The article analyzes the impact of modern digital technologies used in the information society on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in general. Both positive and negative aspects of such impact are considered. The importance of this topic is due to the need for further deepening of scientific knowledge related to the development of the rule of law in the information society and insufficient research from the legal point of view of current theoretical problems of the rule of (...) law in the digital era. The purpose of this article is to study the rule of law as a principle of the modern state of the 21st century and to study the problems in matters of human rights that have arisen with the development of modern digital technologies. The study of this issue is quite relevant, considering the conclusions, made as a result of our work, can be taken into account in further theoretical developments of international and national human rights protection aimed at improving the effectiveness of human rights judicial protection and improving current legislation. (shrink)

The problem of combinatorial optimization is considered in relation to the choice of the location of the location of power supplies when solving the problem of the development of urban distribution networks of power supply. Two methods have been developed for placing power supplies and assigning consumers to them to solve this problem. The first developed method consists in placing power supplies of the same standard sizes, and the second - of different standard sizes. The fundamental difference between the created (...) methods and the existing ones is that the proposed methods take into account all the material of the problem and have specialized methods for coding possible solutions, modified operators of crossing and selection. The proposed methods effectively solve the problem of low inheritance, topological unfeasibility of the found solutions, as a result of which the execution time is significantly reduced and the accuracy of calculations is increased. In the developed methods, the lack of taking into account the restrictions on the placement of new power supplies is realized, which made it possible to solve the problem of applying the methods for a narrow range of problems. A comparative analysis of the results obtained by placing power supplies of the same standard sizes and known methods was carried out, and it was found that the developed method works faster than the known methods. It is shown that the proposed approach ensures stable convergence of the search process by an acceptable number of steps without artificial limitation of the search space and the use of additional expert information on the feasibility of possible solutions. The results obtained allow us to propose effective methods to improve the quality of decisions made on the choice of the location of power supply facilities in the design of urban electrical. (shrink)

The patient’s autonomy and well-being are sometimes seen as central to the ethical justification of voluntary euthanasia (VE) and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). While respecting the patient’s wish to die plausibly promotes the patient’s autonomy, it is less obvious how alleviating the patient’s suffering through death benefits the patient. Death eliminates the subject, so how can we intelligibly maintain that the patient’s well-being is promoted when she/he no longer exists? This article interrogates two typical answers given by philosophers: (a) that death (...) confers a well-being benefit in the sense that it actualises a comparatively better life course for the patient (ie, a shorter life with less net suffering), and (b) that death is beneficial because non-existence which entails no suffering is superior to an existence filled with suffering. A close examination of the two senses in which the patient might incur a well-being benefit reveals problems that preclude physicians delivering VE/PAS in the name of beneficence. (shrink)

The report is based on the first results of the study "The History of the Evangelical Christians-Baptists in Ukraine", carried out in 1994-1996 by the joint efforts of the Department of Religious Studies at the Institute of Philosophy of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Odessa Theological Seminary of Evangelical Christian Baptists. A large-scale description and research of archival sources on the history of evangelical movements in our country gave the first experience of fruitful cooperation between secular (...) and church researchers. (shrink)

Predictive processing as a computational motif of the neocortex needs to be elaborated into theories of higher cognitive functions that include simulating future behavioural outcomes. We contribute to the neuroscientific perspective of predictive processing as a foundation for the proposed representational architectures of the mind.

This book —the first of a two-volume monograph— seeks to unify the hitherto perceived-as-disparate foundations of psychology and artificial intelligence. It does this by replacing their constitutive notions with a novel common one: noémon system. The ensued Theory of Noémon Systems is developed in terms of an interdisciplinary, language-based axiomatic approach. The first volume details the development of the foundations of the theory and expounds ramifications for cognitive science and AI including novel solutions to the AGI debate and Darwin’s mental (...) gap issue, while offering the first complete definition of AI. The book concurrently explores the similarities and differences between humans and AI/robot systems with respect to the evolution-dependent phenomena of representation, thinking, understanding and communication. The book is an extensive one; because of it’s extensiveness and broad ramifications, this book will appeal to scientists working on the interfaces of psychology, AI, philosophy of mind, neuroscience, and the humanities. The complicated and extensive unification of the fields of Artificial Intelligence and psychology is continued in the second volume that breaks further new ground for both disciplines, with thought-provoking and compelling implications for both. (shrink)

This chapter has three sections. The first one introduces the principle of noémon systems (PriNS) and discusses the relation between human and artificial minds. It constitutes the backbone of the Theory of Noémon Systems. PriNS specifies the two definiens of the noémon system theoretical construct, namely, noémon species and noémon entity. They are defined in terms of parametric conditions that determine necessary and sufficient conditions for biological, artificial, and hybrid minds. On this basis, the second section discusses the nature of (...) AI and the notion of own robot evolution; develops a novel argument and result on the AGI and superintelligence debates, and provides the first complete definition of AI. The chapter’s last section introduces the current state of evolutionary theory, reviews the gradualist debate (originating with Darwin in 1871), and offers a radical solution to it in terms of written human language. © Petros A. M. Gelepithis 2024. (shrink)

A brief critical review of C. Adami's "Introduction to Artificial Life". In particular, I point out the grounds against Adami's claim that "complexity of life can be equated with information content".

The Web may critically transform the way we understand the activity of proving. The Web as a collaborative medium allows the active participation of people with different backgrounds, interests, viewpoints, and styles. Mathematical formal proofs are inadequate for capturing Web-based proofs. This article claims that Web provings can be studied as a particular type of Goguen's proof-events. Web-based proof-events have a social component, communication medium, prover-interpreter interaction, interpretation process, understanding and validation, historical component, and styles. To demonstrate its claim, the (...) article discusses the Kumo and Polymath projects, both of which employ Web-based communication as part of proving. Web proving is a novel type of proving activity that may have a serious impact on the change in mathematical practices, despite the fact that it is not currently a universally acceptable methodology. (shrink)

In the histories formulation of quantum theory, sets of coarse-grained histories that are consistent obey the classical probability rules. It has been argued that these sets can describe the quasi-classical behaviour of closed quantum systems, e.g. Omnès (Rev. Mod. Phys. 64(2), 339, 1992) and Hartle (Les Houches1992). Most physical scenarios admit multiple different consistent sets and one can view each of these as a separate context. Using propositions from different consistent sets to make inferences leads to paradoxes such as contrary (...) inferences, first noted by Kent (Phys. Rev. Lett. 78(15), 2874, 1997). In this contribution, we use the consistent histories to describe a quasi-classical and macroscopic system to show that paradoxes involving contextuality persist even in the quasi-classical limit. This is distinctively different from the contextuality of standard quantum theory, where the contextuality paradoxes do not persist in the quasi-classical limit. Specifically, we consider different consistent sets for the arrival time problem of a (quasi-classical) ball in an infinite square well. For this setting, we construct two different consistent sets. We find the probabilities that each consistent set assigns to the simple question of whether the ball ever crossed the middle of the interval. We show that one consistent set concludes with certainty that the ball crossed it while the other consistent set concludes with certainty that it did not. Our results point to the need for constraints on the histories sets, additional to the consistency condition, to recover the correct quasi-classical limit in this formalism and lead to the motto ‘all consistent sets are equal’, but ‘some consistent sets are more equal than others’. (shrink)

This talk made two points. First, how eudaemonia (human flourishing, happiness) can become an integral and indispensable part of hybrid planetary organisation. Second, I pointed out that the attempts to link the most significant ethical and political concepts of Aristotle’s work to the R&D of new AISs are subject to the limits of human knowledge formalisability (such a fact signals caution for the goals of related AI projects).

This article reintroduces the Quaker moral philosopher Jonathan Dymond (1796–1828) and examines his pacifist thought. Despite the fact that Dymond’s publications, which provided the most cogent and methodical exposition of his religious denomination’s doctrine of “non-resistance,” remained highly influential in Britain and other parts of the world throughout the nineteenth century and into the early twentieth century, his name has largely been forgotten. Offering a sustained, systematic, and contextual reading of Dymond’s works, this article provides fresh perspectives on the challenges (...) the Quaker moralist mounted against war through both scriptural and non-scriptural arguments; on his ideas about the origins of war and its deleterious consequences; and on his critiques of militarism, traditional foreign policy, and the profession of the soldier. Through this analysis, Dymond emerges not only as a Quaker pacifist powerhouse, but also as one of the most sophisticated writers of the early nineteenth century who vigorously challenged the idea of “just war.” At the same time, the article sheds light on the “afterlives” of Dymond’s writings and their intellectual and moral impact on nineteenth-century religious and political thought. The article first reconstructs Dymond’s biographical context, situating the development of his pacifism within the history of the early peace movement in Britain. It then provides a close reading of Dymond’s major works, focusing primarily on his 1823 An Inquiry into the Accordancy of War with the Principles of Christianity, tracing the contours of his pacifist thought and placing it in its proper intellectual context. Ultimately, the article argues that our understanding of the historical development of “Western” pacifist tradition and its intellectual vitality will continue to remain poorer and incomplete unless we fully appreciate Dymond’s arguments and the timelessness of his irenic message. (shrink)

The concept of proof can be studied from many different perspectives. Many types of proofs have been developed throughout history such as apodictic, dialectical, formal, constructive and non-constructive proofs, proofs by visualisation, assumption-based proofs, computer-generated proofs, etc. In this paper, we develop Goguen’s general concept of proof-events and the methodology of algebraic semiotics, in order to define the concept of mathematical style, which characterizes the proofs produced by different cultures, schools or scholars. In our view, style can be defined as (...) a semiotic meta-code that depends on the underlying mode of signification (semiosis), the selected code and the underlying semiotic space and determines the individual mode of integration (selection, combination, blending) into a narrative structure (proof). Finally, we examine certain historical types of styles of mathematical proofs, to elucidate our viewpoint. (shrink)

This brief position paper addresses three central issues characterising cognitive theories and Newell's and Anderson & Lebiere's views on them. Specifically, first, on the choice of criteria for cognitive theories, I argue against any list and for a system of criteria. Second, on grading, I suggest modifications with respect to consciousness and development. Finally, on the choice of “theories” for evaluation, I argue for Edelman's theory of neuronal group selection instead of connectionism (classical or not).

In this chapter, I explore the ideology, economics, and aesthetics of what I call “austerity media.” I focus on texts that tell unconventional stories about people often ignored—hoarders, street hustlers, and transgender people, all living on the edge in an increasingly austere age. The ideology of austerity is often linked to the ideology of self-help that suggests that individuals rather than systems of power require modification. In the context of the loss of public resources, popular culture attempts to make cultural (...) sense of these complex developments. But the economics of austerity media also encompasses the proliferation of cheap media productions, which, in turn, provide compelling examples of austere economic practices. Reality TV is one example, but so are neo-documentaries, made on extreme micro-budgets, and shot in a neo-neorealist style, such as Sean Baker’s recent _Tangerine_ and _The Florida Project_. Through an analysis of reality television shows about hoarding and these two recent films, I aim explore the ideology, economics, and aesthetics of austerity, as well as distinct scholarly approaches to understanding austerity’s impact and reach. I am interested in these media texts because they tell us a lot about how life is lived today in the context of over-consumption, planned obsolescence, and vast mountains of disavowed waste. They tell us about dwelling and dispossession, but also reveal impulses to hope and prospects for human flourishing. (shrink)

This article is concerned with the concept of ambiguity in argumentation. Ambiguity in linguistics lies on the coexistence of two possibly interpretations of an utterance, while the role of contextual factors and background/encyclopedic knowledge within a specific society seems to be crucial. From a systemic point of view, Halliday has proposed three main language functions (meta-functions): a) ideational function, b) interpersonal function, c) textual function. Language could reflect speaker’s experience of his external and internal world, interpersonal relationships and organization of (...) text, respectively. Lexico-grammatical choices under a micro-level perspective and context (the environment of language) may lead to inconsistent interpretations through semantic or syntactic ambiguities. In philosophy and argumentation logic, strategies of ambiguity have been investigated by Aristotle, since the first sophistic movement. In his Topics, Metaphysics and Rhetoric, has pointed out the notion of “τὸ διττῶς / διχῶς λεγόμενον”, meaning that a term can have different senses and double interpretation. In this paper we discuss how we reconstruct the meaning of an utterance in dialogue through the mechanism of interpretation and how we analyze and construe ambiguities, combining the insights of argumentation theory and text linguistics. Research results show that in case of misunderstanding, the “best interpretation” is the less defeasible one according to contextual presumptions. (shrink)

Ukraine's ties with Rome have a long history. Along with such ways of Christianity penetrating into Kievan Rus as Byzantine, Bulgarian, in particular Cyril and Methodius, there was also Western European - Roman. The Apostolic Capital has made considerable efforts to convert Christianity to the people of Russia. Relations with Rome and Western Latin Christianity were maintained long before the baptism of Kievan Rus and continued unhindered until the Mongolian invasion. It is enough to remind briefly of contacts and exchange (...) of embassies with Rome by Princess Olga, during the reign of Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, Yaropolk, son of Svyatoslav, Yaroslav the Wise. (shrink)

A short response from an Orthodox perspective to Prof. Dana Robert’s paper. It contains some specific information and focuses, not fully highlighted in her keynote address. The present situation in global mission is what the Orthodox expected as the very first step the ecumenical movement should take, as it was requested by the Orthodox even before the 1910 Edinburgh mission conference. The social and economic nuances of the new mission statement are underlined, together with the ecclesial dimension of mission, the (...) implicit liturgical aspect, the explicit environmental and inter-faith consequences of an authentic Christian witness, and the clear connection between mission and unity. A plea is finally made that the missiological consequences of the deification theology of the Orthodox become an integral part of today’s world mission. (shrink)

Tomos II. Koinōnikes epistēmes kai epistēmes tou anthrōpou: ho gallikos dromos tēs ennoias.

My apologies go to the scientists who know in more detail each one of the shared foundational topics of psychology and artificial intelligence (AI) that I treat in this book and they specialise in. Barring exceptions, neuroscientists, psychologists, AI-ists, and philosophers tend to employ tunnel vision and excessive topicality in their work. On the exceptions side, there are many topic integrations in, and unification efforts of, psychology and several successive integrations of AI in terms of corresponding robot generations. This book (...) is different. Primarily, it unifies the shared foundations of psychology and AI. It does this by developing a common constitutive notion for them: noémon system. The associated theory developed in this book has been termed: the theory of noémon systems (TNS). The space of noémon systems (S) encompasses all biological, artificial, and hybrid noémon systems. As such, it is a superspace of the space of phenomena addressed by cognitive science. The second major purpose of this book follows from the first and has two aspects. One, to bring out the similarities and differences between psychology and AI flowing from their non-shared foundations. Two, to draw some of the major consequences of the TNS concerning cognitive science, AI, philosophy of mind, mathematics, and the issue of the unity of science and art. (shrink)

This book —the second of a two-volume monograph— extends the unification of the foundational Volume 1 and draws its consequences. The monograph’s novel approach, is used to unify three pivotal phenomena of Cognitive Science and AI: knowledge, consciousness and emotions. The extended Theory of Noémon Systems expounds ramifications for cognitive science, philosophy of mind, mathematics, and the issue of the unity of science and art. It also discusses the similarities and differences between humans and AI/robot systems with respect to consciousness, (...) emotions and scientific knowledge. Finally, the inflection point human society is living through and human nature are discussed, and a radical perspective for the future of humanity is put forward: Hybrid Planetary Organisation. The book is an extensive one; Because of it’s extensiveness and broad ramifications, it will appeal to scientists working on the interfaces of psychology, AI, philosophy of mind, neuroscience, and the humanities. The complicated and extensive unification of the fields of Artificial Intelligence and psychology breaks entirely new ground for both disciplines, with thought-provoking and compelling implications for both. (shrink)

In November of 1997, a letter from my professor AM came to my name. Hoodies from Ternopil Medical Academy named after. V.Ya. Gorbachevsky The letter mentioned that Arsen Richinsky was born in Kremenets'kyi, therefore the Department of Religious Studies at the Institute of Philosophy named after GS Pots of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine want to hold a scientific conference, whose participants should be taken immediately. [Mazur P., The immortalism of Arsen Rychinsky's memory on his native land // (...) Arsen Rychinsky - prominent Ukrainian public figure and scholar and religious scholar. Science collection. - Kyiv-Kremenets, 2007. - P. 27-32]. Motivating that the conference should be carefully prepared, we agreed with scientists of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine to hold the first Rychinsky readings on the basis of the school in the spring of 1998. (shrink)

In a number of the author's scientific religious studies, A. Richinsky appears as a deep researcher of the history of Christianity and, in particular, of the history of Ukrainian Christianity. In controversy with his opponents, he attests to a thorough knowledge of the process of forming Christian dogmas of church canons, biblical texts, which he convincingly and skillfully operates as a professional exegete. At the same time, A. Richinsky appears to us as a tolerant, ecumenical personality, not inclined to religious (...) confession, bias towards "non-believers", free from religious fanaticism and clerical extremism. If such a figure were today among our Ukrainian intelligentsia or, better yet, among the Orthodox hierarchy, the cause of unification of all Ukrainian Orthodox churches would inevitably have come to a standstill. (shrink)

Late Protestantism - Baptists, Pentecostals, Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses have existed in Ukraine for over a hundred years. Under Soviet rule, these denominations were under constant administrative pressure, subject to party-ideological criticism, atheistic propaganda. The Pentecostals were virtually banned and non-registrable, since they were forcibly annexed by evangelical Baptist Christians after the August 1945 state agreement initiated by the Moscow authorities. From the very beginning of the establishment of Soviet power in Western Ukraine, Jehovah's Witnesses were declared an "anti-Soviet sect" (...) and were therefore banned. In March 1951, an act of genocide was committed against Jehovah's Witnesses: according to the "Memorandum Note of the USSR Ministry of State Security", approved by J. Stalin's personal signature, all Jehovah's Witnesses, together with their families, were sent from Ukraine to eternal settlement in Siberia. without the right of return to Ukraine, and their homes and property were confiscated by the state. (shrink)

The study of the current state and tendencies of the development of the traditional trends of late Protestantism in Ukraine - Baptism, Adventism and Pentecostalism, as well as Jehovah's Witnesses during 1999-2005 made it possible, in our opinion, to be scientifically valuable and relevant to the public in these confessions. generalizations and conclusions. At the same time, in our study, they have both a universal character for all four of these denominations, as well as a specific context in the form (...) of an extended analysis of the nature of theological, doctrinal, institutionalization changes that have taken place in the past 15 years in particular in Ukrainian Baptism and the religious organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. Adventism was preserved somewhat during this period. (shrink)

In the case of rapprochement, reconciliation and possible coexistence, as they said, the Uniates and Disunians, united and united P. Moigul initiated a major action of ecumenism. This case in P.Mogile's understanding was based on a purely confessional framework, concerning the existence and survival of the entire Ukrainian people. Being an orthodox, that is, a truly Orthodox Metropolitan, P. Moghila was thinking of non-confessional and supra-confessional categories, had a European and universally Christian vision of this problem. Consequently, he was not (...) a one-sided confessional fanatic, understood the detriment of disagreement and the church split in Ukraine. (shrink)

Modern theologians give the Sermon on the Mount such definitions: "the pearl of the gospel teachings," "the lecture of Christ's morality, ethics, asceticism," "a brief summary of the whole New Testament," "one of the most prominent places in the Bible." In the end, "The sermon on the other hand uplifts, by its content, ideas, character and spirit, all the teachings of the most outstanding philosophers, humanists, prophets, and moralists to this day." Of course, these definitions are perceived primarily as being (...) related to the apologetic theology to which we are treated with respect. (shrink)

Under this name, on November 19-20, 1998, an international scientific and practical conference devoted to the 50th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights took place in Kyiv. The organizers of the conference are the International Academy of Religious Freedom, the International Commission on the Freedom of Conscience, the Ukrainian Association of Religious Studies, the State Committee of Ukraine for Religious Affairs, the Department of Religious Studies at the Institute of Philosophy named after. G.S. Skovoroda, National Academy of (...) Sciences of Ukraine. (shrink)

The Society "Knowledge" of Ukraine began the activity of the Department of Religious Studies. The Council of Lecturers is formed consisting of 24 people, among them are well-known philosophers, historians, sociologists - religious scholars: Doctors of Philosophy B.Lobovik, M.Zakovich, A. Kolodnyy, Yu.Kalinin, P.Kosuha, M.Rybachuk, P.Yarotsky, candidate of philosophical sciences M. Babiy, S. Golovashchenko, V. Yelensky, M.Kyryushko, O.Sagan, V.Suyarko, L.Filipovich and others.

Suddenly, as the thunder in the clear sky, the abdication of Benedict XVI came from the execution of the functions of the apostle Peter's governor on the Roman throne. Indeed, the event is unprecedented, not ordinary in almost all history of the Catholic Church. Was it predicted? Was it clear that there were good reasons for such a departure from this pontiff? The reasons for making such a desperate step still occurred to the Roman popes, but they never used them. (...) Suffice it to recall in what perverse physical condition was the ministry of John Paul II. However, by the end of his days he was a functioning, dynamic minister of the Church and an energetic governor of the Vatican City State, who did not stop his world pilgrimage mission. Although it was very difficult for him, as it was obvious to everyone, to carry out this mission. (shrink)

This article analyses the ideas and works of Oleksandr Lototskyi in connection with the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Lototskyi was a prominent scholar and politician during the Ukrainian revolution of 1917–1919. The chronology of Lototskyi’s beliefs as they developed, ranging from the support of the autonomy of the Church to the idea of autocephaly is reviewed in detail against the background of historical events. Lototskyi’s representations on behalf of the state at the All-Ukrainian Orthodox Church Sobor in November (...) 1918 in support of Church independence showcased his convictions. The idea was incorporated by the Directory of the UNR into the Law “On the Highest Church Government of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church.” The article shows that the paradigm of autocephaly, as envisioned by Lototskyi and exemplified through his actions whilst Minister of Confessions, became the cornerstone of modern Ukrainian philosophy in favor of religious independence. (shrink)

Historians have noted that many 19th-century founders and members of psychic societies were clergy, or had fathers who were clergy, seeking evidence for the survivalist hypothesis. One such member, psychologist Gardner Murphy, was influenced in childhood both by the Episcopalian faith of his father and the Transcendentalism of his mother's hometown, Concord, Massachusetts. We propose that these religious and philosophical influences, as well as his childhood experiences informed his life's work. They also prompted Gardner Murphy to focus on the survivalist (...) hypothesis and commit to discovering a scientific approach that might yield evidence of paranormal phenomena. Murphy was highly respected for his biosocial theory of personality and his contributions to the discipline of psychology, even while he persisted in studying parapsychology, an area of contention in the relatively new science of psychology. He drew on the potential synergy of world religions and philosophical traditions as a means of understanding human behavior – in each case revealing him as the polymath and ethical humanist for which he is remembered. Like William James, he viewed reported psychic experiences as simply another human phenomenon to be examined using the scientific method. His ability to entwine these interests seems motivated by his religious upbringing and academic training in the sciences. (shrink)

Change blindness experiments had demonstrated that detection of significant changes in natural images is extremely difficult when brief blank fields are placed between alternating displays of an original and a modified scene. On the other hand, research on the visual mismatch negativity component of the event-related potentials identified sensitivity to events different from the regularity of stimulus sequences, even if the deviant and standard events are non-attended. The present study sought to investigate the apparent controversy between the experience under the (...) change blindness paradigm and the ERP results. To this end, the stimulus of Rensink, O’Reagen, and Clark was adapted to a passive oddball ERP paradigm to investigate the underlying processing differences between the standard and deviant stimuli measured in 22 subjects. Posterior negativity within the 280–330 ms latency range emerged as the difference between ERPs elicited by standard and deviant stimuli, identified as visual mismatch negativity. These results raise the possibility that change blindness is not based on the lack of detailed visual representations or the deficiency of comparing two representations. However, effective discrimination of the two scene versions requires considerable frequency differences between them. (shrink)

Sorkin’s recent proposal for a realist interpretation of quantum theory, the anhomomorphic logic or coevent approach, is based on the idea of a “quantum measure” on the space of histories. This is a generalisation of the classical measure to one which admits pair-wise interference and satisfies a modified version of the Kolmogorov probability sum rule. In standard measure theory the measure on the base set Ω is normalised to one, which encodes the statement that “Ω happens”. Moreover, the Kolmogorov sum (...) rule implies that the measure of any subset A is strictly positive if and only if A cannot be covered by a countable collection of subsets of zero measure. In quantum measure theory on the other hand, simple examples suffice to demonstrate that this is no longer true. We propose an appropriate generalisation, the quantum cover, which in addition to being a cover of A, satisfies the property that if the quantum measure of A is non-zero then this is also the case for at least one of the elements in the cover. Our work implies a non-triviality result for the coevent interpretation for Ω of finite cardinality, and allows us to cast the Peres-Kochen-Specker theorem in terms of quantum covers. (shrink)

Non-geostationary satellite (NGSO) constellations—particularly LEO/MEO—are transforming mining by providing low-latency connectivity and taskable Earth observation to remote, infrastructure-poor sites. Objectives include mapping NGSO applications across exploration, planning, and operations; assessing AI's role in tasking, routing, and analytics; and examining governance and ESG implications, with a focus on Africa and East Africa. Methods involved a PRISMA-aligned systematic review (protocol registered) synthesising primary and secondary evidence on NGSO-enabled EO and communications in mining. A random-effects meta-analysis was planned if three or more comparable (...) studies reported the same outcome; otherwise, a structured narrative synthesis with predefined subgroups (LEO vs MEO, EO vs backhaul, open-pit vs underground, Africa vs elsewhere) was used. Results and discussion showed that across more than 30 use cases, NGSO backhaul and EO tasking consistently reduced time to insight for pit progression, tailings surveillance, and asset tracking; simulations indicated routing improvements of approximately 10% on tree topologies and 30% on mesh networks at N=500, demonstrating tangible latency and capacity benefits for safety-critical workflows. Continuity was enhanced through multi-sensor PNT (GNSS/inertial/vision plus radio localisation ) and hierarchical link adaptation that rapidly re- parameterises under noise, weather, or interference. AI added value by improving tasking and congestion control in edge and cloud inference, though it required cascaded models, compression, and uncertainty gating to meet compute and bandwidth constraints. Governance themes—such as data protection, transparency, and community benefit—were recurring enablers of adoption. Conclusion: When combined with resilient positioning, adaptive operations, and credible ESG safeguards, NGSO combined with AI can significantly enhance mining efficiency, safety, and sustainability; priorities include standardised KPIs, transparent cost models, and long-term pilot deployments. (shrink)

This paper outlines a logical representation of certain aspects of the process of mathematical proving that are important from the point of view of Artificial Intelligence. Our starting point is the concept of proof-event or proving, introduced by Goguen, instead of the traditional concept of mathematical proof. The reason behind this choice is that in contrast to the traditional static concept of mathematical proof, proof-events are understood as processes, which enables their use in Artificial Intelligence in such contexts in which (...) problem-solving procedures and strategies are studied. We represent proof-events as problem-centred spatio-temporal processes by means of the language of the calculus of events, which adequately captures certain temporal aspects of proof-events (i.e. that they have history and form sequences of proof-events evolving in time). Further, we suggest a “loose” semantics for the proof events by means of Kolmogorov’s calculus of problems. Finally, we expose the intented interpretations for our logical model from the fields of automated theorem-proving and Web-based collective proving. (shrink)

This paper studies the structure of semantic theories over modular computational systems and applies the algebraic Theory of Institutions to provide a logical representation of such theories. A modular semantic theory is here defined by a cluster of semantic theories, each for a single program's module, and by a set of relations connecting models of different semantic theories. A semantic theory of a single module is provided in terms of the set of ∑‐models mapped from the category Th of ∑‐theories (...) and generating a hierarchy of structures from an abstract model to a concrete model of data. The collection of abstract models representing different modules of a program is formalised as the category of institutions INS, where theory morphisms express refinements, integrations, and compositions between couples of modules. Finally, it is required that a morphism in INS at any level occurs iff the same morphism occurs at the lower level alongside the Th hierarchy. (shrink)

The most fundamental break in the first season of Westworld comes when the pacifist, girl next door Dolores Abernathy pulls the trigger of a gun behind the head of Robert Ford. Dolores's action fits with the philosophy of Frantz Fanon, who believed that freedom for colonized people was impossible without violence against the colonizer. This chapter explores Fanon's theories and the development of rebellion among the hosts in Westworld. Fanon argues that violence becomes a teacher of “social truths”, demonstrating the (...) freedom of the colonized, and allowing him to become a maker, no longer a taker, of history. Violence against the colonizer, particularly if organized and collective, is political, and it aims to create a new identity for the rebel. The identities of the hosts are, like Fanon's colonized peoples, wholly determined by other people. Humans (particularly Ford) determine who they are and what they do. (shrink)

The relevance of the study is determined by the need to rethink musical art as a value orientation in the period of postmodernity. The purpose of the study is to determine the features of the textual dimension of musical discourse as a feature of the postmodern value perception of musical art in combination with the information and computerization of society. The purpose of the article is to show the basic context of the textual dimension of musical discourse. This research shows (...) a holistic analysis of musical art in the context of discourse analysis and innovative modeling, which in the future is a prospect for creating new ideas for the interpretation of musical works. The study highlights the main components of textual analysis of a musical work, as well as the perception of musical discourse as a manifestation of today’s information of social development. For a comprehensive analysis of musical art it is necessary to understand the basic theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of this concept. Therefore, the principal theoretical approaches of scientists concerning musical discourse in the context of the textual dimension were studied, and theoretical problems in musical discourse analysis were developed. Beneficial to study the complex modeling of the textual dimension of musical art, the methods of analysis and synthesis, research method and discourse analysis method were used. This study provided a basis for determining the effectiveness of computer simulation technology in the context of the musical dimension. (shrink)

In this paper, we suggest the broader concept of proof-event, introduced by Joseph Goguen, as a fundamental methodological tool for studying proofs in the history of mathematics. In this framework, proof is understood not as a purely syntactic object, but as a social process that involves at least two agents; this highlights the communicational aspect of proving. We argue that historians of mathematics primarily study proof-events in their research, as the mathematical proofs they encounter in extant sources often involve informal (...) components that are not entirely formalizable and convey semantic content that requires understanding and verification. We illustrate the application of this methodological approach in some outstanding historical cases, paying particular attention to the process of proof interpretation that brings a proof-event to life. Finally, we suggest a classification of proof-events, according to the conditions imposed upon problem-solving. This enables us to speak about broad classes of proof-events in the history of mathematics that share a common characteristic. (shrink)

From Thomas Piketty to David Harvey, scholars are increasingly questioning whether we are entering into a post-capitalist era. If so, does this new epoch signal the failure of capitalism and emergence of alternative systems? Or does it mark the ultimate triumph of capitalism as it evolves into an unstoppable entity that takes new forms as it engulfs its opposition? _After Capitalism_ brings together leading scholars from across the academy to offer competing perspectives on capitalism’s past incarnations, present conditions, and possible (...) futures. Some contributors reassess classic theorizations of capitalism in light of recent trends, including real estate bubbles, debt relief protests, and the rise of a global creditocracy. Others examine Marx’s writings, unemployment, hoarding, “capitalist realism,” and coyote (trickster) capitalism, among many other topics. Media and design trends locate the key ideologies of the current economic moment, with authors considering everything from the austerity aesthetics of reality TV to the seductive smoothness of liquid crystal. Even as it draws momentous conclusions about global economic phenomena, _After Capitalism_ also pays close attention to locales as varied as Cuba, India, and Latvia, examining the very different ways that economic conditions have affected the relationship between the state and its citizens. Collectively, these essays raise provocative questions about how we should imagine capitalism in the twenty-first century. Will capitalism, like all economic systems, come to an end, or does there exist in history or elsewhere a hidden world that is already post-capitalist, offering alternative possibilities for thought and action? (shrink)

Background: Despite a gradual shift in the focus of medical care among terminally ill patients to a palliative model, studies suggest that many children with life-limiting chronic illnesses continue to die in hospital after prolonged periods of inpatient admission and mechanical ventilation.Objectives: To examine the characteristics and location of death among hospitalised children, investigate yearwise trends in these characteristics and test the hypothesis that professional ethical guidance from the UK Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health would lead to significant (...) changes in the characteristics of death among hospitalised children.Methods: Routine administrative data from one large tertiary-level UK children’s hospital was examined over a 7-year period for children aged 0–18 years. Demographic details, location of deaths, source of admission , length of stay and final diagnoses were studied. Statistical significance was tested by the Kruskal–Wallis analysis of ranks and median test , χ2 test and Cochran–Armitage test .Results: Of the 1127 deaths occurring in hospital over the 7-year period, the majority were among infants. The main diagnoses at death included congenital malformations , perinatal diseases , cardiovascular disorders and neoplasms . Most deaths occurred in an intensive care unit environment , with a significant increase over the years . There was a clear increase in the proportion of admissions from in-hospital among the ICU cohort . Infants with congenital malformations and perinatal conditions were more likely to die in an ICU , and older children with malignancy outside the ICU . Children stayed for a median of 13 days on a hospital ward before being admitted to an ICU where they died.Conclusions: A greater proportion of hospitalised children are dying in an ICU environment. Our experience indicates that professional ethical guidance by itself may be inadequate in reversing the trends observed in this study. (shrink)

Contextual information and prior knowledge facilitate perceptual processing, improving our recognition of even distorted or obstructed visual inputs. As a result, neuronal processing elicited by identical sensory inputs varies depending on the context in which we encounter those inputs. This modulation is in line with predictive processing accounts of vision, which suggest that higher brain areas use internal models of the world to interpret sensory inputs. Cortical feedback signals encoding predictions about those inputs are propagated back down to sensory areas. (...) As such, acquiring knowledge should enhance the internal models that we use to resolve sensory ambiguities, and feedback signals should encode more accurate estimates of sensory inputs. We investigated how knowledge updates contextual feedback processing in V1 by first generating Mooney images, ambiguous two-tone images which are difficult to recognize without prior knowledge of the image content. Across two behavioral experiments and one 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment, participants acquired knowledge either related to the general Mooney image category or Mooney image-specific information. During fMRI, we used partially occluded Mooney images to investigate if contextual feedback signals in early visual areas are modulated after acquiring a high-level interpretation of the images. We show that general information about image categories is sufficient to improve recognition of ambiguous images. We also show that perceptual priors containing image-specific information modulate contextual feedback processing in the early visual areas, in response to previously ambiguous images. (shrink)