We introduce a two-party communication complexity problem in which the probability of success by using a particular strategy allows the parties to detect with certainty whether or not some forbidden communication has taken place. We show that theprobability of success is bounded by nature; any conceivable method which gives a probability of success outside these bounds is impossible. Moreover, any conceivable method to solve the problem which gives a probability success within these bounds is possible in nature. This example suggests (...) that a suitaby chosen set of communication complexity problems could be the basis of an information-theoretic axiomatization of quantum mechanics. (shrink)

A proof of Bell’s theorem without inequalities is presented in which distant local setups do not need to be aligned, since the required perfect correlations are achieved for any local rotation of the local setups.

Bell non-locality and Kochen–Specker contextuality are logically independent concepts, fuel different protocols with quantum vs classical advantage, and have distinct classical simulation costs. A natural question is what are the relations between these concepts, advantages, and costs. To address this question, it is useful to have a map that captures all the connections between Bell non-locality and KS contextuality in quantum theory. The aim of this work is to introduce such a map. After defining the theory-independent notions of Bell non-locality (...) and KS contextuality for ideal measurements, we show that, in quantum theory, due to Neumark’s dilation theorem, every quantum Bell non-local behavior can be mapped to a formally identical KS contextual behavior produced in a scenario with identical relations of compatibility but where measurements are ideal and no space-like separation is required. A more difficult problem is identifying connections in the opposite direction. We show that there are “one-to-one” and partial connections between KS contextual behaviors and Bell non-local behaviors for some KS scenarios, but not for all of them. However, there is also a method that transforms any KS contextual behavior for quantum systems of dimension d into a Bell non-local behavior between two quantum subsystems each of them of dimension d. We collect all these connections in map and list some problems which can benefit from this map. (shrink)

If quantum mechanics is correct and there is a finite upper bound for the speed of causal influences (e.g., the speed of light), then quantum mechanics is complete (i.e., it does not admit a more detailed description in terms of hidden variables). Here I show that the conclusion holds if we replace the assumption of bounded velocity by the assumption that there is a finite upper bound to the memory a finite physical system can store (e.g., the Holevo bound). On (...) the way to this conclusion I first show that, although the quantum violation of an inequality valid for any non-contextual model can be explained with a classical contextual model, the inequality can be promoted to a Bell inequality in which, if the model is contextual, then it must be also non-local. This suggests that there is something non-classical in any contextual explanation of the individual systems, and leads us to the question of which are the minimum resources (and specifically memory) any contextual explanation should consume. (shrink)

Klyachko and coworkers consider an orthogonality graph in the form of a pentagram, and in this way derive a Kochen-Specker inequality for spin 1 systems. In some low-dimensional situations Hilbert spaces are naturally organised, by a magical choice of basis, into SO(N) orbits. Combining these ideas some very elegant results emerge. We give a careful discussion of the pentagram operator, and then show how the pentagram underlies a number of other quantum “paradoxes”, such as that of Hardy.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens o Mark Twain es el autor del Diario de Adán y Eva, Un yanki en la corte del rey Arturo, Las aventuras de Tom Sawyer, Las aventuras de Huckleberry Finn y otras. Este escritor norteamericano asumió la práctica literaria como un asunto que va más allá del entretenimiento: escribió para interpelar al lector. Y este detalle salta a la vista con un libro que rara veces es referenciado: Sobre la decadencia del arte de mentir, texto que (...) aborda una enfermedad axiológica en el mundo moderno: los peligros que acarrea seguir al pie de la letra los postulados universales de un Deber y una Verdad abstracta. A continuación se hace un análisis de este problema. (shrink)

In this paper we address a deeply interesting debate that took place at the end of the last millennia between David Mermin, Adan Cabello and Michiel Seevinck, regarding the meaning of relationalism within quantum theory. In a series of papers, Mermin proposed an interpretation in which quantum correlations were considered as elements of physical reality. Unfortunately, the very young relational proposal by Mermin was too soon tackled by specially suited no-go theorems designed by Cabello and Seevinck. In this (...) work we attempt to reconsider Mermin's program from the viewpoint of the Logos Categorical Approach to QM. Following Mermin's original proposal, we will provide a redefinition of quantum relation which not only can be understood as a preexistent element of physical reality but is also capable to escape Cabello’s and Seevinck's no-go-theorems. In order to show explicitly that our notion of ontological quantum relation is safe from no-go theorems we will derive a non-contextuality theorem. We end the paper with a discussion regarding the physical meaning of quantum relationalism. (shrink)

El pensamiento de Pablo Melogno ha ejercido una profunda influencia entre los estudiosos de la filosofía kuhniana en Latinoamérica gracias al minucioso análisis arqueológico de los inéditos de Kuhn, a partir del cual se propone sacar a la luz los compromisos semánticos del autor de The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Entre la abundante literatura que Melogno nos deja como legado intelectual, sobresale un trabajo que cautiva no solo por su rigor, sino por lo provocadores que resultan sus planteamientos. Me refiero (...) a “Towards a Genealogy of Thomas Kuhn’s Semantics” (2023), —en co-autoría con Giri—. Allí, los autores sostienen que Kuhn defiende en textos tempranos un compromiso semántico con la teoría descriptivista del cúmulo. Como creo que esta es una interpretación inflacionaria, en este artículo voy a oponer una interpretación deflacionaria a partir de la cual sostengo que, si bien Kuhn pudo haber anticipado algunos de los planteamientos de la teoría del cúmulo, lo cierto es que el propósito de las conferencias Lowell tiene un carácter semántico destructivo, cuyo foco son las teorías formales —o prescriptivas— del significado. (shrink)

The interpretation and justification of Earman’s symmetry principles (stating that any spacetime symmetry should be a dynamical symmetry and vice-versa) are controversial. This is directly connected to the question of how certain structures in physical theories acquire a spatiotemporal character. In this paper I address these issues from a perspective (arguably functionalist) that relates the classical discussion about the measurement and geometrical determination of space with a characterization of the notion of dynamical symmetry in which its application to subsystems that (...) act as measuring devices plays an essential role. I argue that in order to reformulate and justify Earman’s principles, and to provide a general account of the chronogeometrical character of some structures, the existence of a coordination between two notions of congruence, one mathematical and one dynamical, must be assumed for the interpretation of physical theories. This coordination provides the basis on which we can understand space-time in physical theories as the codification (representation) of certain features of the access ideal observers have to experience. (shrink)

How does intentional communication evolve? Comparative studies can shed light on the evolutionary history of this relevant feature of human language and its distribution before modern humans. The current animal literature on intentional signaling consists mostly of ape gestural studies with evidence of subjects persisting and elaborating with sometimes arbitrary signals toward a desired outcome. Although vocalizations can also have such imperative qualities, they are typically produced in a functionally fixed manner, as if evolved for a specific purpose. Yet, intentionality (...) can sometimes transpire even in functionally fixed calls, for example, if production is adapted to audience composition. In this study, we carried out field experiments to test whether free-ranging sooty mangabeys adjusted snake alarm call production to their audiences. We found a positive relation between alarm call production and naïve individuals arriving, suggesting that callers attempted to influence their behaviors relative to the snake. Subjects called more with smaller audiences, if they had not heard other calls before, and if socially important individuals were in the area. We concluded that sooty mangabeys alarm call production can be explained as an active attempt to refer to an external event, rather than a mere readout of an internal state. (shrink)

In General Relativity (GR), it has been claimed that inertia receives a dynamical explanation. This is in contrast to the situation in other theories, such as Special Relativity, because the geodesic principle of GR can be derived from Einstein’s field equations. The claim can be challenged in different ways, all of which question whether the status of inertia in GR is physically different from its status in previous spacetime theories. In this paper I state the original argument for the claim (...) precisely, discuss the different objections to it and then propose a formulation that avoids the problems the original claim encounters. My conclusion is that one can say meaningfully that inertia is dynamically explained in GR. There are two senses in which the derivation of geodetic motion can be said to provide a (more) dynamical explanation of inertia in GR: it holds for any material test body that is a source of the gravitational field; and it is derivable without assuming inertial structures that are fixed independently of matter. (shrink)

Much discussion was inspired by the publication of Harvey Brown's book \textit{Physical Relativity} and the so-called dynamical approach to Special Relativity there advocated. At the center of the debate there is the question about the nature of the relation between spacetime and laws or, more specifically, between spacetime symmetries and the symmetries of laws. Originally, the relation was mainly assumed to be explanatory and the dispute expressed in terms of the arrow of explanation – whether it goes from spacetime (symmetries) (...) to (symmetries of) laws or vice-versa. Not everybody agreed with a setting that involves leaving ontology out. In a recent turn, the relation has been claimed to be analytical or definitional. In this paper I intend to examine critically this claim and propose a way to generally understand the relation between spacetime symmetries and symmetries of laws as deriving from constitutive principles. (shrink)

Dark matter is an essential ingredient of the present Standard Cosmological Model, according to which only 5% of the mass/energy content of our universe is made of ordinary matter. In recent times, it has been argued that certain cases of gravitational lensing represent a new type of evidence for the existence of DM. In a recent paper, Peter Kosso attempts to substantiate that claim. His argument is that, although in such cases DM is only detected by its gravitational effects, gravitational (...) lensing is a direct consequence of Einstein's Equivalence Principle and therefore the complete gravitational theory is not needed in order to derive such lensing effects. In this paper I critically examine Kosso's argument: I confront the notion of empirical evidence involved in the discussion and argue that EEP does not have enough power by itself to sustain the claim that gravitational lensing in the Bullet Cluster constitutes evidence for the DM Hypothesis. As a consequence of this, it is necessary to examine the details of alternative theories of gravity to decide whether certain empirical situations are indeed evidence for the existence of DM. It may well be correct that gravitational lensing does constitute evidence for the DM Hypothesis—at present it is controversial whether the proposed modifications of gravitation all need DM to account for the phenomenon of gravitational lensing and if so, of which kind—but this will not be a direct consequence of EEP. (shrink)

Pregnancy presents some interesting challenges for the philosophy of embodied cognition. Mother and fetus are generally considered to be passive during pregnancy, both individually and in their relation. In this paper, we use the enactive operational concepts of autonomy, agency, individuation, and participation to examine the relation between mother and fetus in utero. Based on biological, physiological, and phenomenological research, we explore the emergence of agentive capacities in embryo and fetus, as well as how maternal agency changes as pregnancy advances. (...) We show that qualitatively different kinds of agency have their beginnings already in utero, and to what extent fetal and maternal movement modulate affectivity and individuation in pregnancy. We thus propose that mother and fetus are both agents who participate in pregnancy. Pregnancy then emerges as a relational developmental organization that anchors and holds its developing participants. We end the paper with reflections on ethical implications of this proposal, and suggestions for future research. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to show that we are entitled to see in Schütz’s article “Equality and the Social Meaning Structure” the proposal for a formal analysis of group membership understood as a kind of We-experience irreducible to pure We-relationships. First I argue that such an account defines the experience of group membership as a “situation definition process”. Then I show the relevance of this approach for the description of membership experiences and current debates on Collective Intentionality. Finally, (...) I point to its unclarified conceptual presuppositions—such as the at­tribution of situations to groups—, and propose an interpretative solution by drawing on the notions of “social situation” and community of relevances from The Structures of the Life-World. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to conduct an analysis of the application of the specific rules of nanotechnology incorporated in Regulation No. 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products. It has been ten years since the European Commission had issued its proposal to start the co-decision procedure to create Regulation 1223 of 2009. Although it has been praised for noting the regulatory difference of nanomaterials over the rest of the chemicals, (...) what has been the efficacy of the standard? It is concluded that despite what it meant, the regulation has encountered technical obstacles, thus rendering the objectives relating to nanotechnology that were proposed from the European Commission unfulfilled. This finding is inferred through legal dogmatic methodologies and the identification of nanomaterials that have not been expressly approved. Nevertheless, products incorporating nanomaterials still circulate in the European market. The precepts about nanotechnology in the regulation should be reviewed because technical inconsistencies should be avoided in future regulations or applicable regulations in contexts other than Europe. Such inconsistencies exist with respect to the high level of protection of human health that should be ensured and the provisions intended to protect consumer safety. For instance, the catalog of nanomaterials in circulation does not indicate the materials that have been approved or their toxicological profiles. To date, no comparison studies have been presented between the expectations and legislative objectives set as embodied in the regulation and debated in the European Parliament involving the actual efficacy of this regulation. (shrink)

A scholarly edition of a work by Adam Smith. The edition presents an authoritative text, together with an introduction, commentary notes, and scholarly apparatus.

Los discursos sobre el biopoder han marcado buena parte de las discusiones en filosofía política durante la última década. Particularmente, el desarrollo de estos discursos entre diversos filósofos italianos, lo que ha abierto diversas líneas de interpretación sobre el biopoder. A continuación se revisa una de las hipótesis centrales del planteamiento de Roberto Esposito y que justifica gran parte de su trabajo en torno a estos discursos. Esta hipótesis consiste en que la biopolítica mostraría el encuentro léxico entre el vocabulario (...) médico y político que se atestigua durante el siglo XX. Al mismo tiempo el artículo interroga críticamente esta hipótesis de modo que, por una parte, expone el planteamiento de Esposito y sirve como introducción a sus propuestas y, por otra, permite revisar los aportes y límites de esta particular recepción del biopoder. -/- The Biopower discourses have marked much of the discussions on political philosophy during the last decade. In particular, the development of these speechs among several Italian philosophers, which has opened various lines of interpretation of Biopower. Then review one of the central hypothesis of the approach of Roberto Esposito and that justifies much of her work around these discourses. This hypothesis is that the biopolitical would show the lexical meeting between the medical and political vocabulary which is testified during the 20th century. At the same time the article critically interrogates this hypothesis so that, on the one hand, it exposes the approach of Esposito and serves as an introduction to their proposals and, on the other hand, allows to review the contributions and limits of this particular reception of BioPower. (shrink)

A growing number of recreational races are being held in different locations, drawing many local and visiting runners. This study examined the relationships between quality, value, satisfaction, and loyalty among runners in a recreational race and examines potential differences in relationships between these constructs based on the runners’ experience. The participants were 985 runners with a mean age of 40.74±9.41years. Validated, reliable ad hoc instruments were used. A multi-group analysis was performed to ascertain the existence of relationships between the constructs (...) and differences in the relationships between the different study groups. The results show that quality is a direct antecedent of value and satisfaction. Value is directly related to satisfaction and indirectly related to loyalty. Satisfaction is related to the loyalty of participants in the race. Differences in the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty were dependent upon the runners’ experience. Loyalty to a race depends primarily on satisfaction and is modified by the runners’ experience. (shrink)

El artículo analiza la noción de régimen de veridicción como posible elemento de análisis político, tomando como foco los planteamientos de Foucault en el curso de 1979 Nacimiento de la biopolítica. En este curso, dicha noción es explicada por primera vez y aunque el tema de la veridicción tiene un importante protagonismo en los trabajos posteriores de Foucault, este curso tiene una especial relevancia pues relaciona la operación de veridicción con unas tecnologías políticas de gobierno, como son las artes liberales (...) de gobierno e incluso sus modificaciones en el contexto del neoliberalismo. (shrink)

Si Michel Henry ha reclamado para su filosofía el título de “fenomenología material”, ello se debe a un intento por desentrañar la “substancia fenomenológica invisible” del aparecer en tanto la inmediación patética en la cual la vida se experimenta a sí misma. Si dicho auto-aparecer de la vida consiste en la “unidad no tautológica” del “sufrir” en tanto la pasividad originaria a sí mismo y el “gozo” en tanto la efectuación en la que el sentirse se lleva a cabo, proponemos (...) reinterpretar dicha unidad a partir de una “estructura antinómica”. Así, si el sufrimiento designa la excedencia de la pasividad originaria en tanto “imposibilidad”, el gozo debe ser entendido en tanto la excedencia de una “transpasibilidad”. Dicho sobrepasamiento tiene como consecuencia el que la “hiper-potencia” se traduzca en una “hiper-contingencia” en un doble sentido. Por un lado, como la contingencia de todo pretendido “estar-en-posesión-de-sí”, incluido el del fenomenólogo mismo, es decir, como la “transgresión” de su propia arquitectónica. Por otro lado, si dicha contingencia aspira a sobrepasar todo “monismo ontológico”, entonces solo puede tener lugar en tanto “con-tagio”, es decir, en tanto una sobreabundancia de “con-tactos”. (shrink)

It has been claimed, recently, that the fact that all the non-gravitational fields are locally Poincaré invariant and that these invariances coincide, in a certain regime, with the symmetries of the spacetime metric is miraculous in general relativity. In this paper I show that, in the context of GR, it is possible to account for these so-called miracles of relativity. The way to do so involves integrating the realisation that the gravitational field equations impose constraints on the behaviour of matter (...) in a novel interpretation of the equivalence principle, which dictates the determination of local inertial frames through gravitational interaction. This proposed explanation of the miracles can also deal with the problematic cases for attempts at explaining them in the context of the standard geometrical perspective on relativity theory. (shrink)

Abductive problems have been widely studied in propositional logic. First order abduction, however, has been viewed as intractable, for the undecidability of logical consequence. In this paper, we propose a notion of abductive problem, N-abductive problem, which is relative to the cardinality of the minimal model satisfying the given theory. We use a notion of restricted satisfaction, also relative to a domain cardinality. Finally, we propose an effective procedure for the searching of abductive solutions, by means of a modification of (...) Beth's tableaux. (shrink)

The question about the relation between spacetime structure and the symmetries of laws has received renewed attention in a recent discussion about the status of Minkowski spacetime in Special Relativity. In that context we find two extreme positions (either spacetime explains symmetries of laws or vice-versa) and a general assumption about the debate being mainly about explanation. The aim of this paper is twofold: first, to argue that the ontological dimension of the debate cannot be ignored; second, to claim that (...) taking ontology into account involves considering a third perspective on the relation between spacetime and symmetries of laws; one in which both terms would be somehow derived from common assumptions on the formulation of a given physical theory. (shrink)

En este ensayo me propongo examinar una de las tesis mantenidas por Devitt sobre la naturaleza del realismo científico. En particular, examinaré la tesis de acuerdo con la cual ninguna teoría de la verdad es constitutiva al realismo, por lo que un compromiso con el realismo no nos obliga a suscribirnos a una teoría correspondendista de la verdad. Si ésta tesis fuese correcta, todos los intentos antirrealistas por rebatir las tesis del realismo científico estarían condenadas al fracaso ya que sus (...) objeciones suponen que una de las teorías constitutivas del realismo es la teoría correspondentista de la verdad. Mi intuición es que no es posible emancipar al realismo científico de sus compromisos semánticos con una teoría de la correspondencia. Para defender este punto de vista, mostraré que es poco plausible la tesis de que un realista no tiene que suscribirse a una teoría correspondentista, porque podría adoptar, en su lugar, una teoría redundante de la verdad. Mi intuición es que si el realista se suscribiera a tal teoría, no podría mantener exitosamente ‘la dimensión de independencia’ la cual es, de acuerdo con Devitt, constitutiva del Realismo. Finalmente, señalaré dos resultados indeseables que se derivan de mantener un realismo emancipado de la semántica, entre ellos que no resulta evidente cómo puede un realista de este tipo responder al problema de la elección de teorías, y adicionalmente que no parece posible admitir que hay relaciones causales entre nuestras mentes y el mundo –tal y como Devitt lo sugiere- sin intromisiones de la semántica o sin sucumbir al antirrealismo. (shrink)

El presente artículo esboza a partir de la segunda hipótesis del Parménides y del "pasaje matemático" del Epinomis, la figuración de areté enel último Platón, asociada a la efectividad del tránsito ontológico desde el 'ser' hacia la génesis. No obstante, al introducir la 'necesaria realidad de la génesis' en el marco eidético, Platón se ve obligado a postular la presencia del 'no-ser' dentro dela propia economía ontológica -como se puede leer en el Sofista- y a otorgarle paradójicamente el grado de (...) mismidad absoluto. ¿Cómo se presenta este 'no-ser' en el centro de las eíde? La respuesta es sorprendente. (shrink)

El presente artículo pretende dar a conocer de manera general pero completa el pensamiento del filósofo y crítico italiano Giorgio Colli acerca del origen de la filosofía griega. Poniendo especial atención al paradigma nietzscheano de lo apolíneo, Colli considera el origendel logos racional en los sabios de la época arcaica a partir de la interpretación del oráculo de Apolo que seresenta a los hombres como un enigma. De este origen nacerán las dos características básicas del pensar arcaico que después se (...) plasmarán en la filosofía:su carácter polémico y su carácter destructivo. (shrink)

Se propone una reflexión filosófica sobre el imperativo ético y político de pensar y reconstruir nuestro pasado a partir de la experiencia del sujeto latinoamericano oprimido y resistente. En este orden de ideas, el objetivo principal del artículo es emprender una búsqueda de aquellos lugares en los que habitan y se conservan en el tiempo las memorias de los latino-americanos antes y después del proceso de colonización o de “invasión” de la Modernidad europea. Esta indagación se inclina específicamente hacia esas (...) memorias “no oficiales”, construidas desde las comunidades en sus prácticas culturales, que mediante la rememoración y la tradición oral crearon vínculos de resistencia contra el olvido, al tiempo que preservaban aspectos fundamentales de sus tradiciones. Así, llamamos lugares a aquellos elementos que albergan fragmentos de lo pretérito invisibilizado por el discurso histórico oficial y que permiten establecer un vínculo trascendente entre pasado y presente, una recreación del pasado que surge a partir de la reconstrucción interpretativa de ruinas, rastros y vestigios de un tiempo que no ha dejado de ser y al que aún es posible acceder y conocer. Posteriormente, se destacan algunos episodios importantes de nuestra historia latinoamericana en los que esas memorias encuentran su lugar. (shrink)

En su réplica a mi artículosistemático de la evolución del conceptoimpide notablemente un tratamiento adecuadoestructuralista al problema de la comparabilidadel artículo no sólo “carece de informaciónla confrontación con posturas que rechazanmenciona que no tomo en consideración lasde reducción aproximativa.contenidas en ellas no amenazan seriamenteque la solución propuesta por el Estructuralismopara resolver el problema de la comparabilidadde teorías inconmensurables es una soluciónpromisoria,.de la inconmensurabilidad es sistemática eintrínsecamente más satisfactoria que uname inclino.

El artículo pretende explorar la categoría de hombre-empresa, que Foucault propuso como uno de los dispositivos o interfaces claves del poder en el contexto del neoliberalismo. A través de esta categoría se muestra una particular forma de poder sobre la vida, o biopoder, que es distinto al tipo de poder de la sociedad disciplinaria, aunque tiene relaciones de continuidad con este último. En tal sentido el artículo maneja la hipótesis de la superposición o coexistencia, de las formas del poder, en (...) contra de las hipótesis más extendidas, que entiende la biopolítica o como una superación de las sociedades disciplinarias o como una sofisticación de la misma. El artículo remite constantemente a las formas del neoliberalismo chileno como punto de referencia para entender las tensiones del biopoder. (shrink)

El artículo propone una interpretación de la obra literaria "Las Crónicas de Narnia" del autor ingles C. S Lewis. Tal interpretación posibilita considerar la alegoría religiosa que esta obra literaria realiza sobre la experiencia de la divinidad a través de la figura del León.