Intent and mitigating circumstances play a central role in moral and legal assessments in large-scale industrialized societies. Al- though these features of moral assessment are widely assumed to be universal, to date, they have only been studied in a narrow range of societies. We show that there is substantial cross-cultural variation among eight traditional small-scale societies (ranging from hunter-gatherer to pastoralist to horticulturalist) and two Western societies (one urban, one rural) in the extent to which intent and mitigating circumstances influence (...) moral judgments. Although participants in all societies took such factors into account to some degree, they did so to very different extents, varying in both the types of considerations taken into account and the types of violations to which such considerations were applied. The particular patterns of assessment characteristic of large-scale industrialized societies may thus reflect relatively recently culturally evolved norms rather than inherent features of human moral judgment. (shrink)

Originally published in 1936, this book presents the ancient Greek text of the paraphrases and quotations of Zeno's philosophical arguments, together with a facing-page English translation and editorial commentary. Detailed notes are incorporated throughout and a bibliography is also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Zeno and ancient philosophy.

This volume is not restricted to papers presented at the 1988 Colloquium, but instead aims to provide the reader with a (relatively) coherent reading on Algebraic Logic, with an emphasis on current research. To help the non-specialist reader, the book contains an introduction to cylindric and relation algebras by Roger D. Maddux and an introduction to Boolean Algebras by Bjarni Joacute;nsson.

This paper focuses on abduction as explicit or readily formulatable inference to possible explanatory hypotheses--as contrasted with inference to conceptual innovations or abductive logic as a cycle of hypotheses, deduction of consequences and inductive testing. Inference to an explanation is often a matter of projection or extrapolation of elements of accepted theory for the solution of outstanding problems in particular domains of inquiry. I say "projections or extrapolation" of accepted theory, but I mean to point to something broader and suggest (...) how elements of accepted theory constrain emergent models and plausible inferences to explanations--in a quasi-rationalist fashion. I draw on illustrations from quantum gravity below just because there is so little direct evidence available in the field. It is in such cases that Peirce's discussions of abductive inference provide the most plausible support for the idea of a logic of abduction--as inference to readily formulatable explanatory hypotheses. The possible need for conceptual innovation points to the limits on the possibility of a logic of abduction of a more rationalistic character--selecting uniquely superior explanations. Abduction conceived as a repeated cycle of inquiry also points to limits on our expectations for an abductive logic. My chief point is that the character of inference to an explanation, viewed below as embedded within arguments from analogy, is so little compelling, as a matter of logical form alone, that there will always be a pluralism of plausible alternatives among untested hypotheses and inferences to them--calling for some comparative evaluation. This point leads on to some consideration of the virtues of hypotheses--as a description of the range of this pluralism. (shrink)

This book covers the author's conception of God aside from any religion. He does not come from a religious view in order to transmit the truest conception of God that he is capable of because any religion, whatever it might be, always claims God for itself in an exclusionary fashion. In other words, you must be a follower of the chosen faith before God will accept you into his kingdom. Wells rejects this view. Any man or woman who accepts God's (...) love as one person connecting to their own creator, is fine. An intermediary, despite what they might crow from whatever pulpits they use, is not necessary. We are all God's children. We are all seeking the same God, so to be dogmatic within a certain exclusionary faith is small-minded and petty. If you want to grow up, spiritually, then this book is for you. (shrink)

يتحدث هذا الكتاب عن مفهوم المقاومة بمعناه الواسع، فليست المقاومة مرهونة فقط بالعنف والرصاص والدم، ولا محصورة في خوض المعارك وممارسة القتال. فإذا كانت مقاومة المستعمر والمحتل والمغتصب هي الأبرز والأعلى صوتًا، فإن هناك جبهات أخرى تدور عليها المواجهة لا تقل أهمية عن التصدي للمستعمر، وصيانة استقلال الوطن وحريته. وأولى هذه الجبهات، مقاومة الحاكم الجائر لرده عن الظلم والطغيان، ودفعه إلى إقامة العدل الذي هو أساس الملك. وتأخذ هذه المقاومة أشكالًا متعددة عبر التاريخ، منها ما لجأ إلى أقصى درجات العنف (...) والدم كالثورتين الفرنسية والبلشيفية، ومنها ما كان مقاومة سلبية نجحت في تحقيق الغرض منها من دون أي عنف مثل حركة المقاومة التي قادها الزعيم الهندي الخالد غاندي ضد الاحتلال الإنجليزي لبلاده. والجبهة الثانية للمقاومة هي مقاومة الأفكار المتخلفة والتقاليد البالية، وهذه الجبهة هي الأكثر تأثيرًا على مدى التاريخ الإنساني؛ فعطاء المفكرين والعلماء والمبعدين لا يحدث تغييرًا فوريَّا، ولكن يكون تأثيره متتاليًا ومتراكمًا على مدى زمني طويل على حركة المجتمع نحو التقدم الأخلاقي والاجتماعي. أما الجبهة الثالثة فهي مقاومة أو مجاهدة النفس التي هي أمارة بالسوء، والحرص على ألا تفقد النفس نخوتها فتسقط في التبلد واللامبالاة، والعمل على بناء النفس الواثقة الثابتة الوفية الصابرة، مما يجعل صاحبها سويًّا وإيجابيًّا بما يمكنه من أن يؤدي دوه باقتدار على جبهات المقاومة الأخرى. (shrink)

Institutional theory of law (ITL) reflects both continuity and change of Kelsen's legal positivism. The main alteration results from the way ITL extends Hart's linguistic turn towards ordinary language philosophy (OLP). Hart holds –like Kelsen – that law cannot be reduced to brute fact nor morality, but because of its attempt to reconstruct social practices his theory is more inclusive. By introducing the notion of law as an extra-linguistic institution ITL takes a next step in legal positivism and accounts for (...) the relationship between action and validity within the legal system. There are, however, some problems yet unresolved by ITL. One of them is its theory of meaning. An other is the way it accounts for change and development. Answers may be based on the pragmatic philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce, who emphasises the intrinsic relation between the meaning of speech acts and the process of habit formation. (shrink)

This paper investigates what the source of time asymmetry is in thermodynamics, and comments on the question whether a time-symmetric formulation of the Second Law is possible.

Islamic philosophy - 16th century; Jurjānī, ʻAlī ibn Muḥammad, al- Sayyid al- Sharīf.