This book presents a systematic philosophical and historical analysis of operating systems (0S). The discussion starts with the evolution of OSs since before their birth. It continues with a comprehensive philosophical analysis grounded in technical aspects. Coverage looks at software and (where appropriate) hardware as well as their historical developments. The authors not only offer historical and philosophical reflections on operating systems. They also explore the programs they coordinate and trace the epsitemic and ontological consequences of their designs. Each chapter (...) investigates one or more overlapping fragments of this fascinating history. These include: the birth of the UNIX system and the development of early systems and prototypes; a conceptual analysis of the plurality of systems; an investigation into business, ethical, and aesthetics aspects related to operating systems; and logical principles of formal languages. This book will interest researchers from a diversity of backgrounds. It will appeal to historians, philosophers, as well as logicians and computer scientists who want to engage with topics relevant to the history and philosophy of programming and more specifically that of operating systems. (shrink)

[1] Relazioni e interventi.--[2] Comunicazioni.

Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler have been arguing for what they named libertarian paternalism (henceforth LP). Their proposal generated extensive debate as to how and whether LP might lead down a full-blown paternalistic slippery slope. LP has the indubitable merit of having hardwired the best of the empirical psychological and sociological evidence into public and private policy making. It is unclear, though, to what extent the implementation of policies so constructed could enhance the capability for the exercise of an autonomous (...) citizenship. Sunstein and Thaler submit it that in most of the cases in which one is confronted with a set of choices, some default option must be picked out. In those cases whoever devises the features of the set of options ought to rank them according to the moral principle of non-maleficence and possibly to that of beneficence. In this paper we argue that LP can be better implemented if there is a preliminary deliberative debate among the stakeholders that elicits their preferences, and makes it possible to rationally defend them. (shrink)

Some studies highlighted that patients with narcolepsy type-1 experience high lucid dream frequency, and this phenomenon has been associated with a creative personality. Starting from the well-known “pandemic effect” on sleep and dreaming, we presented a picture of dream activity in pharmacologically treated NT1 patients during the Italian lockdown. Forty-three NT1 patients completed a web-survey during Spring 2021 and were compared with 86 matched-controls. Statistical comparisons revealed that: NT1 patients showed greater sleepiness than controls; controls showed higher sleep disturbances than (...) NT1 patients, and this result disappeared when the medication effect in NT1 was controlled; NT1 patients reported higher lucid dream frequency than controls. Focusing on dreaming in NT1 patients, we found that nightmare frequency was correlated with female gender, longer sleep duration, higher intrasleep wakefulness; dream recall, nightmare and lucid dream frequency were positively correlated with sleepiness. Comparisons between low and high NT1 lucid dreamers showed that patients more frequently experiencing lucid dreams reported a greater influence of dreaming during wakefulness, especially concerning problem-solving and creativity. Overall, our results are consistent with previous studies on pandemic dreaming carried out on healthy subjects. Moreover, we confirmed a link between lucidity and creativity in NT1 patients. Considering the small sample size and the cross-sectional design, our findings cannot provide a causal relationship between lucid dreams and the COVID-19 lockdown. Nevertheless, they represent a first contribution to address future studies on this issue, suggesting that some stable characteristics could interact with changes provoked by the pandemic. (shrink)

A number of experiences have demonstrated how digital solutions are effective in improving quality of life (QoL) and health outcomes for older adults. Smart Health Age-Friendly Environments (SHAFE) is a new concept introduced in Europe since 2017 that combines the concept of Age-Friendly Environments with Information Technologies, supported by health and community care to improve the health and disease management of older adults and during the life-course. This chapter aims to provide an initial overview of the experiences available not only (...) in Europe, based on the research work of the participants of the International Interdisciplinary Network on Health and Well-being in an Age-Friendly Digital World (NET4Age-Friendly), which could be of interest to preventive, health and social authorities. The chapter reports good practices, pain points, and bottlenecks that may require a collaborative, interdisciplinary research approach to facilitate the transformations towards smart, sustainable, health and age-friendly cities and communities. (shrink)

In this Introduction we lay out the context of a ‘Continental philosophy of biology’ and suggest why Georges Canguilhem’s place in such a philosophy is important. There is not one single program for Continental philosophy of biology, but Canguilhem’s vision, which he referred to at one stage as ‘biological philosophy’, is a significant one, located in between the classic holism-reductionism tensions, significantly overlapping with philosophy of medicine, philosophy of technology and other themes moving away from the more common existential and (...) phenomenological motifs of post-war European thought. Chapters examine (among other themes) his relation to Lebensphilosophie, to authors such as Kant, Nietzsche and Marjorie Grene, and to current theoretical biology. (shrink)

The main aim of this study is to provide some new considerations to support the contested thesis that the Corpus Caspari has to be understood as a unified set of texts drawn up by a single author. Both theological and biographical considerations allow the safe identification of the composer of this ensemble with the future Sixtus III (432-440). Moreover, all the projects that the pontiff carried out, from Santa Maria Maggiore to the monastery he founded in the vicinity of the (...) catacombs, testify to the same opinions on asceticism, virginity and material goods as are expressed in the six letters. Even the signature of some of those letters-treaties should be evaluated as authentic, and it can be connected only to Sixtus III. (shrink)

The subject of bullying has received widespread academic attention, going back to pioneering studies in the 1970s. However, work in this area has tended to take a gender-neutral/male perspective that does not distinguish between male and female bullying. While retaining a dialogue with generalist literature on the subject, this article seeks to highlight the theoretical and political-social relevance of gender-specific and intersectional approaches when exploring the question of bullying between adolescent girls. Based on the study _Il bullismo femminile a scuola. (...) Un’indagine intersezionale mixed-method_ (Female bullying at school, an intersectional, mixed-method study) – conducted in medium-sized and large cities in northern, central and southern Italy – it proposes a theoretical-analytical framework in which to consider the phenomenon of female bullying in Italian schools. (shrink)

This study explores the historical concept of ether within the framework of modern theoretical physics by deriving Maxwell’s equations that incorporate magnetic monopoles from the Navier-Cauchy equation with stress couples. We demonstrate that the elastomechanical interpretation of electromagnetism not only revitalizes the ether concept but also provides a coherent theoretical foundation for understanding electromagnetic phenomena. This interpretation reveals a significant link between mechanical properties and electromagnetic behaviors, for example, the charge of fundamental particles, such as electrons, is inherently connected to (...) rotational dynamics within the elastomechanical medium. Additionally, we introduce the magnetic monopole as a critical component of our framework, showing how it is associated with mass flux and volume changes in the medium, thus contributing to the dynamics of particle generation. Our findings highlight the profound interplay between elastodynamics, classical electromagnetism, and contemporary concepts in physics, paving the way for new epistemological perspectives. This research underscores the potential for integrating diverse physical theories to foster innovative developments in theoretical physics, challenging traditional views and inviting further exploration of the fundamental forces that govern the universe. (shrink)

Los cambios en los procesos de producción del derecho y la modificación estructural del sistema de fuentes ponen en tela de juicio el modelo de derecho diseñado por el positivismo jurídico del XIX, basado en el monopolio legislativo en la creación del derecho y en la consideración de proceso de aplicación del derecho como un procedimiento de subsunción formal. En ese nuevo escenario, el momento aplicativo y hermenéutico del derecho adquieren un protagonismo central. En las nuevas y complejas funciones que (...) asume el intérprete del derecho para tratar de recomponer la unidad y la coherencia de los ordenamientos jurídicos complejos, faltos de plenitud y fragmentados, la recuperación del rol normativo autónomo de los principios jurídicos se convierte en una exigencia imprescindible. El autor ilustra ese renovado papel de los principios con ejemplos del derecho constitucional, el derecho tributario y el derecho procesal civil. (shrink)

We present the methodological principles underlying the scientific activities of the DHST Commission on the History and Philosophy of Computing. This volume collects refereed selected papers from the First International Conference organized by the Commission.

The Care of Life: Transdisciplinary Perspectives in Bioethics and Biopolitics is a striking collection of interdisciplinary essays exploring key debates in, and the relationship between, bioethics and biopolitics.

The birth, growth, stabilization and subsequent understanding of a new field of practical and theoretical enquiry is always a conceptual process including several typologies of events, phenomena an...

We investigate agents that have incomplete information and make decisions based on their beliefs expressed as situation calculus bounded action theories. Such theories have an infinite object domain, but the number of objects that belong to fluents at each time point is bounded by a given constant. Recently, it has been shown that verifying temporal properties over such theories is decidable. We take a first-person view and use the theory to capture what the agent believes about the domain of interest (...) and the actions affecting it. In this paper, we study verification of temporal properties over online executions. These are executions resulting from agents performing only actions that are feasible according to their beliefs. To do so, we first examine progression, which captures belief state update resulting from actions in the situation calculus. We show that, for bounded action theories, progression, and hence belief states, can always be represented as a bounded first-order logic theory. Then, based on this result, we prove decidability of temporal verification over online executions for bounded action theories. (shrink)

This edited volume presents papers on this alternative philosophy of biology that could be called “continental philosophy of biology,” and the variety of positions and solutions that it has spawned. In doing so, it contributes to debates in the history and philosophy of science and the history of philosophy of science, as well as to the craving for ‘history’ and/or ‘theory’ in the theoretical biological disciplines. In addition, however, it also provides inspiration for a broader image of philosophy of biology, (...) in which these traditional issues may have a place. The volume devotes specific attention to the work of Georges Canguilhem, which is central to this alternative tradition of “continental philosophy of biology”. This is the first collection on Georges Canguilhem and the Continental tradition in philosophy of biology. The book should be of interest to philosophers of biology, continental philosophers, historians of biology and those interested in broader traditions in philosophy of science. (shrink)

After reviewing various informal definitions, the article shows how algorithms’ implementation still presents clear limitations, despite Big Tech’s enthusiastic narratives. We then show the ideological nature of the concept of algorithmic objectivity, developing a practical account of ideology. We argue that, along with other devices, algorithmic objectivity imbues subjects with a structural reflexivity deficit, by virtue of which Big Tech’s power practices are not perceived as such. In its conclusion, the article argues for a critical ethics for the digital age, (...) capable of taking into account the power dynamics that run through it. (shrink)