From the foundation of self-determination theory and existing literature on forms of power, we empirically explored relationships between followers’ perceptions of their leader’s use of various forms of power, followers’ self-reported motivational outlooks, and followers’ favorable work intentions. Using survey data collected from two studies of working professionals, we apply path analysis and hierarchical multiple regression to analyze variance among constructs of interest. We found that followers’ perceptions of hard power use by their leaders (i.e., reward, coercive, and legitimate power) (...) was often related to higher levels of sub-optimal motivation in followers (i.e., amotivation, external regulation, and introjected regulation). However, followers who perceived their leaders used soft power (i.e., expert, referent, and informational power) often experienced higher levels of optimal motivation (i.e., identified regulation and intrinsic motivation), but further investigation of soft power use is warranted. The quality of followers’ motivational outlooks was also related to intentions to perform favorably for their organizations. (shrink)

The Modern Dance of Death by Peyton Rous was originally delivered as the Linacre lecture for the year 1929 at the University of Cambridge. The purpose of the lecture was to discuss the manner in which humankind's relationship to physical ailments and the attendant risks of death had altered in the four hundred years since Thomas Linacre's time. As Rous saw it, 'From the moment that the body becomes a going concern it must fight for its integrity. Its Dance (...) with Death begins long before birth and never ceases throughout the lengthening period of what we call health. Everything coming in contact with it shapes its destiny.'. (shrink)

This article examines the implications of the transition to online or blended learning for first generation scholars (FGS) brought about by Covid-19. We present the findings of a mixed methods project that draws data from both in-depth qualitative interviews and a large quantitative survey of students at Durham University. We offer a comparative analysis of how FGS contrast to the general student body in relation to a range of key challenges that Covid-19 and the consequent ‘online pivot’ posed to university (...) life including technological, social and resource based issues. Our findings demonstrate that FGS were particularly affected by this shift to online or blended learning. The final substantive section discusses a range of potential mitigation strategies adopted by the School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University, with the assumption that some, at least, of these, and our data, will be of wider relevance in the sector. (shrink)

A study of Pyrrhonean scepticism, consisting of a new translation of Sextus Empiricus' Outlines of Pyrrhonism, accompanied by an analytic introduction and an in-depth, section-by-section commentary - the first of its kind available.

In Against the Musicologists (Math. 6), Sextus uses two types of arguments against musicology. Some would argue that a science of music – does not contribute to a happy life, while others deny that such a science has ever been established. Since the respective beliefs that musicology exists and that it benefits those who have mastered it are fine specimens of dogmatism, all Sextus has to do is to set the naysayers and the believers against each other in good Pyrrhonian (...) fashion. If their accounts balance each other out, he can go on to suggest that reasonable inquirers will suspend judgement as to the truth about these matters, while leaving everyday musical practice intact. Against the Musicologists thus lends itself to being read as an attempt to display the Sceptical capacity to motivate suspension of judgement in a specific domain where the Sceptic has detected dogmatic belief. -/- In what follows, I develop a reading of the treatise along these lines. In Section 5.1, I argue that Sextus’ polemical engagement with philosophical musicology sits well with the project of the treatise to which it belongs, and with a plausible understanding of his philosophical position as presented in the Outlines of Pyrrhonism (Pyr.). Then I turn to the two kinds of arguments that are contrasted by Sextus as being ‘more dogmatic’ and ‘more aporetic’ in spirit. After their brief presentation in Section 5.2, explaining the nature of their contrast by pointing to the diverging agendas that they originally served, I give an overview of both as ultimately aiming at epochē in Sections 5.3 and 5.4. Finally, in Section 5.5, I push back against readings that take the treatise to present a deviation from the suspensive outlook. (shrink)

In this paper, I argue that Emperor Julian’s use of the theory of common concepts is evidence for a general strategy of Platonist anti-Christian discourse: the attempt at showing that Christianity, as opposed to pagan philosophy, fails to live up to the commonly available standards of truth. After the introduction (§ 1), the paper offers a short summary of the Stoic theory of common concepts and their Platonist appropriation (§ 2). Then it turns to Julian’s account of the naturally arising (...) concept of god, offering an analysis of its Stoic and Platonist resonances (§3). Finally, I consider possible motivations for Julian’s formulation of anti-Christian polemics within this framework (§ 4). A few concluding paragraphs (§ 5) intend to situate this claim in Julian’s overall position and to point out its wider relevance for anti-Christian polemics. (shrink)

Review by: Maté Szabó The Bulletin of Symbolic Logic, Volume 19, Issue 1, Page 110-112, March 2013.

Pyrrhonian inquiry responds to the hope of intellectual tranquillity, and aims at the achievement and maintenance of said tranquillity. According to the Tranquillity Charge, philosophical inquiry aims at the truth; hence, insofar as Pyrrhonian inquiry aims at tranquillity, it does not qualify as philosophical inquiry. Furthermore, Pyrrhonian philanthropy rests on the Partisan Premise, i.e. the claim that all philosophers aim at the removal of psychological disturbance. I show that the origin-story of Pyrrhonism evades the Tranquillity Charge, and that the Partisan (...) Premise is not as partisan as it seems. Unlike previous attempts, my reconstruction preserves all tranquillity-related features of Sextan Pyrrhonism. (shrink)

In der lateinamerikanischen Welt wird Freiheit als Befreiung verstanden. Worin liegt der Unterschied? Er liegt in dem Bewusstsein, dass Freiheit entsteht, wenn der Einzelne und die Gesellschaft die Widerstände überwinden, die sie behindern. Die zentrale Bedeutung des Begriffs der Befreiung in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart steht in engem Zusammenhang mit der Geschichte der kolonialen Abhängigkeit und der Emanzipation aus dieser. Die Größe des Romans Hundert Jahre Einsamkeit des Nobelpreisträgers Gabriel García Márquez besteht darin, dass er zeigt, wie die Kolonialisierung der Neuen (...) Welt dazu führt, dass europäische Sichtweisen auf die Geschichte und Vorgeschichte Lateinamerikas übernommen werden. Um sich in der von den westlichen Ländern dominierten Geschichte zu verorten, mussten die lateinamerikanischen Länder ihre Sichtweisen verleugnen und sich an die Vorstellungen und Perspektiven der Eroberer und ihre Kulturen assimilieren. Dieses „Vergessen“ ist der Grund für viele spätere Schwierigkeiten und Identitätsprobleme. Um zu sich selbst zu kommen und sich selbst zu verwirklichen, gilt es, sich von diesen kolonialen Zumutungen zu befreien. (shrink)

With the pressing shortage of human organs and recent breakthroughs in gene editing, xenotransplantation—using animal organs, tissues or cells for human transplants—offers new hope for patients on wait lists. The use of genome editing technologies to produce xenotransplants from pigs with reduced immunogenicity has recently brought renewed attention to the field while also raising a host of ethical dilemmas. These concerns include animal welfare, the risks of zoonotic diseases, the moral implications of crossing species boundaries and the potential inequities in (...) access to such treatments. In their article ‘Who shall go first? A multicriteria approach to patient selection for first clinical trials of cardiac xenotransplantation’,1 Kögel and colleagues propose an ethical framework for selecting patients in cardiac xenotransplantation trials. They argue that while significant advances have been made with xenotransplants in brain-dead humans, limited knowledge can be gained from procedures performed outside clinical trials. According to them, knowledge production should be prioritised, and terminally ill patients who are unlikely to survive would not contribute meaningfully to scientific understanding or benefit from the procedure. At the core of xenotransplantation ethics …. (shrink)

"In philosophy," the author writes in his preface, "we have learned to get our satisfaction from showing that the other fellow is mistaken rather than from establishing the truth of our own positive tenets." The impeccably professional work of a mature and distinguished logician and scholar, Skeptical Essays propounds the view that the principal traditional problems of philosophy are genuine intellectual knots; they are intelligible enough, but at the same time the are absolutely insoluble. The problems Mates discusses are: the (...) Liar paradox and Russell's Antinomy of the class of all nonself-membered classes; the problem of determinism and moral responsibility; and the existence of the external world. Clearly written and effectively organized, the book will be an excellent text for advanced students. (shrink)

The evidence concerning the existence of Epicurean gods has invited ever-growing attention, and has resulted in discussions of increasing sophistication. I aim to provide a roadmap to this controversy, and to argue for the following three claims. First, in the debate concerning ‘realist’ and ‘idealist’ readings of the Epicurean thesis that gods exist, there is no principled way of deciding which one to favour without having to compromise on some aspect of a minimally Epicurean position. Second, positing an innate disposition (...) to form the concept of god is not going to carry the day for an ‘idealist’ reading, though it does capture an important insight about the ethical orientation of the Epicurean theory. Third, in accor- dance with this ethical orientation, we have reason to suspect that Epicurus was genuinely uninterested in what the correct ontological position might be. (shrink)

En este homenaje a Jorge Semprún se va a tener en cuenta una inquietud filosófica del homenajeado basada en la interpretación que él realiza del tratamiento de la muerte de los nazis, partiendo de las lecturas de Kant. Para Semprún, los nazis daban muerte pero no permitían morir, lo cual lo lleva a la expresión de la _fraternidad de morir_, resaltando, sobretodo, el acto libre de morir y la muerte como parte de la vida. Además, el texto muestra algunos datos (...) importantes de la vida de Semprún y su obra con respecto al tema de la vida y la muerte. (shrink)

Lo que se quiere decir con esto es que no hay que confundir realidad con facticidad: la facticidad es la parte de realidad que ha llegado a ser, que ha triunfado. "Das Wesen ist das Ge-wesene". Pero lo que la memoria dice es que también forma parte de la realidad lo que quiso ser y no pudo, los sueños irrealizados, los caídos en las cunetas de la historia. Adorno, dice un buen conocedor del mismo, José Antonio Zamora, expresa esta idea (...) en una fórmula precisa y provocadora: "hacer hablar el sufrimiento es la condición de toda verdad". La verdad no es aséptica, atemporal, abstracta, sino un juicio desde la experiencia del sufrimiento. [Fragmento]. (shrink)

In this special issue, our goal is to ... show that the distinguished history of philosophical reflection on attention, insofar as the Western tradition is concerned, has at least some of its roots in Classical Greek and Roman philosophy. This is offered as a partial corrective to historical overviews of the Western discourse, which rarely reach further back than René Descartes. Furthermore, we wish to emphasize that ancient treatments of attention are especially concerned with its role in the context of (...) ethics and human agency. Even when they take their departure from an analysis of selective perceptual attention, their intention is not only to account for this phenomenon as part of a naturalistic science of the mind but also to motivate the view that the capacity to focus or to shift our attention is indispensable to human flourishing. Moral training is to a large extent conceived of as a matter of acquiring and sustaining the mental strength required for maintaining an attentive state of mind while resisting the interference of competing stimuli. -/- TABLE OF CONTENTS Pauliina Remes: From Natural Tendencies to Perceptual Interests and Motivation in Plato’s Timaeus Voula Tsouna: The Epicurean Notion of epibolê Katerina Ierodiakonou: The Stoic Provenance of the Notion of Prosochê Charles Brittain: A Stoic Ethics for Attention (Seneca Letter 56) Lenka Karfíková: Attention in Augustine. (shrink)

Reyes Mate's Memory of the West looks back in order to look forward. It is a sustained reflection on the great disillusion Europe experienced after World War I. Europeans understood that bombs had buried the Enlightenment. They knew that, to avoid catastrophe, they had to think anew. The catastrophe came, but Cohen, Benjamin, Kafka, and Rosenzweig had sounded the warning.

This book offers a critical account of the fundamental elements of Leibniz's philosophy, as they manifest themselves in his metaphysics and philosophy of language. Emphasis is placed upon his hitherto neglected doctrine of nominalism, which states that only concrete individuals exist and that there are no such things as abstract entities – no numbers, geometrical figures or other mathematical objects, nor any abstractions such as space, time, heat, light, justice, goodness, or beauty. Using this doctrine as a basis, the book (...) considers the core of Leibniz's metaphysics and philosophy of language, including the well‐known principles of Contradiction, Sufficient Reason, Continuity and Individuation, and the concepts of Possible World, Individual Substance, Truth, and Necessity. (shrink)

In his famous paper, An Unsolvable Problem of Elementary Number Theory, Alonzo Church identified the intuitive notion of effective calculability with the mathematically precise notion of recursiveness. This proposal, known as Church's Thesis, has been widely accepted. Only a few papers have been written against it. One of these is László Kalmár's An Argument Against the Plausibility of Church's Thesis from 1959. The aim of this paper is to present Kalmár's argument and to fill in missing details based on his (...) general philosophical thoughts on mathematics. (shrink)

Este texto, escrito para la quinta fecha del Centenario del Sermón de Antón de Montesinos, hace una corta descripción de lo que giraba en torno de la época y los problemas que tenía a su Alrededor Antón de Montesinos al plantear una pregunta como “Estos ¿no son hombres?”. Además, se hace un corto recorrido por algunos momentos históricos y bibliográficos en los cuales se plantea la misma pregunta, mostrando que con la pregunta se pone en juego la humanidad del otro (...) y también al de quien responde, fundando así la ética de la alteridad. Por último, el texto evidencia brevemente la lucha de Las Casas en España por la humanidad de los indios del nuevo mundo y el orgullo que deben tener los Dominicos por esta lucha. (shrink)

Meaning lies at the very heart of the development of language. Therefore, it is not surprising that the linguists have long been fascinated by the study of meaning, from the early days of the discipline to the present. Over time, the approach to meaning has evolved, shifting from structuralist analyses of linguistic signs to a focus on the combinatory potential of grammatical structures. Currently, the dominant cognitive-semantics approach examines meaning in relation to concepts and the human brain's abilities. One of (...) the most intriguing questions throughout the history of semantics has been the one that deals with the relationship between an individual and the linguistic community within the framework of the wider sign-meaning relation. This essential, but insufficiently explored relationship was the central topic of the 33rd International Conference of the Croatian Applied Linguistics Society. (shrink)

" Nous savons désormais, comme l'expliquait Roland Barthes dans sa leçon inaugurale au Collège de France, que toute langue implique une relation d'aliénation et se définit par ce qu'elle oblige à dire. Comment, alors, écouter la voix particulière d'une langue, si elle se trouve asservie par un pouvoir qui tient à sa nature même, si, dès qu'elle est parlée, elle classe, interdit, refuse, exclut? C'est à cette problématique que la démarche de Reyes Mate apporte une réponse à la fois appliquée (...) au cas de l'espagnol et exemplaire. A travers une exploration de longue haleine, qui le conduit aussi bien à revoir les textes de Heidegger ou de Husserl qu'à analyser les productions littéraires de l'Amérique latine contemporaine, Reyes Mate ouvre, du même coup, un espace propre à l'expérience hispanophone, jusqu'à reconnaître dans l'ibéro-américanité une mémoire du Logos. " Michèle Gendreau-Massaloux. (shrink)

The majority of the excerpts traditionally taken to derive from a planned book 8 of Clement of Alexandria’s Stromateis concern the theory of demonstration (apodeixis) and related matters of logic. The suspension of judgement (epochē), a recognisably sceptical response to disagreement and a lack of demonstrative certainty, receives two brief treatments in this context. Apart from an attempted refutation of scepticism which points to the allegedly self-refuting character of universal epochē (5.15.2–16.3), the text also includes an account of the causes (...) that lead one to suspend judgement (7.22.1–4). ... First, I will give a brief overview of both the argument from self-refutation employed in the first Clementine excerpt and Sextus Empiricus' rejection of a related argument. I will argue that the comparison does not support definite claims about the origin of the Clementine material (section 1). Then I will discuss the second excerpt, which offers a series of remarks on the causal origin of epochē (section 2). I will then contrast it to Sextus’s account of the origin of suspensive disposition in terms of originative principles (archai) rather than causes (aitiai), arguing that Sextus’s formulation allows for a more nuanced sceptical position (section 3). In conclusion, I will briefly consider possible views on the relevance of this material, or the lack thereof, for Clement’s Christian project (section 4). (shrink)

In this concise book based on his Arne Ryde Lectures in 2002, Young suggests a conceptual framework for studying strategic learning and highlights theoretical developments in the area. He discusses the interactive learning problem; reinforcement and regret; equilibrium; conditional no-regret learning; prediction, postdiction, and calibration; fictitious play and its variants; Bayesian learning; and hypothesis testing. Young's framework emphasizes the amount of information required to implement different types of learning rules, criteria for evaluating their performance, and alternative notions of equilibrium to (...) which they converge. He also stresses the limits of what can be achieved: for a given type of game and a given amount of information, there may exist no learning procedure that satisfies certain reasonable criteria of performance and convergence. In short, Young has provided a valuable primer that delineates what we know, what we would like to know, and the limits of what we can know, when we try to learn about a system that is composed of other learners. (shrink)