Readers are awaiting a new encounter with stories united under the common title Why We Are in Need of Tales. Let me remind you that these deep philosophical books were written by Maria daVenza Tillmanns, a professional philosopher dedicated to the study of philosophizing with children, who has gained valuable experience in this field. Maria’s books are inspired by her work with her students at El Toyon Elementary School in National City (California), with whom Maria held philosophy (...) with children classes for three years before COVID-19. With parental permission, the children provided their drawings, which are used as illustrations for the books. I read Why We Are in Need of Tales, Part III with great pleasure. The focus of this book is on making decisions, sometimes very hard decisions. In Part II, the focus is on dreams — hopes and wishes we have for life. This book looks at how we may best decide how to make those hopes and wishes come true. And the answer Huk and Tuk suggest is deceptively easy: by making decisions “with your eyes wide open.” (5, p. ix). The author of this excellent book managed to describe how to make decisions with your eyes wide open through the playful dialogue between Huk and Tuk. The books are written in dialogue so the reader immediately plunges into the context of a lively conversation. Dialogue not only sharpens attention, but also invites the reader to participate in the conversation. In this way, the reader becomes a listener at the same time. (shrink)

The book develops and defends a general normative framework called feasibilism. Feasibilist norms urge manifesting the best feasible dispositions—ways of forming and retaining doxastic states, as well as choosing and acting, that are available to beings like us. The first half of the book presents case studies showing how epistemological implementations of feasibilism can advance long-standing debates in epistemology, including the New Evil Demon Problem, puzzles involving higher-order evidence and defeat, and challenges facing broadly consequentialist approaches. The feasibilist norm defended (...) urges manifesting the most knowledge-conducive feasible dispositions. This knowledge-centric implementation, the book argues, provides the most promising normative theory in epistemology: simple, elegant, metaphysically respectable, and explanatorily powerful. The second half of the book moves from epistemology to a more systematic defence of the feasibilist normative framework. In the moral domain, too, we are confronted with problems of luck and limitation. Given any plausible standard of moral rightness, in some situations it is only possible to do the right thing by luck. Again, we need a normative standard more attuned to our limitations. Applying the feasibilist framework to the moral domain yields interesting and surprising results—for instance, that one can sometimes be blameworthy for morally right action. Feasibilism thus unifies different normative domains within a single, non-ideal framework, offering standards attuned to human limitations but tied to valuable normative successes. (shrink)

We show, first, that the normalization procedure for S4 modal logic presented by Dag Prawitz in [5] does not work. We then develop a new natural deduction system for S4 classical modal logic that is logically equivalent to that of Prawitz, and we show that every derivation in this new system can be transformed into a normal derivation.

We show, first, that the normalization procedure for S4 modal logic presented by Dag Prawitz in [5] does not work. We then develop a new natural deduction system for S4 classical modal logic that is logically equivalent to that of Prawitz, and we show that every derivation in this new system can be transformed into a normal derivation.

Iris Murdoch has long been known as one of the most deeply insightful and morally passionate novelists of our time. This attention has often eclipsed Murdoch's sophisticated and influential work as a philosopher, which has had a wide-ranging impact on thinkers in moral philosophy as well as religious ethics and political theory. Yet it has never been the subject of a book-length study in its own right. Picturing the Human seeks to fill this gap. In this groundbreaking book, author (...) class='Hi'>Maria Antonaccio presents the first systematic and comprehensive treatment of Murdoch's moral philosophy. Unlike literary critical studies of her novels, it offers a general philosophical framework for assessing Murdoch's thought as a whole. Antonaccio also suggests a new interpretive method for reading Murdoch's philosophy and outlines the significance of her thought in the context of current debates in ethics. This vital study will appeal to those interested in moral philosophy, religious ethics, and literary criticism, and grants those who have long loved Murdoch's novels a closer look at her remarkable philosophy. (shrink)

Numerous authors have defended the rough idea that it is irrational to fail to conform to one’s judgments about what it would be rational to do, or what doxastic states it would be rational to be in. This chapter examines rational reflection principles as an attempt to implement this idea in contexts of uncertainty about what credence distributions are rational. After outlining some problems with Old Rational Reflection, the chapter discusses what seems like a well-motivated fix, New Rational Reflection. It (...) is argued that an intuitive way of trying to motivate the principle fails, and that it faces counterexamples. To say the least, the principle imposes substantial and controversial constraints on the kinds of epistemic situations it is possible to be in. A more general problem is that rational reflection principles seem doomed to take seriously certain kinds of uncertainty about what is rational, but not others. (shrink)

"Dr. Montessori was par excellence the great interpreter of the child; and though she herself has passed on from the scene of her labours her work will still go on."-- Westminster Cathedral Chronicle One of the landmark books in the history of education--and one of the least expensive editions now available--this volume describes a new system for educating youngsters. Based on a radical concept of liberty for the pupil and highly formal training of separate sensory, motor, and mental capacities, the (...) system enabled youngsters to master reading, writing, and arithmetic rapidly and substantially. Included are discussions of scientific pedagogy; discipline; the importance of proper diet, gymnastics, and manual labor; and many other topics. Unabridged reprint of the classic 1912 edition. (shrink)

There is a need for new epistemological and methodological criteria for communication sciences. This necessity is underscored by the important developments of communication in recent years, due to the information and communication technologies (ICT). Consequently, we should overcome interpretive schemes until now dominant, which see communication sciences only as social sciences (or even as it were a mere professional practice based on past experience). Hence, the reality of a new conception is required to specify communication sciences which are analyzed as (...) applied sciences of design. Thus, the theoretical approach—in cognitive and processes—fits best to the reality of new communication phenomena. Within this novel framework, which deals with the current reality and the future projection of the communication sciences, the conception of them as applied sciences of design can follow several steps in order to present its characterization: 1) the scope proposed to do research regarding communicative phenomena; 2) communication science as applied disciplines (subjects focus to solve specific problems) that work on designs (they seek to enlarge the human potential communication); and 3) the new criteria that carry out this proposal about the epistemology and methodology of communication sciences (where the knowledge used in the designs is oriented toward artificial aims and, consequently, the processes will follow the lead of the designs in order to obtain the expected results). (shrink)

The ancient Christian texts on Mary, the mother of Jesus, are divided into three groups: first of all, the texts of the New Testament, then the apocryphal developments, and finally the writings of the authors of the first centuries. Very few, but fundamental, are the first. Much more extensive is the subsequent apocryphal biblical literature on the Virgin. Finally, the multiplication of Greek, Latin, and Eastern patristic texts on Mary is impressive. Due to the importance of the three groups, but (...) also because of their respective growing dimensions, this brief survey presents mainly the New Testament texts, more briefly the apocryphal ones, and dedicates only a few references to the Fathers of the Church. (shrink)

This paper advances the view that the history of philosophy is both a kind of history and a kind of philosophy. Through a discussion of some examples from epistemology, metaphysics, and the historiography of philosophy, it explores the benefit to philosophy of a deep and broad engagement with its history. It comes to the conclusion that doing history of philosophy is a way to think outside the box of the current philosophical orthodoxies. Somewhat paradoxically, far from imprisoning its students in (...) outdated and crystallized views, the history of philosophy trains the mind to think differently and alternatively about the fundamental problems of philosophy. It keeps us alert to the fact that latest is not always best, and that a genuinely new perspective often means embracing and developing an old insight. The upshot is that the study of the history of philosophy has an innovative and subversive potential, and that philosophy has a great deal to gain from a long, broad, and deep conversation with its history. (shrink)

This volume sheds light on still unexplored issues and raises new questions in the main areas addressed by the philosophy of science. Bringing together selected papers from three main events, the book presents the most advanced scientific results in the field and suggests innovative lines for further investigation. It explores how discussions on several notions of the philosophy of science can help different scientific disciplines in learning from each other. Finally, it focuses on the relationship between Cambridge and Vienna in (...) twentieth century philosophy of science. The areas examined in the book are: formal methods, the philosophy of the natural and life sciences, the cultural and social sciences, the physical sciences and the history of the philosophy of science. (shrink)

A new theory of time; Events and observability; Multimedial units and language: verbal and nonverbal communication; Judgment formation and problems of description; Memory and perception: some new models; Stochastic models of expertise formation, opinion change, and learning.

In recent years a renewed interest has been devoted to the Aramaeans, to their origins and expansion, in particular on the basis of new discoveries and methods of research. Using all the information available—mainly written but also archaeological—K. Lawson Younger has produced an historical reconstruction of each Aramaic group, tribe, and polity, in which all the still unsolved questions concerning origin and social and political development up to the dissolution of the main states in the face of the Achaemenids are (...) discussed in depth. This article aims to present the specific character of Younger’s work, focusing in particular on aspects of some old Aramaic inscriptions. (shrink)

The implications of the role of information in natural systems are fundamental for the health sciences. The maintenance of health in the organism is above all a matter of maintaining its coherence, and this depends on the information that codes the organism. Organic malfunctions are indications of a flaw in that information. Experience shows that correcting the flaw in the information can be more effective than interfering with the biochemical processes resulting from the flawed information. A new kind of medical (...) science has appeared on the horizon: “information medicine.” The Austrian scientist Erich Körbler was one of the most important pioneers of the new information medicine. Körbler discovered that in the domain of very high frequencies the geometric figures we draw act as “radiesthetic” connecting elements and with their help we can target the transmission of information. This way we can also enhance, weaken, and alter electro-magnetic fields. By using this principle, Körbler developed a new healing... (shrink)

Deliberative Transformative Moments (DTM) is a new concept that serves as an amendment to the DQI. With this new concept it is easier to get at the quick give-and-take of discussions of small groups of ordinary citizens. As an illustration, we apply the concept to discussions about the peace process among Colombian ex-combatants, ex-guerrillas and ex-paramilitaries. Specifically, we show how personal stories can transform a discussion from a low to a high level of deliberation and how they can have the (...) opposite effect. To increase the level of deliberation in the general population, we recommend that good illustrations of DTM’s should be part of the school programs from an early age on, so that children learn how to discuss with others who have different opinions and values. (shrink)

The genome of two completely unrelated individuals is quite similar apart from minor variations called single nucleotide polymorphisms which contribute to the uniqueness of each and every person. These single nucleotide polymorphisms are of great interest clinically as they are useful in figuring out the susceptibility of certain individuals to particular diseases and for recognizing varied responses to pharmacological interventions. This gives rise to the idea of ‘personalized medicine’ as an exciting new therapeutic science in this genomic era. Personalized medicine (...) suggests a unique treatment strategy based on an individual’s genetic make-up. Its key principles revolve around applied pharmaco-genomics, pharmaco-kinetics and pharmaco-proteomics. Herein, the ethical and legal aspects of personalized medicine in a new genomic era are briefly addressed. The ultimate goal is to comprehensively recognize all relevant forms of genetic variation in each individual and be able to interpret this information in a clinically meaningful manner within the ambit of ethical and legal considerations. The authors of this article firmly believe that personalized medicine has the potential to revolutionize the current landscape of medicine as it makes its way into clinical practice. (shrink)

The purpose of present essay is to identify some points of contact between several Kantian assumptions about space and some elements from the formulation of Einstein’s Relativity. In a early text written in 1768, Concerning the Ultimate Ground of the Differentiation of Directions in Space, Kant opened up a new concept of space that can not be identified either with that of Leibniz nor with space-order thought by surveyors but not with the absolute space of Newtonian origin: it will be (...) called relative and phenomenal. Related and non-relational because in these pages, while finding its sense relatively to other, it is clear that it does not result from abstraction of the geometric position but from the immediate relationship that a certain object has with the sides of our body. Anticipating the future critical wording, we could say that it has its way relatively to sensibility. From this point of view, then, the work in question indicates a specific modality of the relative which, a century later, is theorized in Albert Einstein’s reorganization of frame of reference. A modality which brought about a radical, historic revaluation, especially when, with Special Relativity, it is maintained that velocity is not a absolute quantity, but is always related to and corresponds to a given—not to be dislocated at will—frame of reference. Moreover, Einstein’s assumption that the sum total of events which are simultaneous with a selected event is true in relation to a particular inertial system, but no longer independently of the choice of the inertial system, adds an additional element in assonance with his theory which makes more significant a comparison and analogy with Kant’s way of seeing things. That is to say, for both Kant and Einstein empirical space, as also time, do not depend on a metaphysical-substantialist superstructure but are the result of a profound rethinking of the same idea. Both of them base their ideas on the univocal nature of coordination that they find to be based on the unity of space and time understood as structuring functions, or rather structuring a new understanding of reality. (shrink)

Motor learning can be defined as a process that leads to relatively permanent changes in motor behavior through repeated interactions with the environment. Different strategies can be adopted to achieve motor learning: movements can be overtly practiced leading to an amelioration of motor performance; alternatively, covert strategies (e.g., action observation) can promote neuroplastic changes in the motor system even in the absence of real movement execution. However, whether a training regularly alternating action observation and execution (i.e., Action Observation Training, AOT) (...) may surpass the pure motor practice (MP) and observational learning (OL) remains to be established. To address this issue, we enrolled 54 subjects requiring them to learn tying nautical knots via one out of three types of training (AOT, MP, OL) with the scope to investigate which element mostly contributes to motor learning. We evaluated the overall improvement of each group, along with the predictive role that neuropsychological indexes exert on each treatment outcome. The AOT group exhibited the highest performance improvement (42%), indicating that the regular alternation between observation and execution biases participants toward a better performance. The reiteration of this sequence provides an incremental, adjunct value that super-adds onto the efficacy of motor practice or observational learning in isolation (42% > 25% + 10%, i.e., OL + MP). These findings extend the use of the AOT from clinical and rehabilitative contexts to daily routines requiring the learning and perfectioning of new motor skills such as sports training, music, and occupational activities requiring fine motor control. (shrink)

Conceptions of evil have changed dramatically over time, and though humans continue to commit acts of cruelty against one another, today we possess a clearer, more moral way of analyzing them. In _Narrating Evil_, María Pía Lara explores what has changed in our understanding of evil, why the transformation matters, and how we can learn from this specific historical development. Drawing on Immanuel Kant's and Hannah Arendt's ideas about reflective judgment, Lara argues that narrative plays a key role in helping (...) societies acknowledge their pasts. Particular stories haunt our consciousness and lead to a kind of examination and dialogue that shape notions of morality. A powerful description of a crime can act as a filter, helping us to draw conclusions about what constitutes a moral wrong, and public debates over these narratives allow us to construct a more accurate picture of historical truth, leading to a better understanding of why such actions are possible. In building her argument, Lara considers Greek tragedies, Shakespeare's depictions of evil, Joseph Conrad's literary metaphors, and movies that portray human cruelty. Turning to such philosophers and writers as Jürgen Habermas, Walter Benjamin, Primo Levi, Giorgio Agamben, and Ariel Dorfman, Lara defines a reflexive relationship between an event, the narrative of the event, and the public reception of the narrative, and she proves that the stories of perpetrators and sufferers are always intertwined. The process of disclosure, debate, and the public fashioning of collective judgment are vital methods through which we make sense not only of new forms of cruelty but of past crimes as well. _Narrating Evil_ describes the steps of this process and why they are a crucial part of our attempt to build a different, more just world. (shrink)

Featuring original essays from leading scholars in philosophy and psychology, this volume investigates and rethinks the role of practical wisdom in light of the most recent developments in virtue theory and moral, social and developmental psychology. The concept of phronesis has long held a prominent place in the development of Aristotelian virtue ethics and moral education. However, the nature and development of phronesis is still in need of investigation, especially because of the new insights that in recent years have come (...) from both philosophy and science. The essays in this volume contribute to the debate about practical wisdom by elucidating its role in empirical psychology and advancing important new research questions. They address various topics related to practical wisdom and its development, including honesty, ecocentric phronesis, social cognitive theory, practical wisdom in limited-information contexts, Whole Trait Theory, skill models, the reciprocity of virtue, and challenges from situationism. Practical Wisdom will interest researchers and advanced students working in virtue ethics, moral psychology, and moral education. (shrink)

Postulates concerning subjective time perception are formulated, which imply the existence of two interval time scales, objective and subjective, allowing to study various types and magnitudes of distortion of time per- ception.

There are certain kinds of risk for which governments, rather than individual actors, are increasingly held responsible. This article discusses how regulatory institutions can ensure an equitable distribution of risk between various groups such as rich and poor, and present and future generations. It focuses on cases of risk associated with technological and biotechnological innovation. After discussing various possibilities and difficulties of distribution, this article proposes a non-welfarist understanding of risk as a burden of cooperation.

Relativism: New Problems of Philosophy1 presents, in some detail, the key arguments and justifications for the most prominent relativistic positions in contempo.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a man of extraordinary intellectual creativity who lived an exceptionally rich and varied intellectual life in troubled times. More than anything else, he was a man who wanted to improve the life of his fellow human beings through the advancement of all the sciences and the establishment of a stable and just political order. In this Very Short Introduction Maria Rosa Antognazza outlines the central features of Leibniz's philosophy in the context of his overarching intellectual (...) vision and aspirations. Against the backdrop of Leibniz's encompassing scientific ambitions, she introduces the fundamental principles of Leibniz's thought, as well as his theory of truth and theory of knowledge. Exploring Leibniz's contributions to logic, mathematics, physics, and metaphysics, she considers how his theories sat alongside his concerns with politics, diplomacy, and a broad range of practical reforms: juridical, economic, administrative, technological, medical, and ecclesiastical. Discussing Leinbniz's theories of possible worlds, she concludes by looking at what is ultimately real in this actual world that we experience, the good and evil there is in it, and Leibniz's response to the problem of evil through his theodicy. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. (shrink)

O fenómeno FinTech revolucionou o modo de prestar serviços financeiros e transformou a relação entre o prestador destes serviços e o consumidor, sendo as plataformas digitais e aplicações o meio através do qual o consumidor passou a relacionar-se com o seu prestador de serviços financeiros. O sector bancário precisa adaptar-se de forma célere e urgente à nova realidade. O perfil do consumidor de serviços financeiros alterou-se e quanto mais digital e tecnológico se tornarem os prestadores de serviços financeiros, surgem novas (...) desigualdades sociais. Propomo-nos analisar que desigualdades se geraram e quais os atuais impactos sociais. (shrink)

Revolutions are started by ardent supporters of radical ideas, often of an almost religious nature, and they are opposed by carriers of opposite, but equally fervent convictions. But for the majority, radical ideas and global transformations are usually of little interest. As soon as the Civil War ended, this majority of the population of Soviet Russia faced the task of adapting to the new peaceful reality of the NEP. One of the actively used terms in the rhetoric of Soviet Russia (...) in the 1920s for such adaptation is “philistinism”. In pre-revolutionary Russia, this was the name of one of the categories of the urban population, and after the change of system, the only actual meaning of this word was the designation of a seeker of well-being and personal happiness of any gender and age, avoiding following the new communist quasireligion and morality. Oftentimes, sincere “believers” in communism and “philistine” opportunists were forced to either clash or find a compromise within the same family. On the basis of a wide range of media, narrative and sanitary-educational sources, using visual material, we trace the formation of the caricatured image of the “philistine” with its characteristic life adaptation strategies. Among them is mimicry of the carrier of the current ideology (joining the Party, following hybrid quasi-religious cultural practices) in order to build a career or organize one's personal life. The phenomenon of “philistine” adaptation to the state communist ideology will be characterized up to the “Great Break”, when the NEP was abolished, and the political, economic and cultural situation in the country changed dramatically. (shrink)

This chapter examines the escalation of the conflict in the Rio Blanco case, from 2004 to 2007. The first two sections analyze how corporate-community relations have created divisions but also gave communities incentives to scale up their organizational structures to the regional level. The third section analyzes how peasant organizations, through coalitions with subnational governments, gained access to formal political instruments, which could then be used in combination with contentious strategies. Overall, the chapter shows that the confrontational relationship with the (...) corporation had profound impacts on organizational structures and scope for influence. Moreover, it demonstrates that the coalition with subnational governments is key to communities’ ability to sustain the struggle and also illustrates the tensions within the state with regard to natural resource governance. (shrink)

This article draws on insights of young people learning to make natural pigments and traditional paintings in acute climate vulnerable areas. Why do they paint during ongoing crises and how do they voice their future concerns? Critical realism is applied as a meta-theory in this field-based study in a slum area in Kolkata and the Sundarbans mangrove forest. Methods comprise focus groups, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation. Analysis was done in an abductive process, applying Roy Bhaskar’s model of ‘four-planar social (...) being’. The analysis demonstrates how painting with natural pigments leads the young ones towards: (a) discovering beauty in nature (b) transcendence of borders (c) transformation and responsible action (d) discovering one’s own dignity. Findings are discussed considering the key concepts co-presence and crisis system. I reflect upon how this local effort can inspire a new economy, with the signposts: becoming co-present with the natural world and the necessity of beauty. (shrink)

We expand and transform our habitual agency with countless technologies most moments of the day. Our environments, bodies, thoughts and social interactions are thoroughly shaped and mediated by tapestries of interweaving layers of old and new technologies. Perhaps this intimate relation with technology is at the core of our humanity. But our relation to technology has also repeatedly been feared as a Faustian deal that will be the dystopian end of us, or—in more utopian viewpoints— will bring us beyond our (...) earthbound finitudes toward virtual existences. What many agree on is that dramatic changes to our basic ecological and existential conditions are nearing. I suggest we should look for such critical tipping points and phase shifts not just in our biological bodies and environments but also in the informational and behavioral environments we rely on in our intentional and habitual agency. When thinking particularly about technologically mediated habitual agency an obvious place to start is with Don Ihde’s 4 classic human–technology relations. Interestingly, fellow post-phenomenologist Peter- Paul Verbeek has proposed new additional kinds of relations to e.g. “smart”and virtually “augmenting” technologies. While I find each of these analyses insightful, I worry that a focus on individual relations to particular spatio-temporally circumscribed artifacts falls short—or even obscures—some of the particular new challenges to our agency that networked, and data-driven smart technologies give rise to. I will therefore attempt to broaden the focus to how our agency is scaffolded by not just particular technological artifacts, but by our understanding of the broader informational and behavioral environment. To do this, I start by introducing some core theoretical background ideas that will support a more contextual approach and then proceed to consider both the classic and newer post-phenomenological relations from this more contextual perspective. The goal is not only to affirm the value of analyzing concrete technology relations but also to expand and contextualize the analyses. The latter is key if we want a post-phenomenological analysis that can help us understand how our habitual agency might be transformed as we come to live in increasingly “smart worlds”. These new data and algorithmically driven technologies not only transform our relation to a given context, but due to networked dataflows and “smart” decision-making (1) recursively act on us and (2) collapse and transcend the present context. This chapter will also highlight the uncertainties that informationally leaky and “smart” technologies introduce to our understanding of the kind of affordance space we are in and even what the expected outcomes of our actions will be. I suggest that technology relations with such effects might challenge some of the core contextual stabilities and informational segregations that our habitual agency have hitherto relied on. A further issue is if these new technological configurations challenge our habitual processes in ways we cannot easily adapt to. We certainly seem able to create new habits and adapt to these new technologies locally, but the new information flows, hidden audiences, and context collapses appear to challenge some conditions of agency that are typically out of sight, and the effects of which untraceably shows up well outside the present context. Overall, I shall argue that “smart” technologies can both expand and shrink our habitual agency—but that in terms of our ability to guide our action through various contexts in a perceived world something more fundamental appears to be breaking. (shrink)

Information medicine is a new application and development of an age-old method of healing. It re-creates and re-discovers a method that has proved its merits for thousands of years through a synthesis with new developments in new-paradigm physics and biology. The basic premise of information medicine is the use of information to correct faulty or blocked information-flows in the organism. As the latest discoveries, among others by Dr. Biava, show, even cancerous cells can be reprogrammed through the introduction of substances (...) that provide the correct information. Also, electromagnetic information can produce corrective re-programming, introducing an era of soft, information-based healing not as a substitute for, but as a complement to, the current biochemical substance and physical intervention-based methods. The information-based method I have developed is the one created by the Austrian scientist Erich Koerbler, called New Homeopathy. It harmonizes the electromagnetic field in the body through the use o... (shrink)