This book provides an incisive, basic introduction to many-valued logics and to the constructions that are "many-valued" at their origin. Using the matrix method, the author sheds light on the profound problems of many-valuedness criteria and its classical characterizations. The book also includes information concerning the main systems of many-valued logic, related axiomatic constructions, and conceptions inspired by many-valuedness. With its selective bibliography and many useful historical references, this book provides logicians, computer scientists, philosophers, and mathematicians with a valuable survey (...) of the subject. (shrink)

The article reviews the book Elementy etyki lekarskiej [Issues in Physician Ethics], by Tadeusz Biesaga.

Grzegorz W. Kolodko, one of the world's leading authorities on economics and development policy and a key architect of Poland's successful economic reforms, applies his far-reaching knowledge to the past and future of the world economy, introducing a framework for understanding our global situation that transcends any single discipline or paradigm. Deploying a novel mix of scientific evaluation and personal observation, Kolodko begins with a brief discussion of misinformation and its perpetuation in economics and politics. He criticizes the simplification (...) of complex economic and social issues and investigates the link between developments in the global economy and cultural change, scientific discoveries, and political fluctuations. Underscoring the necessity of conceptual and theoretical innovation in understanding our global economic situation, Kolodko offers a provocative study of globalization and the possibility of coming out ahead in an era of worldwide interdependence. Deeply critical of neoliberalism, which sought to transfer economic control exclusively to the private sector, Kolodko explores the virtues of social-economic development and the new rules of the economic game. He concludes with a look at our near and distant future, questioning whether we have a say in its making. (shrink)

The notion of chance plays an important role in some philosophical analyses and interpretations of scientific theories. The most obvious examples of that are the theories of evolution and quantum mechanics. This notion, however seems to be notoriously vague. Its application in such analyses, more often than not refers to its common-sense understanding, which, by definition, cannot be sufficient when it comes to sound philosophical interpretations of scientific achievements. The paper attempts at formulating a ‘typology of chance’. It distinguishes eight (...) different meanings of this notion. Those meanings can be found in classical philosophical accounts of chance, in the common usage of this term, or form logical possibilities of its understanding. Subsequently, the paper points to those forms of the notion in question which may and may not be properly applied to scientific theories and ideas – given usual characteristics of natural sciences. It also shows – by the examples of particular theories mentioned above – which of the distinguished forms of the notion of chance are actually applicable in the context of these theories. (shrink)

The paper maintains and reinforces a viewpoint that science and religion are methodologically and epistemologically independent. However, it also suggests that this independence can be overcome if a “third party” is taken into account, that is – philosophy. Such a possibility seems to follow from the thesis of incommensurability and the thesis of underdetermination formulated and analysed in the current philosophy of science.

This article attempts to investigate the potential resonances between Paul Ricoeur’s and Julia Kristeva’s theories of otherness as applied to the study of poetry by the Northern-Irish poet Sinéad Morrissey. In all of her five poetry books she explores various forms of otherness and attempts to sketch them in verse. She confronts alterity in many ways, approaching such subjects as the relationship with the body and children, encounters with foreigners, and coming to terms with what is foreign within us. This (...) article engages primarily with her experiences of China, which she recorded in the long poem “China” from her third collection, The State of Prisons. Firstly, this article tackles the question of the body, which is interpreted on the basis of Morrissey’s “post-mortem” poems. Their reading prepares the ground for further explorations of otherness, which Morrissey locates at the very heart of human subjectivity. In this way, she also manages to establish a poetic framework for an ethical consideration of otherness. By investigating the working of the human psyche, Morrissey seems to go along the lines of Kristeva and Ricoeur, who claim that otherness is inextricably linked with the formation of human subjectivity. Taking a cue from their philosophical enquiries, the article also attempts to establish where Kristeva’s and Ricoeur’s philosophies overlap. (shrink)

I propose an analysis of lying with uninformative speech acts. The orthodox view states that lying is restricted to assertions. However, the growing case for non-assertoric lies made by presuppositions or conventional implicatures challenges this orthodoxy. So far, the only presuppositions to have been considered as lies were informative presuppositions. In fact, uninformative lies were not discussed in the philosophical literature. However, limiting the possibility of lying to informative speech acts is too restrictive. Firstly, I show that standard, uninformative presuppositions (...) can also be lies. Secondly, I extend this picture into uninformative lies made by declarative statements. To implement my proposal, I do not need a new definition of lying. Recently popular commitment-based definitions of lying are able to properly handle uninformative lies. (shrink)

W dotychczasowej popularyzacji w\iedzy oraz w badaniach naukowych nad dziejami kościoła oo. Bernardynów we Lwowie dużo miejsca poświęca się ogólnej historii i walorom artystycznym zabytku. W przypadku epitafiów i tablic pamiątkowych zwraca się przede wszystkim uwagę na ich stan zachowania i wygląd, z pominięciem informacji o okolicznościach powstania i fundacji. Niniejszy artykuł uzupełnia tę lukę i przybliża na podstawie zachowanej dokumentacji archiwalnej okoliczności ich wmurowania, nazwiska fundatorów i charakterystykę dokumentacji w odniesieniu do epitafiów i tablic wykonanych w XIX i XX (...) wieku. Jak dotąd aspekt ten oraz dokumenty nie były przedmiotem analiz i publikacji. (shrink)

W powieściach Officium Secretum. Pies pański Marcina Wrońskiego i Agent Jego Świątobliwości Karola Kowala bohaterami pierwszoplanowymi są „nietypowi duchowni”. Owa „nietypowość” zasadza się na tym, że dominikanie – ojciec Marek Gliński i ojciec Władysław Klonowiejski – zostali wykreowani przez twórców na agentów tajnych służb watykańskich. W odróżnieniu od innych postaci duchownych z kart literatury najnowszej nie pełnią oni funkcji typowo kościelnych, pastoralnych, lecz są duchownymi-tajniakami. Protagonista z dzieła Wrońskiego to zakonny James Bond, który zwerbowany do Officium Secretum, czyli wewnętrznej służby (...) kościelnej będącej spadkobierczynią Inkwizycji, w okresie PRL służył Kościołowi jako podwójny agent (został funkcjonariuszem Służby Bezpieczeństwa). Agentem specjalnym jest także ojciec Klonowiejski. W książce Kowala jawi się on jako wszechstronnie wyszkolony wywiadowca Świętego Przymierza, który podróżuje przez dziewiętnastowieczną Europę w celu unieszkodliwienia agenta o pseudonimie „Haman”. Czy osadzenie bohaterów w habitach w przestrzeni występku oraz wszelkiego rodzaju zbrodni należy uznać za kontrowersyjną koncepcję artystyczną? Wnikliwa analiza dzieł Wrońskiego i Kowala pozwala na stwierdzenie, że w tym przypadku – podobnie jak w innych powieściach z kapłanem w roli głównej napisanych w ostatnich dwóch dekadach – nie można mówić o desakralizacji kapłaństwa czy chęci niszczenia autorytetu Kościoła. Kreacje zakonników należy uznać za swoisty znak czasów współczesnych, w których zmniejszenie dystansu między przedstawicielami Kościoła hierarchicznego i wiernymi sprawił, że duchowni poznawani są i oceniani za działalność także poza sferą sacrum. W Officium Secretum i Agencie Jego Świątobliwości „niecodzienna” aktywność bohaterów w habitach jest pretekstem do ujawniania przez twórców nie tylko spraw eklezjalnych – tajemnic działania instytucji kościelnych – ale także mechanizmów działania instytucji państwowych oraz istotnych problemów życia politycznego i społecznego. (shrink)

Bioethics is a relatively young discipline. Within it, discussion is still taking place concerning the methodological status of the subject. Nevertheless, putting aside this inner aspect of bioethics, one thing appears striking. The short-lived existence of bioethics is surprisingly associated with a great number of bioethical projects, aimed at tackling complex problems, arising in the realm of health care. It seems that the rapid enhancement of biomedical sciences and biotechnologies - carrying with it many moral dilemmas - creates a pressure (...) leading to a new sort of ethical reflection, as well as deepening further existing reflections. Looking more generally and somewhat superficially at existing approaches to bioethical matters, one can distinguish two tendencies. One of them puts forward creating a general ethical system drawing upon a specific notion of morality, and drawing up a set of moral rules and principles. The second one finds its starting point in separate cases, in their analyses, playing down the role of general moral theories. The best example of such an approach is a modern casuistry catching on especially in English speaking countries. The spreading tendency of casuistic analyses does not eliminate the fact that many bioethicists still make an effort to pursue the first of the mentioned trends by building up a general bioethical framework. Hugo Tristram Engelhardt is a good example of such a thinker. He is a medical doctor and philosopher working at Rice University in Houston. In the course of over 30 years of his medical and philosophical research, Engelhardt has outlined two bioethical projects: the project of secular bioethics and the project of Christian bioethics. (shrink)

Proofs of two interpolation theorems for Sentential Calculus with Identity as well as some general comments on sentential interpolation are given.

In this paper, I discuss some philosophical problems connected with the notion of regarding the aggregates (_khandha_) as self in the Nikāyas. In particular, I focus on the attitude represented by the formula “I am this” (_esohamasmi_) which may be labeled as that of identifying with the aggregates. In the first part of the paper, I point out and analyze certain similes contained in the Nikāyas which may be read as implying the existence of a distinction between the aggregates and (...) the individual who regards them as self. Then, I consider a hypothesis that the aggregates are not objective constituents of a human being but subjectively experienced representational phenomena. I argue that several Nikāya texts imply the existence of important aspects of a human being, in particular cognitive ones, which are not conceptualized in the terms of the five aggregates. I also discuss the possibility of interpreting _khandha_s as not active in character but as resultant of other cognitive processes. In the last part of the paper I offer a hypothesis that one of the key aspects of regarding the aggregates as self lies in the identification of a human individual with one’s own phenomenal self-representation which results in a mistaken projection of the notions of agency, identity and subjectivity onto something that is inherently devoid of it. I also consider certain parallels between the ideas present in the Nikāyas and the concepts of the modern philosophy of mind. (shrink)

Poprzednie Antologie dotyczyły I Rzeczypospolitej, okresu zaborów oraz myśli politycznej po 1989 r., obecna obejmuje okres dwudziestolecia międzywojennego. Naszą – redaktorów – intencją było zapewnienie czytelnikowi możliwości bezpośredniego obcowania ze źródłem. Każde omówienie zawiera bowiem – nawet niezamierzoną – interpretację. Niezależnie od tego współcześnie możemy dostrzec powrót do części idei powstałych w okresie międzywojennym. Dajemy więc odbiorcy możliwość odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy mamy do czynienia z epigonami, czy z twórczymi kontynuatorami dawnych koncepcji. Wśród tekstów reprezentatywnych znalazły się zatem także te (...) nieznane, a wartościowe, sięgnęliśmy do publicystyki mniej znanych reprezentantów oraz grup marginalnych jak anarchiści czy synarchiści. Zdecydowaliśmy się na przyjęcie układu według nurtów politycznych. Z kolei w obrębie każdego z nurtów zastosowano kryterium chronologiczne. Dzięki temu możliwe było zasygnalizowanie kierunków ewolucji opinii i trendów np. w odniesieniu do instytucji państwa. Zbiór nasz adresujemy do szerokiego grona odbiorców: studentów, pracowników nauki, a także wszystkich osób zainteresowanych ideami politycznymi. (shrink)

The speech act of inquiry is generally treated as a default kind of asking questions. The widespread norm states that one inquires whether p only if one does not know that p. However, the fact that inquiring is just one kind of asking questions has received little to no attention. Just as in the declarative mood we can perform not only assertions, but various other speech acts, like guesses or predictions, so in the interrogative mood we can also make various (...) speech act types. I propose a speech-act-theoretic account of a distinct kind of question that I label exam questions. According to the proposed account, one performs an exam question p only if (i) one has access to the answer to p, and (ii) one does not officially know whether the hearer knows the answer to p. Exam questions satisfy all the necessary requirements of being a distinct kind of speech act. Additionally, my proposal contributes to the recent expansion of the normative approach to a variety of speech acts. (shrink)

This paper offers a systematic classification and characterization of speech acts and their norms. Recently, the normative approach has been applied to various speech acts, most notably to constatives. I start by showing how the work on the norms of assertion has influenced various approaches to the norms of other speech acts. I focus on the fact that various norms of assertion have different extensions, i.e., they denote different clusters of illocutions as belonging to an assertion. I argue that this (...) has consequences for theorising about norms of other speech acts and generates certain arbitrary divisions. In the central part, I analyse two groups of speech acts. Firstly, ordinary speech acts, like predictions or retractions. Secondly, I indicate how the normative view can be extended to so-called ancillary speech acts, like presuppositions or implicatures. I end with a discussion of possible extensions of the normative approach, focusing on the debate on lying. (shrink)

According to the normative approach, speech acts are governed by certain norms. Interestingly, the same is true for classes of speech acts. This paper considers the normative treatment of constatives, consisting of such classes as assertives, predictives, suggestives, and more. The classical approach is to treat these classes of illocutions as species of constatives. Recently, however, Simion (Shifty Speech and Independent Thought: Epistemic Normativity in Context, Oxford University Press, 2021) has proposed that all constatives (i) are species of assertion, and (...) (ii) are governed by the knowledge norm. I defend the classical treatment of constatives and show that Simion’s conclusion is untenable. No taxonomy of speech acts can accommodate such a view. More importantly, we can test whether a particular speech act is an assertion or not. I propose five tests of assertion, the passing of which is a necessary condition for being an assertion. Some constative speech acts fail these tests. Thus, contrary to Simion, not all constatives can be regarded as species of assertion. (shrink)

Celem artykułu jest poszukiwanie takiej interpretacji obecności i działania Boga w świecie, jaka pozwoliłaby zharmonizować istotne prawdy wiary z naukowym obrazem świata, którego ewolucja jest rządzona przypadkiem i pozbawiona kierunku. Poszukiwanie to jest realizowane w kilku krokach. Odwołując się do różnych koncepcji celowości wskazuje się najpierw, że jeśli można mówić o tym, że świat ma taką cechę, to nie w sensie zmierzania w określonym kierunku, lecz w sensie celowości wewnętrznej: świat ze swej natury jest skierowany na Boga. Współcześnie o Bożej (...) celowości w świecie mówi się często w kategoriach ogólnego lub szczególnego działania Boga. Artykuł, podejmując tę kwestię zmierza do wniosku, że odróżnienie aspektu naturalnego od nadnaturalnego w danym zdarzeniu jest przypuszczalnie niemożliwe. Na jeden z powodów tej niemożliwości wskazuje tzw. zasada domknięcia przyczynowego, dlatego jest ona analizowana w kolejnym punkcie artykułu. Wskazuje się tutaj między innymi na konieczność zrewidowania niektórych klasycznych koncepcji cudu. W odniesieniu zaś do takich przełomowych zdarzeń z dziejów świata, jak powstanie życia czy pojawienie się człowieka, proponuje się hipotezę niedookreśloności celu stworzenia: Bóg może realizować swoje cele w świecie rządzonym przez autentyczny przypadek, jeśli cele te są rozumiane odpowiednio subtelnie. Na przykład, jeśli celem Boga jest pojawienie się w świecie istoty zdolnej do nawiązania z nim świadomego kontaktu, to istota taka niekoniecznie musiała przyjąć postać przedstawiciela gatunku Homo sapiens. Na koniec wskazuje się na panenteizm jako na właściwą, prawdziwie chrześcijańską wizję świata, który jest „losem i przeznaczeniem” samego Boga. W tej perspektywie, detale ewolucyjnego rozwoju świata przestają być religijnie istotne, a sama religia uwalnia się ostatecznie—po części pod wpływem współczesnej nauki—„od błędu i przesądu”. (shrink)

The article examines the figure of the spy—alongside themes related to espionage—as employed in two books by the Northern Irish writer Ciaran Carson : the volume of poems For All We Know and the novel Exchange Place. Carson’s oeuvre is permeated with the Troubles and he has been hailed one of key writers to convey the experience of living in a modern surveillance state. His depiction of Belfast thematizes questions of terrorism, the insecurity and anxiety it causes in everyday life, (...) as well as the unceasing games of appearances and the different ways of verifying or revising identities. In Carson’s later work, however, these aspects acquire greater philosophical depth as the author uses the themes of doubles, spies, and makeshift identities to discuss writing itself, the construction of subjectivity, and the dialogic relationship with the other. Taking a cue from Paul Ricoeur’s and Julia Kristeva’s conceptions of “oneself as another,” the article examines how Carson’s spy-figures can be read as metaphors for processes of self-discovery and identity-formation, tied to the notion of “self-othering.” Carson employs the figure of the spy—who juggles identities by “donning” different clothes or languages—to scrutinize how one ventures into the dangerous territory of writing, translation and love, as well as to reconsider notions of originality and self-mastery. Ultimately, Carson conceptualizes literature as specially marked by deceptions and metamorphoses, defining in these terms the human condition. (shrink)