Digital computers are by design completely deterministic, yet they are often consumers of randomness in cryptography, simulations, science experiments and computer games. To generate randomness in software, programmers implement special mathematical algorithms, which produce a series of numbers that appear nondeterministic, so called pseudo random number generators (PRNGs). Computer games make heavy use of such PRNGs to make game simulations and behaviors of game elements appear more natural. An important design element of many video games is game physics, the simulation (...) of physical reality in video games. Generally overlooked by game developers, is the fact that randomness based on PRNGs are mere simulations themselves and randomness is not treated as a physical property of reality, and thus a form of game physics. Since the dynamics of the very small and the very complex invariably contains randomness, the author suggests this can be used to extend to the scope of game physics by defining two new game physics elements: 1. providing physics based random data to games or interactive media and 2. extracting true randomness from game-player interactions themselves. (shrink)

Nietzsche was a harsh critic of German culture and yet, at the same time, realized he was quite inseparable from it. His disagreement with the Germans began as a dispute with Richard Wagner and then, after renouncing him, increasingly turned into an internal dispute with himself. This subject is important for a philosophical understanding of his thought as a whole.

In the final parts of Piketty’s Capital and Ideology, he presents his vision for a just and more equal society. This vision marks an alternative to contemporary societies, and differs radically both from the planned Soviet economies and from social democratic welfare states. In his sketch of this vision, Piketty provides a principled account of how such a society would look and how it would modify the current status of private property through co-managed enterprises and the creation of temporary ownership (...) models. He also sets out two principles for when inequalities are just. The first principle permits inequalities that are beneficial to the worst-off, while the second permits inequalities that reflect differences in people’s choices and ambitions. This article identifies a tension between Piketty’s two inequality-permitting principles. It also argues that the procedural limits on how decisions are made within the enterprises of participatory socialism might create inequalities not permitted by the guiding distributive principles of participatory socialism. This tension points to the need for either further changes in firm structure and ownership, an even more progressive taxation scheme, or an egalitarian ethos reflected in citizens’ choices in their everyday lives under participatory socialism. (shrink)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking centre stage in economic growth and business operations alike. Public discourse about the practical and ethical implications of AI has mainly focussed on the societal level. There is an emerging knowledge base on AI risks to human rights around data security and privacy concerns. A separate strand of work has highlighted the stresses of working in the gig economy. This prevailing focus on human rights and gig impacts has been at the expense of a closer (...) look at how AI may be reshaping traditional workplace relations and, more specifically, workplace health and safety. To address this gap, we outline a conceptual model for developing an AI Work Health and Safety (WHS) Scorecard as a tool to assess and manage the potential risks and hazards to workers resulting from AI use in a workplace. A qualitative, practice-led research study of AI adopters was used to generate and test a novel list of potential AI risks to worker health and safety. Risks were identified after cross-referencing Australian AI Ethics Principles and Principles of Good Work Design with AI ideation, design and implementation stages captured by the AI Canvas, a framework otherwise used for assessing the commercial potential of AI to a business. The unique contribution of this research is the development of a novel matrix itemising currently known or anticipated risks to the WHS and ethical aspects at each AI adoption stage. (shrink)

Wir hoffen nicht zu Unrecht, mittels der Erziehung das zukünftige Lebensglück unserer Kinder günstig beeinflussen zu können. Strittig bleibt jedoch, wie umfangreich dieser Einfluss zu denken ist und wie begründet unsere Erziehungshoffnungen diesbezüglich sind. In der Antike wurde das Glück als launisch und nicht vorhersehbar betrachtet. Weitgespannte Hoffnungen galten deshalb als trügerisch; und der Einfluss der Erziehung für eine bessere Zukunft wurde tendenziell eher skeptisch beurteilt. Die Neuzeit rückt ihre Erziehungshoffnungen dagegen in die Nähe der Erfüllbarkeit. Der moderne Mensch entdeckt (...) seine Gestaltungskraft für eine bessere Zukunft; und die professionalisierte Erziehung dient ihm als effektives Mittel, sich eben diese Zukunft verfügbar zu halten. Als Tugend dürfte die Hoffnung des Pädagogen darum wesentlich irgendwo _zwischen_ der Verzweiflung und der Vermessenheit der Erziehung liegen, und also _zwischen_ einem zu radikalen Glücksskeptizismus einerseits und der zu optimistischen Vorstellung einer einflussreichen Glücksmaschinerie andererseits. Eben darum muss ihr konkretes Maß aber in jeder Situation prinzipiell neu verhandelt werden. (shrink)

Some things are reasons for us to perform certain actions. That it will spare you great pain in the future, for example, is a reason for you to go to the dentist now, and that you are already late for work is a reason for you not to read the next article in the morning paper. Why are such considerations reasons for or against certain actions? Constructivism offers an intriguing answer to this question. Its basic idea is often encapsulated in (...) the slogan that reasons are not discovered but made by us. This book elaborates the constructivist idea into a fully fledged account of practical reasons, makes its theoretical commitments explicit, and defends it against some well-known objections. It begins with an examination of the distinctive role that reason judgements play in the process of practical reasoning. This provides the resources for an anti-representationalist conception of the nature of those judgements, according to which they are true, if they are true, not because they accurately represent certain normative facts, but because of their role in sound reasoning. On the resulting view, a consideration owes its status as a reason to the truth of the corresponding reason judgement and thus, ultimately, to the soundness of a certain episode of reasoning. Consequently, our practical reasons exhibit a kind of mind-dependence, but this does not force us to deny their objectivity. (shrink)

The imperative to practice hospitality constitutes a mark of Western civilization. Already in Homer’s Odyssey, the hero Ulysses punishes Polyphemus for not having respected the obligation of hospitality towards him and his companions. In fact, hospitality has been a constitutive element of the West, marked by linguistic, cultural, and religious differences, in a world whose borders are supposed to be well defined. In his discussion of hospitality, Derrida shows how Socrates, in Plato’s dialogue The Apology of Socrates, places himself in (...) the position of a foreigner. In fact, Socrates presents himself as foreigner, that is, someone who is alien to the language and procedures of the court that is judging him. According to Derrida, he shows, in this way, the extent to which the foreigner is forced to ask for hospitality in a language he does not know. The court reduces Socrates to the other, the different. Moreover, the court forces him to deny his difference, his own identity, asking him to adapt himself to a system that he does not control. The paradox arises when Socrates, who regrets being regarded as a foreigner, asks the court to treat him at least as a foreigner. He feels so outraged that he asks to be granted at least the rights of a non-national. In doing so, Socrates shows how recognizing the rights of the foreigner generates hospitality but, at the same time, also limits it. Whenever a human being is recognized as human being, he or she will necessarily be seen as another, as someone different. This person will have to adapt him or herself to a system, culture or world that will define him or her as a foreigner. In short, in the phenomena that we tend to see as hospitality there is always a certain hostility. In a world of ongoing migratory crises, and in the context of a return to nationalisms of exclusion combined with populisms of prejudice and aversion to those who are different, it becomes imperative to rethink the ethics and politics of hospitality. In this context, Derrida’s distinction between conditioned and unconditioned hospitality can be useful. (shrink)

In addition to the socio-relational framework of expressive behaviors (SRFB), we recommend integrating theoretical and empirical findings based on attachment theory. We advocate a dynamic interpretation of early caregiver–child interaction. The consequences of models from developmental psychology for the occurrence of psychopathology are demonstrated from a clinical perspective.

L'ambition de cet ouvrage est d'illustrer à la fois comment la philosophie conceptualise le conflit et comment elle s'efforce d'en résoudre les dangers inhérents. Plutôt que de proposer un aperçu purement abstrait de la notion de « conflit », l'ensemble des travaux se focalise sur la confrontation des philosophes à des problèmes historiques tels que la guerre, la dissension sociale, la tyrannie, ou encore le sport. -/- .

While the trade of human organs are illegal and widely condemned, a black market flourishes. Estimates indicate that 10% of kidney transplants from living donors involve illegal payments to the kidney seller. This paper presents a typology for approaches aimed at curtailing the black market in human organs. The policies are evaluated from two perspectives: their ethical permissibility and their expected efficiency in ending and minimizing the trade in human organs. To end or minimize organ trading, we must reduce the (...) organ shortage in order to reduce demand for organs, alleviate poverty to reduce the supply of organs, and disincentivize brokers and medical facilitators through a concerted effort to reduce the profit rate of the international organ trade. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Zeitschrift für kritische Sozialtheorie und Philosophie Jahrgang: 4 Heft: 1-2 Seiten: 3-22.

Dieser Sammelband zeigt anhand von Problemen der Lexik und Grammatik romanischer Sprachen sowie der linguistischen Metasprache, daß die onomasiologische und die semasiologische Perspektive in ihrer Komplementarität unabdingbare Bezugspunkte einer sich als 'kognitiv' verstehenden Sprachwissenschaft sein sollten. Mit im Detail unterschiedlicher Perspektivierung werden Fragen der synchronischen und diachronischen Lexikologie und Grammatik diskutiert, ausgewählte Konzept- bzw. Funktionsbereiche im Detail analysiert und Probleme der Grammatikographie und der Konzeptualisierung von Sprache beleuchtet.

Die Untersuchung von Strukturen des Exemplarischen ist in den letzten Jahren vermehrt in den Fokus geisteswissenschaftlicher Forschung gerückt. Der Band beleuchtet in systematischer und historischer Perspektive Funktionen der Verwendung von Bildern als Beispielen, Illustrationen und Exempla. Im Mittelpunkt des Buches steht die Frage, wie Bilder in epistemologische, kunsttheoretische und philosophische Diskurse eingebunden sind. Die grundlegende Annahme lautet: Der theoretische Umgang mit Bildern gehorcht einer Logik des Exemplarischen, welche die Allgemeinheit der Argumente an die konkrete Gegebenheit eines Anschaulichen bindet. 'Logik' wird (...) dabei in einem weiten, inklusiven Sinn verstanden, der die lange Tradition der Rhetorik, aber auch Kants Überlegungen zum reflexiven ästhetischen Urteil und die psychoanalytische Analyse des singulären Falls umfasst. (shrink)

We introduce and study a simple generic model of neutral evolution of genotypes, designed to provide a feasible and general method for quantifying excess evolutionary activity|the extent to which evolutionary activity is the product of adaptive evolution. We compare the behavior of the generic neutral model against two other models: Packard's agent-based model of the evolution of sensory-motor functionality and a neutral \shadow" of Packard's model. Diversity and evolutionary activity of these three models across the mutation rate spectrum illustrate the (...) feasibility and general applicability of the generic neutral model, con rm the appropriateness of using neutral models to quantify the extent of the continual adaptive success of genotypes, and reveal power-law dependences of evolutionary activity on mutation rate. (shrink)

This book provides a comprehensive account of vascular biology and pathology and its significance for health and disease. It systematically and chronologically explains how we came to our current understanding of the vasculature and it's function today, and describes in an entertaining way the diverse flaws and turns in science and medicine from the past. It thereby offers a complete and well-studied history on vascular biology and medicine. The book has an easy-to-read style and is written for students as well (...) as scientists, physicians and lecturers in the field of biomedicine, human physiology, cardiology and hematology. (shrink)

This paper seeks to evaluate the extent to which Lotman’s theoretical works could provide a conceptual articulation to the project of British and American cultural studies (CS). Just as CS, Lotman operates with an extensive concept of culture, albeit one mostly limited to nobility culture and focused on the past. His late works can be seen to articulate a semiotic theory of power: his emphasis on the relationship between center and periphery recalls the infatuation with marginality that underpins CS. Lotman (...) shares the (post) structuralist premise about the primary role of discourse in founding reality. Yet his emphasis on the natural striving of culture toward diversity mitigates the subject’s dependence upon discourse. Thus, subjects act on their striving toward autonomy by playing discourses against one another, recoding them in an act of autocommunication that generates novelty in the process. Even though it denies the grand narrative, Cultural Studies emphasizes class, gender, and race differences. Lotman’s concept of the semiosphere emphasizes the ad hoc foundation of group identities, their emergence out of an intrinsic recoding of extrinsic codes, and the circulation of texts and values among groups. Lotman doesn’t privilege any sort of group identity and therefore offers a flexible framework applicable to a broader range of groups. In that sense he offers an alternative to Gramsci’s notion of the rootedness of groups in class realities (which underlies early CS). (shrink)

An attempt is made to determine when humans have had a soul. For this purpose, mind and soul are distinguished from each other. This clarification of terms makes it possible to criticise the emergentist view, which assumes that the soul arises naturally from the biological organism. The existence of a soul is inferred from the mental activities of humans, which are directed towards the transcendent. Special significance is given to burials. Burials have been practised for at least 448 000 years. (...) Not only Homo sapiens, but also Homo naledi, Homo heidelbergensis steinheimensis and Homo neanderthalensis buried their dead. Therefore, there is good reason to assume that Homo heidelbergensis and all its descendants possessed a soul. Moreover, one can suppose that Homo erectus and Homo naledi also possessed a soul.Contribution: The clear distinction between the immanent mind and the transcendent soul makes us aware that we humans are beings equally at home in immanence and transcendence. Humans have possessed a soul for a very long time, and not only Homo sapiens but also his ancestors and related species. (shrink)

Dieser Beitrag kritisiert aktuelle Vorschläge zur Einführung einer allgemeinen Dienstpflicht. Vier Argumente für einen verpflichtenden Dienst zugunsten der Allgemeinheit werden diskutiert und zurückgewiesen: Das paternalistische Argument, das sich auf den Nutzen der Dienstpflicht für die Dienstpflichtigen selbst beruft, scheitert aus prinzipiellen Erwägungen. Das sozialstaatliche Argument, das die Dienstpflicht durch ihre Rolle bei der Erfüllung sozialstaatlicher Aufgaben gerechtfertigt sieht, ist wenig überzeugend, solange es mildere Mittel gibt, diese Aufgaben zu erfüllen. Das Argument über Gemeinschaftlichkeit, das die Dienstpflicht mit einer Konzeption des (...) guten Lebens in Gemeinschaft begründet, scheitert an seiner Unvereinbarkeit mit einem vernünftigen Pluralismus der Lebensentwürfe. Und schließlich ist auch die These zurückzuweisen, dass eine allgemeine Dienstpflicht notwendig sei, um die gesellschaftlichen Voraussetzungen einer funktionierenden Demokratie zu gewährleisten. Eine Diskussion vermeintlicher Analogien beschließt den Aufsatz. (shrink)