she either assumes a male role, or belongs to a type which in recent scholarship has been shown to have a “commanding” style of speech: the meretrix or the uxor dotata. (shrink)

This paper discusses the difference between the factual and the legal, both as to terms and as to statements, on the analogy of the methodologists' distinction of the observational and the theoretical. No absolute distinction exists, and pure `brute facts' do not exist in law because of the socialisation of physical world and juridification of the social world.; also, the effect of evidentiary constraints. Law/fact distinction depends on `applicability rules'. The problem of `mixed terms' is partly a matter of judicial (...) pragmatics, partly to do with the character of applicability rules, and their extensiveness. Semantic realism versus semantic instrumentalism in respect of legal terms -- the latter preferred. Tendency to abstract terms in advanced legal orders. (shrink)

Artykuł porusza kwestie determinizmu oraz wolnej woli. Zagadnienie to, jak się zdaje, pomimo upływu lat nadal budzi wiele emocji i pozostaje aktualne. Pytanie o ludzką wolność jest bowiem jednym z tych, od których odpowiedzi głęboko uzależnione jest nasze pojmowanie własnej egzystencji, ogólny obraz świata, stosunek do rozmaitych koncepcji metafizycznych, a także rozumienie takich pojęć jak: moralność, sprawiedliwość, wina, odpowiedzialność czy autonomia. Z determinizmem dodatkowo łączy się egzystencjalny lęk o to, czy jesteśmy w stanie panować nad własnymi decyzjami i czy życie (...) nasze, w związku z tym, nie jest li tylko igraszką w rękach losu. Celem niniejszego artykułu, którego inspiracją była analiza pism F. Nietzschego1, jest próba uzasadnienia stanowiska odrzucającego koncepcję wolnej woli jako swego rodzaju złu dzenia panującego w ogólnoludzkiej świadomości. W związku z tym, tekst w głównej mierze koncentruje się na argumentach negujących idee wolnej woli, w mniejszym zaś stopniu na tych, które mogłyby przemawiać za jej utrzymaniem: nie uwzględnia np. zagadnień związanych z fizyką kwantową czy zasadą Heisenberga. Zamiarem moim było zabranie głosu w sporze o wolną wolę i jednoznaczne opowiedzenie się za stanowiskiem deterministycznym w taki sposób, aby sprowokować Czytelnika do własnych przemyśleń, a nawet zainspirować do napisania własnego artykułu, w którym będzie On argumentował np. za utrzymaniem koncepcji wolnej woli poprzez wskazanie na błędy w moim rozumowaniu. W tekście staram się m.in. sformułować definicję wolnej woli, przedstawić jej genezę oraz konsekwencje wynikające z przyjęcia deterministycznej wizji świata. (shrink)

The author agrees with James Moor that computer technology, because it is ‘logically malleable’, is bringing about a genuine social revolution. Moor compares the computer revolution to the ‘industrial revolution’ of the late 18th and the 19th centuries; but it is argued here that a better comparison is with the ‘printing press revolution’ that occurred two centuries before that. Just as the major ethical theories of Bentham and Kant were developed in response to the printing press revolution, so a new (...) ethical theory is likely to emerge from computer ethics in response to the computer revolution. The newly emerging field of information ethics, therefore, is much more important than even its founders and advocates believe. (shrink)

The subject of this article is the role of inductive reasoning (in the meaning of induction by incomplete enumeration) in the methodology of mathematics. The following types of induction have been distinguished: I 1) induction which causes formulation of axioms of different mathematical theories; I 2) enumerative induction which causes formulation of theorems on the basis of a finite number of cases; I 3) induction concerning the range of application of mathematical symbols; I 4) induction generalising the properties of finite (...) sets to the infinite case; I 5) induction pointing to analogies between problems belonging to different domains of mathematics. Inductive reasoning should not be put against the creativity of scientists, as induction is often an important, though not always conscious part of our cognition. The concept of notional metaphor can be useful for explaining the nature of inductive reasoning. With this concept, a general scheme of inductive reasoning has been proposed, which, in the opinion of the authors, is more adequate for presenting the nature of induction than traditional approaches. (shrink)

Pascal’s Wager is one of the most interesting and original arguments for the existence of God. It does not invoke advanced metaphysical concepts; instead, it employs the methods and concepts of probability calculus. Its argumentative power mainly rests on the appropriate interpretation of the determinants of human existence, which are taken to include our cognitive, moral and physical limitations. The article discusses different aspects of Pascal’s reasoning. In particular, it examines the wager in the context of Grace as something that (...) Pascal himself believed in. (shrink)

The author agrees with James Moor that computer technology, because it is ‘logically malleable’, is bringing about a genuine social revolution. Moor compares the computer revolution to the ‘industrial revolution’ of the late 18th and the 19th centuries; but it is argued here that a better comparison is with the ‘printing press revolution’ that occurred two centuries before that. Just as the major ethical theories of Bentham and Kant were developed in response to the printing press revolution, so a new (...) ethical theory is likely to emerge from computer ethics in response to the computer revolution. The newly emerging field of information ethics, therefore, is much more important than even its founders and advocates believe. (shrink)

W pierwszej części artykułu dokonano analizy pojęcia „panteizm”. Ze względu na stosunek pojęć „bóstwo” i „byt/świat” wyróżnione zostały następujące stanowiska: 1) bóstwo jest częściowo w sobie i jest częściowo we wszystkim; 2) bóstwo jest w całości we wszystkim; 3) wszystko jest w bóstwie, bez wyczerpywania jego zakresu i treści; 4) wszystko jest w bóstwie, wyczerpując jego zakres i treść. W drugiej części artykułu przytoczono poglądy ilustrujące i pogłębiające analizy wyjściowe. Poglądy te zaczerpnięto z literatury filozoficznej, teologicznej i pięknej: z tradycji (...) pozaeuropejskich teksty Lao-tsego, Zhuangzi, Bhagawadgita, z tradycji europejskiej – klasyczne dla panteizmu fragmenty: Plotyna, Spinozy, Heraklita, Hölderlina, Novalisa, Feuerbacha i innych, w tym poetów. W końcowej części artykułu sformułowano dwie tezy zarówno podsumowujące rozważania, jak i mające inspirować dalszą dyskusję. Pierwsza teza: jeśli przyjmuje się stanowiska i, to zatraca się specyficzność panteizmu. Teza druga: należy odróżnić panteizm właściwy, wyrazisty, dojrzały myślowo, tj. stanowiska i, natomiast stanowisk i nie uznawać za panteizm. (shrink)

Vincent proposes that the extracellular cGMP found in cerebellum after glutamate receptor activation is released mainly from Purkinje cells because in these neurons the presence of guanylate cyclase has been shown using monoclonal antibodies. It is uncertain, however, whether Purkinje cells are the only source of extracellular cGMP in the cerebellum. This commentary examines the possibility that glial and cerebellar granule cells may also participate in cGMP synthesis and release, Moreover, the hypothesis of transcellular metabolism of citrulline and arginine is (...) discussed. [VINCENT]. (shrink)

The present paper aims to investigate the causes of genocidal mobilization associated with the involvement of ordinary people. I discuss the “innocent causes” of criminal choices made by perpetrators who are not leaders, sadists or radicals. To this end, I compared three total genocides, of Armenians, Jews, Romani, Tutsi and Twa, and selected partial genocides. My analysis proves that entire nations or ethnic groups may be exterminated because many people make criminal choices which are motivated by values and norms that (...) in other circumstances would be considered acceptable or even commendable. These choices are made partly due to the structural pressure of circumstances and are partly derived from dispositions shaped in the course of primary and secondary socialization. Yet, they always require the reflexive mediation of “objective” social forces. (shrink)

The dominant approach in genocide studies focuses on the intentions and motives of mass murderers. However, in many cases, natural phenomena, pathogens and machines determine the nature and course of genocidal mobilization. The aim of this article is to present the advantages of the actor-network theory in explaining genocidal mobilization, taking into account environmental factors. “Natural objects” have been selected from a rich catalogue of non-human actors. The author divides these objects into three classes, showing that pathogens and deserts are (...) of key importance in the history of collective violence. Referring to specific cases, the author identifies that adopting the assumptions and methods of ANT reveals new aspects of the genocidal process. This indicates the need for considering the politics of non-human actors, delegating morality and law, tracking consecutive translations, rejecting the division into qualitatively different micro- and macro-actors, and tracking the emergence of new actants and forms of knowledge during genocide. (shrink)

cz. 1. Obserwacje i przeżycia własne -- cz. 2. Spotkania z myślą współczesną -- cz. 3. W stronę fizjologii.

We introduce a computational theory of situated language understanding in which the meaning of words and utterances depends on the physical environment and the goals and plans of communication partners. According to the theory, concepts that ground linguistic meaning are neither internal nor external to language users, but instead span the objective‐subjective boundary. To model the possible interactions between subject and object, the theory relies on the notion of perceived affordances: structured units of interaction that can be used for prediction (...) at multiple levels of abstraction. Language understanding is treated as a process of filtering perceived affordances. The theory accounts for many aspects of the situated nature of human language use and provides a unified solution to a number of demands on any theory of language understanding including conceptual combination, prototypicality effects, and the generative nature of lexical items.To support the theory, we describe an implemented system that understands verbal commands situated in a virtual gaming environment. The implementation uses probabilistic hierarchical plan recognition to generate perceived affordances. The system has been evaluated on its ability to correctly interpret free‐form spontaneous verbal commands recorded from unrehearsed game play between human players. The system is able to “step into the shoes” of human players and correctly respond to a broad range of verbal commands in which linguistic meaning depends on social and physical context. We quantitatively compare the system's predictions in response to direct player commands with the actions taken by human players and show generalization to unseen data across a range of situations and verbal constructions. (shrink)

This article aims to present polemical exchanges over capital punishment that were conducted in interwar Poland. By using the analytical method and the source texts found in the press and the minutes of the Codification Committee, the author wants to trace the evolution of views on the death penalty and its usefulness in the state policy. The opinions on the subject differed considerably which was common not only for the interwar period. Back in the 19th century, when the first statements (...) on capital punishment had been published in newspapers, they had ended with completely different conclusions. Advocates for the abolition of the death penalty had emphasized first of all its ineffectiveness as well as the doubts of a religious and moral nature, which had led to a conclusion that the state could not take away a person’s life. Whereas supporters of the death penalty had believed that, in view of the low level of civilisation development of individual communities, giving up the possibility to impose the death sentence could have contributed to an uncontrolled rise in crime rates. They had also emphasized that public opinion demanded the retaining of capital punishment and acting against it would have resulted in various manifestations of public unrest. The death penalty had not been abolished in Poland during the interwar period but the exchange of arguments during those years had laid the foundations for the future changes in that area. They occurred at the end of the 20th century. (shrink)

The article is dedicated to the attitude of the great world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism) to the world of finance, including banking. The issue of usury plays a key role together with the evolution of ethical aspects related to obtaining compensation for money lending. The analysis is focused on the other aspects of banking activities, such as saving, investing, and institutional development of the banking sector as well. The author underlines the far-reaching convergence between religions in (...) this area, in spite of the considerable variation in historical and geographical conditions of their formation. The importance of cultural (religious) differences, including the nuances or more fundamental aspects, has a significant impact on bank management in different regions. For successful development, large multinational corporations have to take into consideration the abovementioned circumstances, regardless of globalization processes. (shrink)

This paper discusses the difference between the factual and the legal, both as to terms and as to statements, on the analogy of the methodologists' distinction of the observational and the theoretical. No absolute distinction exists, and pure ‘brute facts’ do not exist in law because of the socialisation of physical world and juridification of the social world.; also, the effect of evidentiary constraints. Law/fact distinction depends on ‘applicability rules’. The problem of ‘mixed terms’ is partly a matter of judicial (...) pragmatics, partly to do with the character of applicability rules, and their extensiveness. Semantic realism versus semantic instrumentalism in respect of legal terms -- the latter preferred. Tendency to abstract terms in advanced legal orders. (shrink)