The recent introduction of the concepts of tenderness, vulnerability, and parental care in the field of moral emotions has brought us closer to an understanding of the underlying mechanisms, but has not yet resulted in a systematic evolutionary and proximate analysis. Applying such an analysis, the present article proposes a hypothetical care mechanism that produces different motivational states or moral emotions (e.g., tenderness, sympathy, guilt, moral anger) in response to individuals perceived as vulnerable. The mechanism consists of a care system (...) automatically triggered by vulnerability cues, a system for defense and aggression, and a process of causally attributing changes in the vulnerable object’s well-being. The mechanism may also be useful in explaining moral responses in domains other than harm prevention. (shrink)

Neurolaw is the emerging research field and practice of applying neuroscientific knowledge to legal standards and proceedings. This intersection of neuroscience and law has put up some serious claims, the most significant of which is the overall transformation of the legal system as we know it. The claim has met with strong opposition from scholars of law, such as Michael Pardo and Dennis Patterson (2011), who argue that neurolaw (and neuroscience more generally) is conceptually wrong and thus perceive most of (...) it as “nonsense” (Patterson, 2003). I expose a flaw in Pardo and Patterson’s arguments by means of confirmation theory. My main point is that Pardo and Patterson use implicit hypothetico-deductivism in their attack on neurolaw, and that we have good reasons to doubt the employment of such a model, because it faces serious theoretical problems. I then demonstrate how the alleged problems associated with neurolaw disappear if we use a quantitative probabilistic account of confirmation. I also explain why it provides a better account for the way the legal system actually works. (shrink)

Матеріал являє собою короткий філософський коментар до першого перекладу на українську мову статті Альберта Ейнштейна «Свобода та наука». Актуальність публікації пов’язана з тим, що категорія «свобода», яку аналізує Ейнштейн, розглядається у світлі тих соціально-філософських проблем, які сьогодні стоять і перед українським суспільством – громадянська відповідальність в умовах війни, здатність плекати свободу і протистояти пропаганді, використання науки для підвищення якості життя людей та утвердження їх гідності. Мета полягає у ширшому залучені інтелектуальної спадщини Альберта Ейнштейна в український соціально-філософський та етичний дискурс.

This paper has a three-Fold aim: (1) to show that wittgenstein gave a logical solution to the logico-Mathematical paradoxes, Which has not been taken into consideration only because of its brevity; (2) to prove that this solution does not reject the theory of types but interprets it in the simplest way; (3) to show that wittgenstein's solution is the solution given to the paradoxes called 'insolubilia', By the famous scholastic logician, Petreisde alligaco.

The neuroanatomical substrates controlling and regulating sleeping and waking, and thus consciousness, are located in the brain stem. Most crucial for bringing the brain into a state conducive for consciousness and information processing is the mesencephalic part of the brain stem. This part controls the state of waking, which is generally associated with a high degree of consciousness. Wakefulness is accompanied by a low-amplitude, high-frequency electroencephalogram, due to the fact that thalamocortical neurons fire in a state of tonic depolarization. Information (...) can easily pass the low-level threshold of these neurons, leading to a high transfer ratio. The complexity of the electroencephalogram during conscious waking is high, as expressed in a high correlation dimension. Accordingly, the level of information processing is high. Spindles, and alpha waves in humans, mark the transition from wakefulness to sleep. These phenomena are related to drowsiness, associated with a reduction in consciousness. Drowsiness occurs when cells undergo moderate hyperpolarizations. Increased inhibitions result in a reduction of afferent information, with a lowered transfer ratio. Information processing subsides, which is also expressed in a diminished correlation dimension. Consciousness is further decreased at the onset of slow wave sleep. This sleep is controlled by the medullar reticular formation and is characterized by a high-voltage, low-frequency electroencephalogram. Slow wave sleep becomes manifest when neurons undergo a further hyperpolarization. Inhibitory activities are so strong that the transfer ratio further drops, as does the correlation dimension. Thus, sensory information is largely blocked and information processing is on a low level. Finally, rapid eye movement sleep is regulated by the pontine reticular formation and is associated with a ''wake-like'' electroencephalographic pattern. Just as during wakefulness, this is the expression of a depolarization of thalamocortical neurons. The transfer ratio of rapid eye movement sleep has not yet been determined, but seems to vary. Evidence exists that this type of sleep, associated with dreaming, with some kind of perception and consciousness, is involved in processing of ''internal'' information. In line with this, rapid eye movement sleep has higher correlation dimensions than slow-wave sleep and sometimes even higher than wakefulness. It is assumed that the ''near-the-threshold'' depolarized state of neurons in the thalamus and cerebral cortex is a necessary condition for perceptual processes and consciousness, such as occurs during waking and in an altered form during rapid eye movement sleep. (shrink)

Merker suggests that the thalamocortical system is not an essential system for consciousness, but, instead, that the midbrain reticular system is responsible for consciousness. Indeed, the latter is a crucial system for consciousness, when consciousness is regarded as the waking state. However, when consciousness is regarded as phenomenal consciousness, for which experience and perception are essential elements, the thalamocortical system seems to be indispensable. (Published Online May 1 2007).

At the heart of Karl Jaspers on Truth and Dialogue is the question of the possibilities and limits of global communication. Anton Hügli shows how disastrous it is for the individual, for society, and for the destiny of humanity when the will to communicate is lacking.

In this pa per I will try to of fer a syn the sis be tween two con flict ing epistemological po si - tions on the re cent philo soph i cal scene: pos i tiv - ism, whose her i tage sur vives as the be lief that sci ence is the most gen u ine form of knowl edge, and the de fend ers of incommensur..

This article seeks to interpret how the scientific study of individualization, broadly construed, is conceived from within. It presents and discusses an analysis of qualitative data gained from performing semi-structured expert interviews. By way of a thematic-analytic approach to interpreting this data, this article seeks to investigate the attitudes and opinions of a sample of scientific experts who study individualization, across a wide range of scientific fields, with regard to key concepts, phenomena, motivating factors, and open questions. Centering its analysis (...) on discussion of four themes, this paper (1) emphasizes the importance for science of individuals and individuality, (2) reflects on matters pertaining to language and interdisciplinary communication, (3) distinguishes between nine meanings of the word “individualization,” stressing their significant features, and (4) considers ideas about the consequences of individualization and ongoing methodological concerns. (shrink)

Marxism -- Middle-class materialism -- Dietzgen -- Mach -- Avenarius -- Lenin -- The Russian revolution -- The proletarian revolution.

The aim of the present paper is to situate the recent attempts devoted to the study of the phenomena of knowledge management in a larger epistemological context. More precisely, I intend to ascertain the entire affair from the perspective of the philosophy of the humanities. This involves understanding it as an endeavor concerned with the search for regularities. As a result, key notions figuring in the repertoire of this kind of undertaking, primarily those of notes and notebooks, are scrutinized for (...) the purpose of revealing their theoretical function. This points towards some ontological issues, such as the idea of taking notes as cultural kinds, namely something analogous to the idea of natural kinds. (shrink)

The validity of dream recall is discussed. What is the relation between the actual dream and its later reflection? Nielsen proposes differential sleep mentation, which is probably determined by dream accessibility. Solms argues that REM sleep and dreaming are double dissociable states. Dreaming occurs outside REM sleep when cerebral activation is high enough. That various active sleep states correlate with vivid dream reports implies that REM sleep and dreaming are single dissociable states. Vertes & Eastman reject that REM sleep is (...) involved in memory consolidation. Considerable evidence for this was obtained by REM deprivation studies with the dubious water tank technique. [Nielsen; Solms; Vertes & Eastman]. (shrink)

Walker's target article proposes a refinement of the well known two-stage model of memory formation to explain the positive effects of sleep on consolidation. After a first stage in which a labile memory representation is formed, a further stabilisation of the memory trace takes place in the second stage, which is dependent on (REM) sleep. Walker has refined the latter stage into a stage in which a consolidation-based enhancement occurs. It is not completely clear what consolidation-based enhancement implies and how (...) it can be dissociated from a stage for memory-stabilisation. A more serious consideration, however, is whether a second stage in memory consolidation that is solely dependent on sleep, is really necessary. The classical, passive, interference theory is able to explain adequately the findings related to the effects of sleep and memory, and can lead perhaps better to an understanding of the highly variable data in this field. (shrink)

The aim of the present paper is to provide a comparative account of the manner in which Moritz Schlick and Wilfrid Sellars treat certain aspects surrounding the topic of observational knowledge. By considering Sellars’s allusions to Schlick’s epistemological undertaking within the context of his rejection of givenness, I evaluate the extent to which Schlick can be characterized as a traditional foundationalist. By emphasizing that this is not the case and that Schlick adheres to a non-standard version of epistemological foundationalism, I (...) shed some light on those theoretical elements that allow for a convergence of opinions between the two authors to transpire. (shrink)

The Spanish journalist, writer and philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) had intended to devote a book to the subject of the United States to dispel the confusion in the European mind due to the "mass of puerile judgments that one hears pronounced on North America even by the most cultured persons." His work habits, illnesses, the civil war in Spain and the long conflict in Europe prevented him from writing more than two essays: "The New United States" (March 22, (...) 1931) and "On the United States" (July 30, 1932). The present study offers the historical context for a more meaningful reading of the essays. (shrink)

Of the factors that contribute to a lack of awareness and appreciation by the English-reading world of the development of philosophy in Latin America, themost serious is the lack of bibliographical materials. To compile such was the purpose of the Conference on Teaching Materials for the Study of Latin American Thought held recently at the American University in Washington, D.C. Since the majority of the participants were connected with Latin American Studies Programs, the bibliographies proposed for the various projects were, (...) for the most part, in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. This language barrier still excludes the overwhelming majority of those in the English-reading world interested in matters philosophic from learning what has happened and is happening in that field in Latin America. Accordingly, what follows is a bibliographical introduction to works in English, discussed in the order of their appearance, on the study of philosophy in Latin America. Only what this author considers major works will be discussed, as limited space prevents an exhaustive bibliography. (shrink)