AI research is growing rapidly raising various ethical issues related to safety, risks, and other effects widely discussed in the literature. We believe that in order to adequately address those issues and engage in a productive normative discussion it is necessary to examine key concepts and categories. One such category is anthropomorphism. It is a well-known fact that AI’s functionalities and innovations are often anthropomorphized (i.e., described and conceived as characterized by human traits). The general public’s anthropomorphic attitudes and some (...) of their ethical consequences (particularly in the context of social robots and their interaction with humans) have been widely discussed in the literature. However, how anthropomorphism permeates AI research itself (i.e., in the very language of computer scientists, designers, and programmers), and what the epistemological and ethical consequences of this might be have received less attention. In this paper we explore this issue. We first set the methodological/theoretical stage, making a distinction between a normative and a conceptual approach to the issues. Next, after a brief analysis of anthropomorphism and its manifestations in the public, we explore its presence within AI research with a particular focus on brain-inspired AI. Finally, on the basis of our analysis, we identify some potential epistemological and ethical consequences of the use of anthropomorphic language and discourse within the AI research community, thus reinforcing the need of complementing the practical with a conceptual analysis. (shrink)

In this paper, I explore the Presocratic antecedents of the Stoic theory of conflagration and argue that, even though three central theses of this theory have solid antecedents in Presocratic physics, the logical connection between them is a Stoic innovation. I label the Presocratics who hold these theses ‘Anaximandreans’ and include in this group Anaximander himself, Heraclitus and Diogenes of Apollonia, and reveal that Anaximenes, Democritus and Antiphon share with them central meteorological and cosmological assumptions.

The recently published BRAIN 2.0 Neuroethics Report offers a very helpful overview of the possible ethical, social, philosophical, and legal issues raised by neuroscience in the context of BRAIN’s research priorities thus contributing to the attempt to develop ethically sound neuroscience. In this article, we turn to a running theme of the document: the need for an ethical framework for the BRAIN Initiative and for further integration of neuroethics and neuroscience. We assess some of the issues raised and provide an (...) explanation of how we have addressed them in the Human Brain Project. We offer our experience in the HBP as a potential contribution to the international debate about neuroethics in the big brain initiatives. Our hope is that among other things, the type of exchange proposed by this AJOB special issue will prove productive in further identifying and discussing the issues and in inspiring appropriate solutions. (shrink)

Within the last decades, brain science has been offering new insights into the relationship among diverse psychological processes and the neural correlates of our moral thought and behavior. Despite the distinction between the explanatory/descriptive nature of science and the normative nature of morality, some neuroethicists have claimed that neuroscientific findings have normative implications. In this paper, I identify three interpretations of the claim. The first focuses on neuroscience’s role in explaining the origin of morality and of moral values and how (...) neurobiology is the bases of moral behavior. A second version is about the role that neuroscientific knowledge can play in showing the psychological plausibility of the moral psychology underlying some ethical approaches. Finally, a third version advances that neuroscience could play a role in determining the moral plausibility of some normative approaches. My aim is to delineate each version and highlight the issues raised to suggest that while neuroscience might provide information regarding the nature of moral reasoning, its role in the normative discussion itself is still quite limited. (shrink)

Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is an important ethical, legal, and political theme for the European Commission. Although variously defined, it is generally understood as an interactive process that engages social actors, researchers, and innovators who must be mutually responsive and work towards the ethical permissibility of the relevant research and its products. The framework of RRI calls for contextually addressing not just research and innovation impact but also the background research process, specially the societal visions underlying it and the (...) norms and priorities that shape scientific agendas. This requires the integration of anticipatory, inclusive, and responsive dimensions, and the nurturing of a certain type of reflexivity among a variety of stakeholders, from scientists to funders. In this paper, we do not address potential limitations but focus on the potential contribution of philosophical reflection to RRI in the context of the Ethics and Society subproject of the Human Brain Project (HBP). We show how the type of conceptual analysis provided by philosophically oriented approaches theoretically and ethically broadens research and innovation within the HBP. We further suggest that overt inclusion of philosophical reflection can promote the aims and objectives of RRI. (shrink)

Leading figures in ancient philosophy present nineteen original papers on three key themes in the work of Richard Sorabji. The papers dealing with Metaphysics range from Democritus to Numenius on basic questions about the structure and nature of reality: necessitation, properties, and time. The section on Soul includes one paper on the individuation of souls in Plato and five papers on Aristotle's and Aristotelian theories of cognition, with a special emphasis on perception. The section devoted to Ethics concentrates upon Stoicism (...) and the complex views the Stoics held on such topics as motivation, akrasia, oikeitsis, and the emotions. It also includes one paper on the influence of Greek ethics in Modern Philosophy. The volume also contains a fascinating "intellectual autobiography" by Sorabji himself, and a full Bibliography of his works. (shrink)

Este trabajo intenta resolver una tensión que existe en el modo en que Aristóteles concibe el apeiron de Anaximandro, la substancia a partir de la cual se genera el cosmos. En algunas partes del corpus, Aristóteles la presenta como un cuerpo básico que genera el cosmos por medio de un cambio de sus cualidades, pero en otras como un cuerpo compuesto de substancias básicas que el cual generaría el cosmos cuando éstas se separan la una de la otra. Como veremos, (...) sin embargo, sólo este segundo modelo es el que Aristóteles realmente le atribuye a Anaximandro. Al final, se propone una hipótesis respecto de quién podría ser entonces la persona, o grupo de personas, que Aristóteles tiene en mente cuando se refiere al primer modelo. (shrink)

edited by Tuija Takala and Matti Häyry, welcomes contributions on the conceptual and theoretical dimensions of bioethics.

The semantic poverty of general nouns and their referential versatility could make them excellent means to achieve a co-referential anaphora. Many contexts, however, do not allow a general noun like chose (‘thing’), personne (‘person’) or individu (‘individual’) to reiterate a previously classified referent. The difficulties of such reiterations or the (often pejorative) discursive effects they produce are linked to the referent declassification they involve. In fact, general nouns are distinguished from other superordinate nouns by their weak classifying power. This feature, (...) instead, brings them closer to quality nouns (in Milner’s sense), which appear at the top of the generality continuum in some examples proposed by Halliday & Hasan. (shrink)

The scientific relationship between neuroscience and artificial intelligence is generally acknowledged, and the role that their long history of collaboration has played in advancing both fields is often emphasized. Beyond the important scientific insights provided by their collaborative development, both neuroscience and AI raise a number of ethical issues that are generally explored by neuroethics and AI ethics. Neuroethics and AI ethics have been gaining prominence in the last few decades, and they are typically carried out by different research communities. (...) However, considering the evolving landscape of AI-assisted neurotechnologies and the various conceptual and practical intersections between AI and neuroscience—such as the increasing application of AI in neuroscientific research, the healthcare of neurological and mental diseases, and the use of neuroscientific knowledge as inspiration for AI—some scholars are now calling for a collaborative relationship between these two domains. This article seeks to explore how a collaborative relationship between neuroethics and AI ethics can stimulate theoretical and, ideally, governance efforts. First, we offer some reasons for calling for the collaboration of the ethical reflection on neuroscientific innovations and AI. Next, we explore some dimensions that we think could be enhanced by the cross-fertilization between these two subfields of ethics. We believe that considering the pace and increasing fusion of neuroscience and AI in the development of innovations, broad and underspecified calls for responsibility that do not consider insights from different ethics subfields will only be partially successful in promoting meaningful changes in both research and applications. (shrink)

As Anotações sobre as cores não têm tido o destaque merecido, pois parecem um conjunto parcialmente amorfo e desconexo, com precária estrutura de conjunto. Isso se deve, em grande medida, ao estado da edição dos textos realizada por G. E. M. Anscombe, que despreza variantes, faz sugestões equivocadas para a datação dos manuscritos, suprime parágrafos, além de ter desfigurado a Parte II, ordenando equivocadamente esses parágrafos. Uma edição bem cuidadaé necessária à recuperação de suas chaves interpretativas, permitindo-nos um roteiro claro (...) de leitura. Desse modo, a Parte II logo se apresenta como um projeto de tratamento de proposições gramaticais sobre cores, ao que se segue o extenso e rico material da Parte III, a ser lido em conjunto com a Parte IV. Assim, em conjunto, essas partes preparam a bem elaborada Parte I, que sintetiza os principais problemas anteriores e, de modo claro, mostra as razões mais profundas para o fracasso da análise fenomenológica de Goethe e, por conseguinte, de toda fenomenologia que se pretenda uma ciência definitiva do conceito de cor ou que, em relação a outros temas, pretenda universalizar a "matemática" própria de um emprego específico. (shrink)

El objetivo de este trabajo es, por una parte, ofrecer una nueva interpretación de la teoría estoica de los universales a la luz del debate entre nominalismo, conceptualismo y realismo, y, por otra, desentrañar un paralelismo entre el análisis propuesto por los estoicos de enunciados cuyo sujeto gramatical son términos genéricos, y el análisis propuesto por Russell de enunciados como "El actual rey de Francia es calvo". Al final del trabajo se estudian las bases metafísicas de la teoría estoica de (...) los universales y se señala una posible tensión en su interior. The aim of this paper is to offer a new interpretation of the Stoic theory of universals in the light of the debate between nominalism, conceptualism and realism, and to bring out a parallel between the analysis proposed by the Stoic Chrysippus of statements whose grammatical subject is a generic term, and the analysis developed by Russell of statements such as "The current King of France is bald". At the end of the paper, the metaphysical basis of the Stoic theory of universals is examined and a possible contradiction in it is brought out. (shrink)

This is a collective study, in nine new essays, of the close connection between theology and cosmology in Stoic philosophy.

This chapter discusses the theory of determinism put forward by the ancient Stoics and its theory for rational action and moral responsibility. The Stoic argument for determinism is presented in Section 1. Stoic determinism implies fatalism. The first problem, studied in Section 2, is whether it is rational to be motivated to do anything if one believes in fatalism. A second problem is that determinism seems to imply that everything people do is fully determined by external causes alone. This problem, (...) and the solution proposed by the Stoics, are studied in Section 3. A third problem, discussed in Section 4, is whether moral responsibility is compatible or incompatible with the possibility of alternate actions. The chapter discusses two objections raised by incompatibilists, which relate to the notion of agency and freedom from external force. The chapter briefly considers one possible counter‐objection to Chrysippus, the third head of the Stoic school. (shrink)

The perception involves a lot of enigmas, the unity between its content and form not always looking to be assured. Such enigmas are exemplified by the optical illusions, by Molyneux’s famous problem and also, as it interests us here, by the problem of the expression of colors in chromatic models, which express logical incompatibilities, but which refer to the territory of experience itself with colors and pigments. In this paper, we will distinguish two uses of Farbenoktaeder by Wittgenstein by registering (...) the difference, which we consider relevant, between ample incompatibility and restrict incompatibility among colors. (shrink)

The basis of stoic determinism (a) : everything has a cause -- The basis of stoic determinism (b) : causation is necessitating -- The threat of external determination -- Reflection and responsibility -- The three compatibilist theories of Chrysippus -- Epictetus on responsibility for unreflective action.

Cet article est consacré aux emplois dits « génériques » des pronoms de deuxième personne _tu_ et _vous_, emplois dans lesquels ils peuvent concurrencer certains emplois indéfinis du pronom _on. _Selon certaines analyses, en particulier celles qui font valoir une restructuration du système pronominal français, _tu_ et _vous_ apparaissent comme de simples équivalents de _on_. Selon d’autres analyses, au contraire, le choix de _tu_ ou _vous_ à la place de _on_ n’est pas arbitraire et _tu_ et _vous_ génériques conservent une (...) valeur d’interpellation de l’interlocuteur ou de l’interlocutrice. Nous tenterons de montrer que _tu_ et _vous_ génériques, bien qu’ils ne correspondent pas nécessairement au pronom d’adresse utilisé (notamment _tu_ générique, qui peut être utilisé en contexte de vouvoiement) et qu’ils puissent être indifférents au statut de l’interlocuteur ou de l’interlocutrice (genre ou nombre de celui-/celle-ci, ceux-/celles-ci), conservent bien une valeur d’adresse. (shrink)

Um pedaço de barro solta-se de um grande barranco, formando por coincidência, e ao mesmo tempo, uma estátua de Machado de Assis. Três dias depois a estátua é completamente destruída; ao ser atingida por um machado ela se parte em vários pedaços. Chega ao fim, então, a existência tanto da estátua como do pedaço de barro da qual ela é feita. Notemos que ambos vieram a existir ao mesmo tempo e também ao mesmo tempo deixaram de existir. No período de (...) tempo que existiram tudo o que aconteceu a uma aconteceu a outra. Allan Gibbard acredita que com um exemplo deste tipo pode nos dar um caso de identidade contingente. No artigo “Contingent Identity” ele tenta mostrar a plausibilidade de um caso onde uma estátua s é igual ao pedaço de barro c e, no entanto, é possível que ambos existam e s seja diferente de c. Com isto ele pretende atacar algumas noções de Kripke sobre coisas concretas e nomes próprios. (shrink)

L’historien argentin Andrés Horacio Reggiani est l’auteur d’une étude biographique d’Alexis Carrel (1873-1944) saluée par Robert Paxton, qui met un terme à la longue polémique qui a marqué la première moitié des années 1990 en France. Prenant à bras le corps les enjeux mémoriels qui se nouent autour de la figure controversée du lauréat du prix Nobel de médecine en 1912, le livre s’ouvre, et s’achève, sur une analyse précise de ces événements. Alors que le Front National en brandit la (...) figure e... (shrink)

En este artículo se ofrece un análisis de la teoría estoica de la acción con el objetivo de solucionar un problema que la teoría aristotélica no tiene, a saber, cómo se adquiere el conocimiento práctico mínimo que un agente debe tener para llevar a cabo una acción. Se estudian nociones estoicas como phantasía, ormée y kathéekontos desde las perspectivas epistemológica, práctica e incluso psicológica.

A Escolástica medieval elevou a teologia ao grau de ciência. Tendência que começou a se manifestar no final do século XI e início do século seguinte, e que atinge seu apogeu no século XIII. Tomás de Aquino torna-se a maior expressão deste novo estatuto da teologia, embora não o único. A primeira questão de sua Suma Teológica trata justamente dos princípios que permitem considerar a teologia como ciência e formam um conjunto de dez artigos que são o objeto de estudo (...) desta investigação. A apresentação destes artigos, por si só, revela a concepção de Tomás sobre a teologia na segunda metade do século XIII, contudo uma reflexão sobre suas fontes, seu método e suas conquistas são igualmente objeto deste estudo. (shrink)

A detailed and accessible reconstruction of the Stoic philosophical doctrine that our cosmos is periodically destroyed and restored. Explains its uniqueness compared to earlier cosmologies and refers to central questions in the interpretation of Stoicism, such as the role of the Stoic god in cosmology.

Este ensayo ofrece un análisis del argumento de Crisipo a favor de que todo tiene una causa en Cicerón, De Fato 20. Para ello, se discute en qué sentido el argumento es fatalista y si el tipo de fatalismo que implica alienta la inacción. Asimismo, se presenta una nueva interpretación de la réplica de Crisipo al Argumento Perezoso en Eusebio, Praep. ev. 6.8.28. En particular se sostiene que, para Crisipo, la relación entre sucesos codestinados es analítica: a fin de determinar (...) qué sucesos futuros están codestinados con sucesos presentes, basta analizar los conceptos que se emplean para describir los primeros. /// In this paper I undertake an examination of Chrysippus' argument in Cicero's De Fato 20 for the view that everything has a cause, by discussing in what sense it is fatalist and whether the kind of fatalism it implies encourages idleness. A novel interpretation is offered of Chrysippus' refutation of the Idle Argument at Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.8.28. In particular, I argue that for Chrysippus the connection between co-fated events is analytic: to determine which future events are co-fated with present ones, it is sufficient to analyse the concepts that are used to describe the former. (shrink)

This book proposes a new solution to the problem of vagueness. There are several different ways of addressing this problem and no clear agreement on which one is correct. The author proposes that it should be understood as the problem of explaining vague predicates in a way that systematizes six intuitions about the phenomenon and satisfies three criteria of adequacy for an ideal theory of vagueness. The third criterion, which is called the “criterion of precisification”, is the most controversial one. (...) It is based on the intuition that a predicate is vague only if it is imprecise. The author considers some different definitions of linguistic imprecision, proposing that a predicate is imprecise if and only if there is no sharp boundary between objects to which its application yields some particular truth-value and objects to which its application does not yield that truth-value. The volume critically reviews the current theories of vagueness and proposes a new one, the Theory of Vagueness as Arbitrariness, which defines a vague predicate as an arbitrary predicate that must be precisified in order to contribute to a sentence that has truth-conditions. The main advantages of this theory over the current alternatives are that it satisfies all three criteria and systematizes the relevant intuitions. (shrink)

Meu objetivo neste texto é apresentar uma resposta cética ao argumento ontológico tal como aparece em algumas de suas principais variações. O que todas essas variações têm em comum é tentar provar a existência de Deus a priori. Sustentarei que o sucesso de qualquer argumento desse tipo depende de dois pressupostos fundamentais, o primeiro é que existência é uma propriedade e o segundo que é uma perfeição. Mesmo aceitando que existência seja uma propriedade, recusarei que possamos saber se ela é (...) uma perfeição e, portanto, que possamos saber se devemos atribuí-la a um ser perfeito. Serão trabalhadas quatro formulações diferentes desse argumento, começando por Anselmo, Descartes, e a formulação que Norman Malcom acredita haver em Anselmo. Por fim, considerarei a versão de Alvin Plantinga, que defende o argumento ontológico sem sustentar que existência é uma perfeição. Sustentarei que seu argumento falha em provar que Deus existe, pois é inválido. (shrink)

It is agreed by most scholars that the Stoics were compatibilists regarding the relation between responsibility and determinism. On this view, the Stoics depart from two other positions. Unlike some eliminative determinists — labelled in modern discussions “hard-determinists”, but already active in Antiquity — they assert that, despite determinism, there are things that “depend on us”, or are : things for which we are genuinely responsible and for which, therefore, we may justifiably be praised or blamed. But the Stoics also (...) depart from the libertarian or “anti-determinist” 2 a position championed by the Epicureans in the early Hellenistic period and by Alexander of Aphrodisias on behalf of the Peripatetics, towards the end of the second century AD. Unlike the libertarian, who agrees on the incompatibility alleged by the hard-determinist, but preserves responsibility by rejectin necessitation, the Stoics preserve both responsibility and necessitation. (shrink)

Este artigo é uma introdução crítica ao problema da vagueza. Não vou explicar ou avaliar as teorias da vagueza aqui. Meu objetivo é introduzir e discutir o próprio problema, com o intuito de alcançar uma formulação clara do mesmo. Minha formulação tornará claro quais condições uma teoria ideal da vagueza deveria satisfazer, assim como os principais obstáculos para desenvolver teorias que satisfaçam estas condições.

I have two main goals in this paper. First, I develop a version of Theory of Identification for the reference of proper names, one which comes from Strawson and Evans. The theory is not developed in detail, but its central elements are revealed, focusing on its treatment of the phenomenon of reference borrowing. At the center of this theory is Russell’s Principle which, applied to the reference of proper names, states that the identification of the named object is a necessary (...) condition for the success of reference. Secondly, I reply to the challenge posed by the semantic argument inspired by Kripke and Donnellan. This argument can be used to show that identification is not necessary for the success of reference. I defend that it is not effective against the version of Theory of Identification advocated here. (shrink)

Şerif Mardin and Nilüfer Göle have left traces of high reference value in Turkish sociology, whose echoes still continue. When it comes to their attempts to understand and make sense of Turkish modernization and the perspective they put forward, it can be said that the two names make undeniable contributions to the literature on their approaches. The concepts they use, the discourses, the fictions they put forward, the emphasis on the triangulation points of Turkish modernization, the micro and macro theoretical (...) approaches make the two thinkers similar at some points and differentiate them at some points. The aim of this study is to comparatively analyze the fictions of the two leading figures who come to the fore with their political, historical and socio-cultural analyzes on the depiction of Turkish modernization, on the axis of the “discourses” they use. In this context, literature review was used. The study consists of two main parts. In the first part, the concepts that are the basic building blocks of the Turkish modernization fictions of the two thinkers are discussed. Then, the general theoretical framework of Turkish modernization is presented by comparing the two thinkers. In the second part, the fictions of the two thinkers are depicted by comparing Turkish modernization fictions on the axis of their prominent discourses. It is encountered with a fiction in which center-periphery separation, historical and socio-cultural continuities, integration under the roof of the “nation-state”, a top-down and projected political structure are emphasized. At the same time, the reflections of the multidimensional relationship between these elements and the phenomenon of “religion” are presented within the framework of the relevant discourses. It is concluded that both thinkers characterize the phenomenon of “religion” as a dominant element in the Turkish modernization experience constructs. It has been determined that other elements support this characterization. (shrink)