The time of mechanics is the eternal and unchangeable time of Parmenides, it is Plato’s idea of time, whereas the time of thermodynamics is Heraclitus’ flowing time, Thomas Aquinas’ time measured by various phenomena. I once wrote [2] that people who are not used to a physicist’s way of thinking are (at best) confused by the idea of a symmetrical time of mechanics. Physicists on the other hand often believe that the time of thermodynamics (irreversibility) does not really exist, and (...) is merely an illusion. It seems therefore that both of these aspects of time, the time of mechanics and the time of thermodynamics, should be treated as complementary, in anticipation of a future “theory of everything” which will somehow reconcile them. (shrink)

All physical processes are deterministic de iure. Physicists speak about different types of determinism of physical processes, depending on the degree with which their course can be anticipated. Usually, the course of ergodic processes can be predicted with less certainty than the non-ergodic ones, the latter being integrable. Recent measurements of motions of single particles in composite systems, especially in living biological cells, show that such motions are, in most cases, breaking the Boltzmann’s ergodic hypothesis. On the other hand, their (...) trajectories are random, i.e., one cannot know a priori where the particle will be even in near future. This leads to conclusion that many existing in nature processes are nonergodic but not integrable, therefore predictable only in the mean, representing still other type of determinism. (shrink)

The main goal of this paper is to present the Marian Smoluchowski’s work on thermal and primordial fluctuations which are the main cause of Brownian motion and one of the first empirical evidences for molecular structure of matter.

This paper analyzes selected issues related to the philosophy of the Krakow physicist Andrzej Fuliński. Since the 1970s, Fuliński has been strongly associated with the interdisciplinary milieu gathered around Heller and Życiński. His activity can therefore be considered within the context of the broader phenomenon known as the Krakow School of Philosophy in Science, which was founded by Heller and Życiński. This paper proposes the thesis that Fuliński’s style of philosophy is connected with the concept of (...) philosophy in science and tries to justify the thesis that Fuliński, due to his cooperation with the interdisciplinary milieu in Krakow and the specificity of his philosophical works, deserves to be regarded as a representative of the Krakow School of Philosophy in Science. (shrink)

In introductory logic courses the authors often limit their considerations to the truth-value operators. Then they write that conditionals and biconditionals of natural language ("if" and "if and only if") may be represented as material implications and equivalences ("⊃" and "≡"), respectively. Yet material implications are not suitable for conditionals. Lewis' strict implications are much better for this purpose. Similarly, strict equivalences are better for representing biconditionals (than material equivalences). In this paper we prove that the methods from standard first (...) courses in logic can be used for testing arguments with strict implications, strict equivalences and other operators which may represent connectives from natural language. (shrink)

The Author is of the opinion that cultural impact of modern theoretical physics is entirely negative. This is so because modern theoretical physics does not have a consistent view of the world. This is to be compared with the blessing of having a consistent and understandable view of the world, as given, for example, by the mediaeval astronomy and theology.

The article attempts to characterize three key doctrinal controversies in the Carolingian Renaissance, namely: the disputes over the Eucharist, the so-called trina deitas, and predestination. The core of the article is an exposition of the controversy concerning predestination, whose main protagonist is Gottschalk of Orbais. The article discusses four crucial issues related to the problem: (i) the concept of God, (ii) the understanding of grace, nature and free will, (iii) the relation of foreknowledge to predestination, and (iv) the doctrine of (...) redemption, i.e., specifically the relationship betweenjustice and mercy. The article is largely an attempt at an interpretation of the texts of the epoch, mainly those of Gottschalk of Orbais and his adversary, Hincmar of Reims. The conclusions point to difficulties in the issues discussed and outline what attempts at solving this problem have taken place in the coming centuries. (shrink)

SummaryStarting from late Classical-early Hellenistic age a series of witty, lighthearted and irreverent funerary verse-inscriptions aiming to produce some effect of amusement or laughter appeared on a number of monuments, reaching their apogee during Greek-Roman era. Most of them originated in Asia Minor and Rome. Some earliest examples were related to widespread hedonistic exhortations on tombs. Their later ramifications, consisting of ironical or playful expressions, amusing puns and instances of black humour, were written in a more satirical vein, except with (...) inscriptions dedicated for animals that were rife with sentimental motifs. Remarkably diverse as they were, such verse-inscriptions cannot be defined in terms of a distinctly separate, continuous tradition, but they shared some common features. Lacking – for the most part – conventional and formulaic elements, they struck us as heavily individualised, which sets them apart from the mainstream tradition of funerary poetry. This in turn might shed some light on social standing or/and mentality of individuals who opted for such expressive ways of remembering the dead. (shrink)

The subject of this paper is the controversy between cognitivist philosophy and phenomenology concerning the nature of emotions. This article has a limited scope restricted to the domain of the aesthetic emotions usually dependent on the works of art and literature. The author raises the criticism against the cognitivist stance, this criticism based chiefly on the principles of Max Scheler's phenomenology of emotions.

The article is devoted to Vilfredo Pareto’s reflections on socialism and dicusses thoroughly his important work Les syst`emes socialistes, especially its first part dealing with so called real socialist systems. This large treatise edited in 1901-1902 played an important role in the evolution of Pareto’s ideas. It brought the early version of his famous theory of social elites that was strictly connected with his refutation of historiosophical progressivism. Pareto examined many historical examples– from ancient to some tendencies in contemporary policy (...) – in order to elaborate the precise typology of the systems of real socialism. He tried to demonstrate that real socialism was an obstacle to economic and cultural development. Socialism was for him on the one hand utopian, and on the other hand – immoral. He didn’t exclude however that in the future the well organized socialist movement would come into power. (shrink)

En esta ponencia se pretende mirar de manera crítica las soluciones materialistas al problema mente cuerpo. En mi opinión esas soluciones son un obstáculo en desarrollo de una investigación trans-inter y multidisciplinaria en este campo de saber.

Using two distinct membership symbols makes possible to base set theory on one general axiom schema of comprehension. Is the resulting system consistent? Can set theory and mathematics be based on a single axiom schema of comprehension?