In this paper we study the emergence of Minkowski space–time from a discrete causal network representing a classical information flow. Differently from previous approaches, we require the network to be topologically homogeneous, so that the metric is derived from pure event-counting. Emergence from events has an operational motivation in requiring that every physical quantity—including space–time—be defined through precise measurement procedures. Topological homogeneity is a requirement for having space–time metric emergent from the pure topology of causal connections, whereas physically homogeneity corresponds (...) to the universality of the physical law. We analyze in detail the case of 1+1 dimensions. If we consider the causal connections as an exchange of classical information, we can establish coordinate systems via an Einsteinian protocol, and this leads to a digital version of the Lorentz transformations. In a computational analogy, the foliation construction can be regarded as the synchronization with a global clock of the calls to independent subroutines in a parallel distributed computation. Thus the Lorentz time-dilation emerges as an increased density of leaves within a single tic-tac of a clock, whereas space-contraction results from the corresponding decrease of density of events per leaf. The operational procedure of building up the coordinate system introduces an in-principle indistinguishability between neighboring events, resulting in a network that is coarse-grained, the thickness of the event being a function of the observer's clock. The illustrated simple classical construction can be extended to space dimension greater than one, with the price of anisotropy of the maximal speed, due to the Weyl-tiling problem. This issue is cured if the causal network is quantum, as e.g. in a quantum cellular automaton, and isotropy is recovered by quantum coherence via superposition of causal paths. We thus argue that in a causal network description of space–time, the quantum nature of the network is crucial. (shrink)

It is almost universally believed that in quantum theory the two following statements hold: all transformations are achieved by a unitary interaction followed by a von-Neumann measurement; all mixed states are marginals of pure entangled states. I name this doctrine the dogma of purification ontology. The source of the dogma is the original von Neumann axiomatisation of the theory, which largely relies on the Schrődinger equation as a postulate, which holds in a nonrelativistic context, and whose operator version holds only (...) in free quantum field theory, but no longer in the interacting theory. In the present paper I prove that both ontologies of unitarity and state-purity are unfalsifiable, even in principle, and therefore axiomatically spurious. I propose instead a minimal four-postulate axiomatisation: associate a Hilbert space \ to each system \; compose two systems by the tensor product rule \; associate a transformation from system \ to \ to a quantum operation, i.e. to a completely positive trace-non-increasing map between the trace-class operators of \ and \; evaluate all joint probabilities through that of a special type of quantum operation: the state preparation. I then conclude that quantum paradoxes—such as the Schroedinger-cat’s, and, most relevantly, the information paradox—are originated only by the dogma of purification ontology, and they are no longer paradoxes of the theory in the minimal formulation. For the same reason, most interpretations of the theory interpret the same dogma, not the strict theory stripped of the spurious postulates. (shrink)

Quantum cellular automata and quantum walks provide a framework for the foundations of quantum field theory, since the equations of motion of free relativistic quantum fields can be derived as the small wave-vector limit of quantum automata and walks starting from very general principles. The intrinsic discreteness of this framework is reconciled with the continuous Lorentz symmetry by reformulating the notion of inertial reference frame in terms of the constants of motion of the quantum walk dynamics. In particular, among the (...) symmetries of the quantum walk which recovers the Weyl equation—the so called Weyl walk—one finds a non linear realisation of the Poincaré group, which recovers the usual linear representation in the small wave-vector limit. In this paper we characterise the full symmetry group of the Weyl walk which is shown to be a non linear realization of a group which is the semidirect product of the Poincaré group and the group of dilations. (shrink)

Recent advances on quantum foundations achieved the derivation of free quantum field theory from general principles, without referring to mechanical notions and relativistic invariance. From the aforementioned principles a quantum cellular automata theory follows, whose relativistic limit of small wave-vector provides the free dynamics of quantum field theory. The QCA theory can be regarded as an extended quantum field theory that describes in a unified way all scales ranging from an hypothetical discrete Planck scale up to the usual Fermi scale. (...) The present paper reviews the automaton theory for the Weyl field, and the composite automata for Dirac and Maxwell fields. We then give a simple analysis of the dynamics in the momentum space in terms of a dispersive differential equation for narrowband wave-packets. We then review the phenomenology of the free-field automaton and consider possible visible effects arising from the discreteness of the framework. We conclude introducing the consequences of the automaton dispersion relation, leading to a deformed Lorentz covariance and to possible effects on the thermodynamics of ideal gases. (shrink)

After leading to a new axiomatic derivation of quantum theory, the new informational paradigm is entering the domain of quantum field theory, suggesting a quantum automata framework that can be regarded as an extension of quantum field theory to including an hypothetical Planck scale, and with the usual quantum field theory recovered in the relativistic limit of small wave-vectors. Being derived from simple principles, the automata theory is quantum ab-initio, and does not assume Lorentz covariance and mechanical notions. Being discrete (...) it can describe localized states and measurements, solving all the issues plaguing field theory originated from the continuum. These features make the theory an ideal framework for quantum gravity, with relativistic covariance and space-time emergent solely from the interactions, and not assumed a priori. The paper presents a synthetic derivation of the automata theory, showing how the principles lead to a description in terms of a quantum automaton over a Cayley graph of a group. Restricting to Abelian groups we show how the automata recover the Weyl, Dirac and Maxwell dynamics in the relativistic limit. We conclude with some new routes about the more general scenario of non-Abelian Cayley graphs. The phenomenology arising from the automata theory in the ultra-relativistic domain and the analysis of corresponding distorted Lorentz covariance is reviewed in Bisio et al. (shrink)

In this paper we review the general framework of operational probabilistic theories, along with the six axioms from which quantum theory can be derived. We argue that the OPT framework along with a relaxed version of five of the axioms, define a general information theory. We close the paper with considerations about the role of the observer in an OPT, and the interpretation of the von Neumann postulate and the Schrödinger-cat paradox.

The paper aims to examine the theological dimensions present in the quantum-informational panpsychist approach to nature, conceived by Giacomo Mauro D’Ariano and Federico Faggin, and based on the informational interpretation of quantum physics. In particular, the similarities and differences between the _One_ of Faggin and the God of Christian theology, as well as between human _seity_ and Christian theological anthropology, are highlighted.

The relationship between dream content and waking life experiences remains difficult to decipher. However, some neurobiological findings suggest that dreaming can, at least in part, be considered epiphenomenal to ongoing memory consolidation processes in sleep. Both abnormalities in sleep architecture and impairment in memory consolidation mechanisms are thought to be involved in the development of psychosis. The objective of this study was to assess the continuity between delusional contents and dreams in acutely psychotic patients. Ten patients with a single fixed (...) and recurring delusional content were asked to report their dreams during an acute psychotic break. Sixteen judges with four different levels of acquaintance to the specific content of the patients’ delusions were asked to group the dreams, expecting that fragments of the delusional thought would guide the task. A mathematical index was developed in order to compare correct groupings between the four groups of judges. Most judges grouped the dreams slightly above chance level and no relevant differences could be found between the four groups [F = 1.297; p = n.s.]. Scoring of dreams for specific delusional themes suggested a continuity in terms of dream and waking mentation for two contents . These findings seem to suggest that at least some delusional contents recur within patients’ dreams. Future studies will need to determine whether such continuity reflects ongoing consolidation processes that are relevant to current theories of delusion formation and stabilization. (shrink)

We consider the relation between the uniform interpolation property and the elimination of non-standard quantifiers (the bisimulation quantifiers) in the context of the ?-calculus. In particular, we isolate classes of frames where the correspondence between these two properties is nicely smooth.

We consider the problem of the existence of uniform interpolants in the modal logic K4. We first prove that all \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\square}$$\end{document}-free formulas have uniform interpolants in this logic. In the general case, we shall prove that given a modal formula \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\phi}$$\end{document} and a sublanguage L of the language of the formula, we can decide whether \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} (...) \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\phi}$$\end{document} has a uniform interpolant with respect to L in K4. The \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document}$${\square}$$\end{document}-free case is proved using a reduction to the Gödel Löb Logic GL, while in the general case we prove that the question of whether a modal formula has uniform interpolants over transitive frames can be reduced to a decidable expressivity problem on the μ-calculus. (shrink)

When experienced in-person, engagement with art has been associated—in a growing body of evidence—with positive outcomes in wellbeing and mental health. This represents an exciting new field for psychology, curation, and health interventions, suggesting a widely-accessible, cost-effective, and non-pharmaceutical means of regulating factors such as mood or anxiety. However, can similar impacts be found with online presentations? If so, this would open up positive outcomes to an even-wider population—a trend accelerating due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its promise, this (...) question, and the underlying mechanisms of art interventions and impacts, has largely not been explored. Participants were asked to engage with one of two online exhibitions from Google Arts and Culture. With just 1–2 min exposure, both improved negative mood, state-anxiety, loneliness, and wellbeing. Stepdown analysis suggested the changes can be explained primarily via negative mood, while improvements in mood correlated with aesthetic appraisals and cognitive-emotional experience of the exhibition. However, no difference was found between exhibitions. We discuss the findings in terms of applications and targets for future research. (shrink)

Argumentation is a form of reasoning where a claim is accepted or rejected according to the analysis of the arguments for and against it; furthermore, it provides a reasoning mechanism able to handle contradictory, incomplete and uncertain information in real-world situations. We combine Bipolar Argumentation Frameworks (an extension of Dung’s work) with an Algebra of Argumentation Labels modeling two independent types of interaction between arguments, representing meta-information associated with arguments, and introducing an acceptability notion that will give more information for (...) arguments acceptability. (shrink)

This paper comprises two parts. The first part is an introduction to Auriol’s moderate conceptualism, as it is presented in his Commentary on Book II of the Sentences, distinction 9, question 2, article 1. The second part is an edition of the text. In the introduction, I focus on Auriol’s use of the noetic tool of connotation. My thesis, in particular, is that connotation is a necessary prerequisite to his moderate conceptu- alism. To this purpose, the first part of this (...) introduction will be devoted to a brief presentation of Auriol’s conceptualism. In the second part, Auriol’s theory of essential predication will be presented. In the third part, I will present my claim that Auriol’s theory of essential predication can only be made sense of when read against the background of his theory of connotation as applied to intellectual cognition. Finally, I will offer a collation of Auriol’s Commentary on Book II of the Sentences, dis- tinction 9, question 2, article 1, obtained by collating eight manuscripts, which hand down Auriol’s text, that is, Firenze, Biblioteca nazionale centrale, ms. Conv. Soppr. B.6.121, Firenze, ms. Conv. Soppr. A. 3.120, Napoli, Biblioteca nazionale, ms. VII.C.3, Padova, Biblioteca Antoniana, ms. 161, scaff. ix, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms. latin 15867; Pelplin, Biblioteka Seminarium duchownego, ms. 46/85, Vaticano (Città del), Biblioteca Apostolica, ms. Borgiano 404, Vaticano (Città del), Biblioteca Apostolica, ms. Vat. lat. 942. (shrink)

Aim of the study was to analyze the posttraumatic stress disorder risk nurses, detecting the relationship between distress experience and personality dimensions in Italian COVID-19 outbreak. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on 2 data detection. Mental evaluation was carried out in Laboratory of Clinical Psychology on n.69 nurses in range age 22–64 years old. Measurement was focused on symptoms anxiety, personality traits, peritraumatic dissociation and post-traumatic stress for all participants. No online screening was applied. Comparisons within the various demographic (...) characteristics demonstrated few significant differences between groups on DASS-21, PDEQ, and ISE-R scores. Correlation analysis was performed among PDEQ, DASS-21, BFI-10 and IES-R and confirmed between anxiety and peritraumatic dissociation and post-traumatic stress; then anxiety is positively correlated to agreeableness variable of BFI-10 test. The emotional distress was protracted overtime but in long-term personality traits resulted mediator facing subjective stress. Our finding drew details for protective and predictive risk factors as well as mental health issues of nurses dealing with pandemic: healthcare workers faced the protracted challenge caring COVID-19 patients over and over again: in short time the impact was relevant, and the prolonged exposition to the stressor was tackled by personal resources such as personality traits. (shrink)

Henry of Harclay was a secular late medieval theologian who has been appointed Chancellor at Oxford in the first half of the fourteenth century. Due to the lack of edited texts, his Commentary on Book I of the Sentences is today largely ne- glected. The present contribution aims at offering a provisional edition of Sent. I, d. 1, qq. 1-4. These questions are devoted to human acts of fruition. The topics discussed here regard 1. whether God alone is the object (...) of fruition; 2. whether only rational creatures in the beatific state are able to perform an act of fruition; 3. whether human beings naturally love themselves more than God and, lastly, 4. whether fruition is the same as delight. The edition is preceded by a brief doctrinal introduction, which serves the purpose of providing a general outline of the text’s main contents. (shrink)

Humans naturally perceive visual patterns in a global manner and are remarkably capable of extracting object shapes based on properties such as proximity, closure, symmetry, and good continuation. Notwithstanding the role of these properties in perceptual grouping, studies highlighted differences in disembedding performance across individuals, which are summarized by the field dependence dimension. Evidence suggests that age and educational attainment explain part of this variability, whereas the role of sex is still highly debated. Also, which stimulus features primarily influence inter-individual (...) variations in perceptual grouping has still to be fully determined. Building upon these premises, we assessed the role of age, education level, and sex on performance at the Leuven Embedded Figure Test—a proxy of disembedding abilities—in 391 cisgender individuals. We also investigated to what extent shape symmetry, closure, complexity, and continuation relate to task accuracy. Overall, target asymmetry, closure, and good continuation with the embedding context increase task difficulty. Simpler shapes are more difficult to detect than those with more lines, yet context complexity impairs the recognition of complex targets to a greater extent. Concerning demographic data, we confirm that age and educational attainment are significantly associated with disembedding abilities and reveal a perceptual advantage in males. In summary, our study further highlights the role of shape properties in disembedding performance and unveils sex differences not reported so far. (shrink)

At the beginning of the XX century music’s aesthetic is not an autonomous discipline with defined borders. Scholars dealing with it are neither philosophers in the strict sense nor merely historians or critics of music. In this paper, I wonder about the possibility of finding the traces of the first Italian aesthetics of music among the folds of a composite and ongoing reflection and through the study of some generally-considered musicological production also having some philosophical profile. Along this path, some (...) figures of particular interest emerge such as that of Fausto Acanfora Torrefranca, a “non-aligned” intellectual, who firmly tried to give musical studies an aesthetic-philosophical basis, on the one hand, and a much needed rigor in the early twentieth century Italy on the other. (shrink)

In this paper I sketch the evolution of the main theories of the relationship between time and motion from Descartes to Newton, by defending an hypothesis that traces back Newton’s realism about time to Barrow’s “metric realism”, which Newton developed as the claim that measuring a magnitude X implies that X exists independently of our measures.

Die Entwicklung der zeitgenossischen Philosophie ist durch Hegels Denken entscheidend beeinflusst worden. Die Grunde fur seine andauernde Aktualitat aber sind selten verstanden worden. Im Gegensatz zu vielen Hegel-Interpreten wird hier der -absolute Idealismus- als das Wesen der Philosophie Hegels erkannt. Die -dialektische Methode- und das -System- bilden eine untrennbare Einheit. Auf dieser Grundlage erfolgt in einer streng theoretisch-systematischen Perspektive eine konsistente Auslegung von Hegels -Philosophie des unendlichen Selbstbewusstseins-. Einen besonderen Schwerpunkt legt die Arbeit auf die Auseinandersetzung mit dem gegenwartigen amerikanischen (...) Hegelianismus. Ubereinstimmung besteht mit E.E. Harris und R.D. Winfield, wahrend R.B. Brandom entschieden kritisiert wird.<BR> Contemporary philosophy's development has been decisively influenced by Hegel's thought, yet only rarely have the grounds for its everlasting up-to-dateness been understood. Contrary to many Hegel-interpreters, -Absolute Idealism- is here regarded as the core of Hegel's philosophy. The -dialectical method- and the -system- constitute an inseparable unity. On this basis a consistent interpretation of Hegel's -philosophy of infinite self-consciousness- is outlined. Attention is focused especially on the discussion of contemporary American Hegelianism, largely agreeing with E. E. Harris and R. D. Winfield, while sharply criticizing R. B. Brandom.". (shrink)

Dans cette contribution, nous chercherons à montrer comment dans l’articulation de la communauté chez Hegel et Rosenzweig, se montre une radicale différence en ce qui concerne la conception de l’horizon politique et donc – plus en généralement – la relation avec l’altérité. Contre la dure affirmation hégélienne « Abraham ne voulait pas aimer et donc être libre » et contre le vide ou la négativité que représente le judaïsme aux yeux de Hegel, Rosenzweig propose une autre compréhension du Politique, en (...) définissant l’existence du peuple d’Israël – dans la ‘parfaite’ éternité de sa persistance de peuple « déjà parvenu à destination » – comme existence métahistorique. (shrink)

The early writings of Wilfrid Sellars are characterized by the analysis of themes and problems from Rudolph Carnap's philosophy of language. In particular, Sellars investigated the notion of "material'' rules of inference and explored the possibility of a "pure'' pragmatics. In these initial researches Sellars laid the foundations for his inferentialist analysis of meaning. A crucial component of such an analysis is the seminal form of rational expressivism that Sellars began to develop at the time. In this paper I address (...) the genesis of this idea and some of the main implications that it has on the characterization of the space of reasons. (shrink)

Le Musée d’Anatomie humaine de l’Université de Turin , créé en 1739, fut transféré en 1898 dans le bâtiment où il se trouve actuellement, dans des locaux caractérisés par une architecture monumentale. Il a été récemment restauré dans le but de retrouver l’atmosphère de l’époque, et en même temps, le projet à fait l’objet d’une réflexion attentive sur les possibilités de le transformer de musée savant en musée communiquant. Le Musée d’Anatomie humaine fait partie d’un pôle muséal turinois en développement (...) qui comprend actuellement, en outre, le Musée des Fruits et le Musée d’Anthropologie criminelle « Cesare Lombroso ». Ces trois musées, qui accueillent presque 200 visiteurs par jour, offrent un bel aperçu du positivisme scientifique, qui fut particulièrement important à Turin.The University of Turin’s Museum of Human Anatomy, founded in 1739, was transferred in 1898 to the building it still occupies, which is notable for its monumental style of architecture. It was recently restored to the atmosphere of its day, but during the project, careful consideration was given to possibilities for transforming this scholarly establishment into a communicational museum. It is one of those included in Turin’s new museums project, alongside the Museum of Fruit and the Cesare Lombroso Museum of Criminal Anthropology. All three museums, which have about 200 visitors a day, offer valuable insights into scientific positivism, which was particularly influential in Turin. (shrink)

The contributions to the Special Issue on Multiple Belief Change, Iterated Belief Change and Preference Aggregation are divided into three parts. Four contributions are grouped under the heading "multiple belief change" (Part I, with authors M. Falappa, E. Fermé, G. Kern-Isberner, P. Peppas, M. Reis, and G. Simari), five contributions under the heading "iterated belief change" (Part II, with authors G. Bonanno, S.O. Hansson, A. Nayak, M. Orgun, R. Ramachandran, H. Rott, and E. Weydert). These papers do not only pick (...) up the particular questions raised, but also extend and modify the framework of Alchourrón, Gärdenfors and Makinson. Part III deals with preference aggregation and consists of one contribution (by F. Herzberg and D. Eckert). (shrink)

‘Néoconstitutionnalisme’ est assurément le nouveau nom pour une famille de théories du droit bien connues: un nom jusqu'à maintenant utilisé seulement au sein de la théorie du droit du monde latin. Mais contrairement à une critique récente de Riccardo Guastini, et conformément à une plus large analyse de ce mouvement dans mon dernier livre, Manuale di filosofia del diritto, le néoconstitutionnalisme existe effectivement – exactement comme le droit naturel, le positivisme juridique ou encore le réalisme juridique existent. Dans cette contribution, (...) en fait, trois thèmes centraux du néoconstitutionnalisme sont examinés – la connexion droit-morale, la distinction règle-principes et le balancement ou pondération – afin d’en fournir une meilleure théorie positiviste. Ainsi, je reconnais une connexion contigente mais théoriquement essentielle entre le droit et la morale; j’admets une distinction quasiment radicale entre les règles et les principes juridiques, et je fournis une théorie du balancement positiviste, réaliste et axiologiquement pluraliste. (shrink)

In the 4th century B.C., philosophers began to write not only philosophical texts, but also biographical ones. As biographers, they often presented members of their own schools as the epitome of their ideals, or tried to prove that the followers of others lived in ways inconsistent with their own doctrines, which the writers thereby hoped to show were ultimately unrealizable. Other biographies contained chapters engaging in doxographical or more properly philosophical discussions. Even when the philosopher-biographers' attention turned to the lives (...) of politicians and poets, they would find occasions to introduce their philosophical concerns. This whole genre of Greek biography, then, is an rich source of commentary on the philosophical doctrines current in Antiquity. The papers collected in this volume explore the many ways in which philosophy was incorporated into such texts, as well as how the genre was used as a means of philosophical instruction, discussion and polemics. They analyze texts from the 4th century B.C. to the 6th century A.D., some belonging to the best-known examples of the genre, and others being virtually unknown to most students of Antiquity. The volume contains studies of, among others, Dicaearchus, Timaeus, Philodemus, Plutarch, Lucian, Iamblichus, Philostratus, Eunapius and the anonymous Prolegomena to Plato's Philosophy. (shrink)

Il existe un lien intuitif entre le bien-être et le bonheur. Nous souhaitons proposer une nouvelle théorie selon laquelle le bien-être consiste en un bonheur approprié. Notre théorie peut être considérée comme la combinaison de quatre thèses. La première thèse est que le bonheur psychologique consiste en une balance largement positive d’états affectifs tels que les émotions, les humeurs et les plaisirs sensoriels. La seconde est que les émotions, les humeurs et les plaisirs sensoriels sont différents types d’expériences perceptuelles de (...) propriétés évaluatives. Il s’ensuit que le bonheur consiste en une balance largement positive d’expériences perceptuelles de propriétés évaluatives. La troisième thèse est que, dans la mesure où le bonheur est constitué par des états qui ont des conditions d’adéquation, alors le bonheur aussi peut être évalué comme étant approprié ou inapproprié. La quatrième thèse est une thèse concernant le bien-être : elle affirme que le bien-être consiste en un bonheur approprié ainsi défini. (shrink)