The proper limit to paternalist regulation of citizens' private lives is a recurring theme in political theory and ethics. In the present study, we examine the role of beliefs about free will and determinism in attitudes toward libertarian versus paternalist policies. Throughout five studies we find that a scientific deterministic worldview reduces opposition toward paternalist policies, independent of the putative influence of political ideology. We suggest that exposure to scientific explanations for patterns in human behavior challenges the notion of personal (...) autonomy and, in turn, undermines libertarian arguments against state paternalism appealing to autonomy and personal choice. (shrink)

Com base na correspondência entre Gabriel Marcel e Gaston Fessard, recentemente publicada, dão-se a conhecer alguns aspectos da personalidade e da obra de G. Marcel. /// Sur la base de la correspondance entre Gabriel Marcel et Gaston Fessard, récemment publiée on en vient à découvrir quelques traits de la personnalité et de l'oeuvre de G. Marcel. /// The recently published correspondence between Gabriel Marcel and Gaston Fessard gives some light on Marcel's personality and work.

Perceptual learning is characterized by long-term changes in perception as a result of practice or experience. In this paper, I argue that through perceptual learning we can become newly sensitive to basic perceptual features. First, I provide a novel account of basic perceptual features. Then, I argue that evidence from experience-based plasticity suggests that basic perceptual features can be learned. Lastly, I discuss the common scientific and philosophical view that perceptual learning comes in at least four varieties: differentiation, unitization, attentional (...) weighting and stimulus imprinting (Goldstone 1998, Connolly 2019). Becoming newly sensitive to basic perceptual features, I argue, does not fit into any of these categories. This paper’s contribution to the literature is twofold. First, I present a novel view of basic perceptual features which can be used in subsequent theorizing. Second, I show that learning basic perceptual features, since it does not fit into this standardized taxonomy, constitutes an underappreciated form of perceptual learning. This result has important implications for recent discussions in the philosophy of perception and epistemology. (shrink)

Hilduin, traducteur de Denys -- Hilduin, traducteur de Denys : édition de sa traduction.

Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism Duke University Press, 1991.

Journal of Mathematical Logic, Ahead of Print. An elementary embedding [math] between two inner models of [math] is cardinal preserving if [math] and [math] correctly compute the class of cardinals. We look at the case [math] and show that there is no nontrivial cardinal preserving elementary embedding from [math] into [math], answering a question of Caicedo.

Modern philosophy is based on the presupposition of the certainty of the ego’s experience. Both Descartes and Kant assume this certitude as the basis for certain knowledge. Here the argument is developed that this ego has its sources not only in Scholastic philosophy, but also in the narrative of the emotional self as developed by both the troubadours and the medieval mystics. This narrative self has three moments: salvation, self-irony, and nostalgia. While salvation is rooted in the Christian tradition, self-irony (...) and nostalgia are first addressed in twelfth-century troubadour poetry in Occitania. Their integration into a narrative self was developed in late medieval mysticism, and reached its fullest articulation in St. Teresa of Avila, whom Descartes read. (shrink)

Economic theory teaches that it is in every country’s interest to trade. Trade is a voluntary activity among consenting parties. On this view, considerations of justice have little bearing on trade, and political philosophers concerned with global justice should stay largely silent on trade. According to a very different view that has recently gained prominence, international trade can only occur before the background of an international market reliance practice shaped by states. Trade is a shared activity among states, and all (...) participating states have in principle equal claims to gains from trade. Trade then becomes a central topic for political philosophers. Both views are problematic. A third view about the role of trade in a theory of global justice is then presented, which gives pride of place to a notion of exploitation. The other two views should be abandoned. (shrink)

Cet ouvrage est une réédition numérique d’un livre paru au XXe siècle, désormais indisponible dans son format d’origine.

David Kaplan observed in Kaplan that the principle \\) cannot be verified at a world in a standard possible worlds model for a quantified bimodal propositional language. This raises a puzzle for certain interpretations of the operator Q: it seems that some proposition p is such that is not possible to query p, and p alone. On the other hand, Arthur Prior had observed in Prior that on pain of contradiction, ∀p is Q only if one true proposition is Q (...) and one false proposition is Q. The two observations are related: ∀p is elusive in that it is not possible for the proposition to be uniquely Q. Kaplan based his model-theoretic observation on Cantor’s theorem, but there is a less well-known link between this simple set-theoretic observation and Prior’s remark. We generalize the link to develop a heuristic designed to move from Cantor’s theorem to the observation that a variety of sentences of the bimodal language express propositions that cannot be Q uniquely. We highlight the analogy between some of these results and some set-theoretic antinomies and suggest that the phenomenon is richer than one may have anticipated. (shrink)

In this paper I examine the relation between modern transhumanism and Nietzsche’s philosophy of the superhuman. Following Loeb, I argue that transhumanists cannot claim affinity to Nietzsche’s philosophy until they incorporate the doctrine of eternal recurrence to their project of technological enhancement. This doctrine liberates us from resentment against time by teaching us reconciliation with time and something higher than all reconciliation. Unlike Loeb, however, I claim that this “something higher” is not a new skill (prospective memory), but rather a (...) love for the past in the form of loving that aspect of it that is still with us, namely, the will to power itself, which is the engine of all life. Love of the past is thus equivalent to love of life. Since human beings are conscious incarnations of the will to power, in our case, love of life manifests itself as love of our humanity or love for that aspect of ourselves that connects us to each other, for we recognize it to be the same in all of us. Thus, learning this kind of love enables us to joyfully coordinate our wills in the pursuit of Zarathustra’s superhuman ideal without turning it into a destructive mockery of itself. While learning this kind of love would facilitate a joyful version of transhumanism, I conclude by suggesting that it is unlikely to be achieved through technological interventions of the sort envisioned by transhumanists. Instead, it requires the kind of participatory pedagogical program that Nietzsche thought his Zarathustra would fulfill. (shrink)

The Qur’an and Its Biblical Reflexes: Investigations into the Genesis of a Religion. By Mark Durie. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018. Pp. lvi + 337. $120.

Busca-se neste artigo fazer alguns breves apontamentos acerca do conceito de modernidade na obra do pensador dinamarquês Søren Kierkegaard. Com efeito, argumentarei que ainda que tal conceito não esteja presente em sua produção enquanto tal, sua presença, não obstante, se faz sentir de diversas maneiras, o que, por sua vez, faz de sua produção um dos constructos teóricos mais importantes em termos de uma reflexão crítica acerca desse mesmo tema.

What are human rights? What makes a particular human rights claim ‘genuine’ or ‘valid’? These are difficult questions with which current philosophical literature on human rights is concerned. They are also the same kind of questions that legal philosophers asked about Law throughout the 20th century. Drawing from the similarities between the two fields, I attempt to do with the concept of human rights something similar to what Ronald Dworkin accomplished with that of Law in Law’s Empire. First, I offer (...) a critique of the two dominant perspectives on human rights—the Orthodox and Political views—that is similar in character to Dworkin’s Semantic Sting objection to Legal Positivism. Second, I sketch an alternative, Dworkinian-inspired framework that seeks to develop the notion of human rights as an interpretive concept. According to this framework, different accounts of human rights are to be understood as expressing different interpretations of the point (or purpose) of human rights practice. (shrink)

O objetivo do presente texto é explanar e correlacionar duas interpretações do conceito de consciência infeliz [conscience malhereuse], desenvolvido por Hegel na Phänomenologie des Geistes: a de Jean Wahl, introduzida em Le malheur de la conscience dans la philosophie de Hegel, de 1929; e a de Gilles Deleuze, apresentada em Nietzsche et la philosophie, de 1962. Antes de tudo, expomos a interpretação de Wahl, que, marcada pela defesa da centralidade da noção de consciência infeliz no interior da obra hegeliana, foi (...) determinante para a recepção de Hegel na filosofia francesa do século XX, antes das célebres palestras de Kojève. A seguir, descrevemos de que maneira Deleuze, em Nietzsche et la philosophie, articula uma leitura crítica do hegelianismo, em que também subscreve à centralidade da consciência infeliz, mas associando-a, à sua maneira, ao conceito nietzschiano de má consciência, a ser também tipificado. Por fim, relacionamos as duas leituras apresentadas, o que deve elucidar a maneira pela qual Deleuze retoma as concepções de Wahl no contexto de sua própria crítica a Hegel como, segundo a caracterização deleuziana, filósofo da representação e do ressentimento. (shrink)

El siguiente artículo tiene como objetivo establecer una comparación entre las reflexiones sobre los indígenas en la obra de Diego de Avendaño y Bernardino de Sahagún. Partiendo de las concepciones de la antropología posmoderna, se considera que el interés por y la reconstrucción del Otro tienen prioridad en la época poscolonial. En este sentido, Avendaño es categorizado como un autor que, si bien emprender una defensa de los indígenas, mantiene poco interés por ellos, mientras que Sahagún, con su disposición etnológica, (...) revitaliza el encuentro con los nativos. (shrink)

Shaming is defended by some as a necessary measure of social control. But shaming is unjust to the extent that it is disproportionate, and largely counterproductive. While much progress has been made, people with disabilities are still frequently at the receiving end of shaming. This is manifest in disregard for accommodation requests, condescending attitudes and overall lack of empathy towards people with disabilities. These trends are also manifest in clinical settings. Medical staff and healthcare workers need to seriously consider this (...) state of affairs and embrace attitudinal changes and policies that contribute to a more welcoming atmosphere towards the disabled, and consequently curb the shaming to which they have been traditionally exposed. (shrink)

Je considère la relation entre le « Tournant » (die Kehre) de Heidegger et le réalisme. Je commence par décrire comment la critique heideggerienne du problème du monde extérieur anticipe le nouveau réalisme. J’élabore une reconstruction de l’auto-critique heideggerienne d’Être et temps en montrant comment cette œuvre manifeste un anti-réalisme de plus haut niveau. Ensuite, je montre comment le Tournant heideggerien est motivé par l’inadéquation de ce premier anti-réalisme. Dans sa philosophie de l’événement, Heidegger va vers une ontologie réaliste en (...) développant des concepts tels que celui de destin (Geschick), qu’il comprend comme indépendant de toute attitude humaine. Heidegger en dernier lieu retombe cependant dans un anti-réalisme, parce que l’être reste dépendant de l’implication des êtres humains. Je conclue donc cet essai en exposant brièvement ma propre conception du nouveau réalisme, selon laquelle les objets sont remplis de signification d’une manière qui est indépendante de nos attitudes vis-à-vis d’eux. (shrink)

The use of genomic testing in pregnancy is increasing, giving rise to questions over how the information that is generated should be offered and returned in clinical practice. While these tests provide important information for prenatal decision-making, they can also generate information of uncertain significance. This paper critically examines three models for approaching the disclosure of variants of uncertain significance (VUS), which can arise from forms of genomic testing such as prenatal chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA). Contrary to prevailing arguments, we (...) argue that respect for reproductive autonomy does not justify adopting a model on which an offer to disclose VUS is a routine part of genetic counselling. Instead, we contend that a commitment both to solidarity between healthcare providers and pregnant women and to the acceptance of a novel principle of caution under normative uncertainty means that we should instead adopt a model of VUS disclosure that imposes a strong presumption against offering to disclose VUS. The upshot of this is that it should be standard practice to only offer to disclose VUS when this is requested by the woman undergoing CMA. We defend our position against claims that arise from an alleged right to such information and that a presumption against an offer will lead to inequity. (shrink)

This paper offers a new version of a historically influential, yet today unpopular, neglected, and on the whole insufficiently developed argument for socialism: socialism makes it possible for people to really act together. This idea of socialist action, combining the claims that there is a particularly valuable form of joint action and that socialism is about making such action possible, played an important role in the history of the labor movement, going back to the early Marx and running through various (...) strands of socialist thought. I shall argue that socialist action should be seen as central to the socialist project, its critique of capitalism, and the institutional alternatives envisaged by it. (shrink)

Unlike nonhuman primates, thousands of bird species have articulatory capabilities that equal or surpass those of humans, and they develop their vocalizations through vocal imitation in a way that is very similar to how human infants learn to speak. An understanding of how speech mechanisms have evolved is therefore unlikely to yield key insights into how the human brain is special.