This paper analyses conceptual and experimental work in synthetic biology on different types of interactions considered as minimal examples or models of communication. It discusses their pertinence and relevance for the wider understanding of this biological and cognitive phenomenon. It critically analyses their limits and it argues that a conceptual framework is needed. As a possible solution, it provides a theoretical account of communication based on the notion of organisation, and characterised in terms of the functional influence exerted by the (...) sender upon the receiver. It shows that this account can be operationalised in synthetic biology, and that it can supply criteria and guidelines for the design and evaluation of synthetic models. (shrink)

The application of artificial intelligence (AI) in hospitals yields many advantages but also confronts healthcare with ethical questions and challenges. While various disciplines have conducted specific research on the ethical considerations of AI in hospitals, the literature still requires a holistic overview. By conducting a systematic discourse approach highlighted by expert interviews with healthcare specialists, we identified the status quo of interdisciplinary research in academia on ethical considerations and dimensions of AI in hospitals. We found 15 fundamental manuscripts by constructing (...) a citation network for the ethical discourse, and we extracted actionable principles and their relationships. We provide an agenda to guide academia, framed under the principles of biomedical ethics. We provide an understanding of the current ethical discourse of AI in clinical environments, identify where further research is pressingly needed, and discuss additional research questions that should be addressed. We also guide practitioners to acknowledge AI-related benefits in hospitals and to understand the related ethical concerns. (shrink)

Publications of the series include the official proceedings of the ALWS-conferences and of their special workshops. The series is open also for other high-quality publications, especially on the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein and its influence on contemporary analytic philosophy.

This paper proposes a comparison between the myth of Prometheus and Pliny the Elder’s account of the origins of painting to assess the technical characterof images. Such a character is seen as a precondition for understanding their epistemological value, as well as for supporting the need for hermeneutics at any level of artificial intervention. Finally, part of Horst Bredekamp’s work will be presented as an example of a methodology that combines hermeneutics and iconology based on such a technical character.

An assertion is existentially known if and only if: (i) the speaker knows that the sentence she uses to make the assertion expresses a true proposition; (ii) she makes the assertion based on that knowledge; and (iii) she does not believe, have justification for, or know the proposition asserted. Accordingly, if existentially known assertions could be made correctly—as argued by Charlie Pelling in his ‘Assertion and the Provision of Knowledge’—this would show that the norm of assertion cannot be the speaker's (...) belief in, justification for or knowledge of the proposition. In this paper, I try to show that Pelling's argument is inconclusive, as it rests on two assumptions which can be resisted. In turn, I offer a pair of alternative strategies to explain how we can deal with existentially known assertions under the assumption that the speaker's knowledge is the norm of assertion. (shrink)

This study analyzes the adoption and performance implications of two certified management standards in Mexico. Basing our predictions on strategic balance theory we find that those firms seeking for higher levels of differentiation or legitimacy show inferior environmental performance that firms demonstrating higher strategic balance.

The historical trajectory of Central and Eastern Europe differed significantly from that of the West. The region became the periphery of a transforming West during the early modern centuries. The nineteenth and twentieth centuries were characterized by repeated attempts to catch up with the West. Romanticism brought in Western ideas and generated struggles for national independence and modernization. Failures paved the way for desperate revolts in the inter-war years. Left- and right-wing revolutions engulfed the region. Authoritarian, Fascist and Communist regimes (...) looked for short cuts to finish nation-building and industrialization. In the end, all versions of state-run modernization failed, and the region revolted against them. At least its western rim seems to be successfully returning to Europe at the turn of the millennium. (shrink)

Review of the Monograph Malivskyi, A. M.. Unknown Descartes: Anthropological Dimension in Philosophy. Dnipro: GERDA.

The author analyses the problems faced by Continental Europe's legal systems as a result of the appearance of the so‐called new religious movements. He is of the opinion that the expected change towards the achievement of full legal neutrality regarding the religious phenomena cannot be based on the sole assumption that each and every religion deserves protection. In fact, he considers that any system of equality should be aimed at protecting the legitimate expression of the individual's free will; that is (...) to say, neither a particular religion nor all of them, but the person considered as a citizen, regardless of whether he believes or not. (shrink)

My purpose there [in the Discourse] was not to provide a full [Latin: accurate] treatment, but merely to offer a sample, and learn from the views of my readers how I should handle these topics at a later date. [7]² But now that I have, after a fashion, taken an initial sample of people's opinion, I am again tackling the same questions concerning God and the human mind; and this time I am also going to deal with the foundations of (...) First Philosophy in its entirety. [9]. (shrink)

Este ensayo tiene como objetivo denunciar la persistencia del viejo estereotipo sobre los vagabundos. La historia y la literatura están en el origen de esa construcción social que caricaturiza a los mendigos. Mediante una investigación cualitativa de las noticias de prensa, se comprueba que en la actualidad esas etiquetas antiguas perduran. De este modo, el drama social de los sin techo nunca llega a conocerse en profundidad, y lo único que el público recibe son imágenes deformadas de un mundo grotesco (...) y violento que produce compasión y pasividad al mismo tiempo. El cuestionamiento de los estereotipos y una aproximación más humana al problema, pueden ser un primer avance para adoptar otra actitud por parte de todos. (shrink)

Reconstruction of the basilica that preceded the present abbey church at Conques lends itself to exploring the notion of “sacred space”. Like its successor, the original basilica, probably built around 900, was dedicated to St Foy and held her remains. Textual evidence, augmented with (albeit scarce) archeological data, enables a reconstruction of what emerges as an unusual building containing a “physical” sacred space clearly conceived as a place into which the whole cult of St Foy could be “condensed”. At the (...) same time, textual evidence, mainly in the Liber miraculorum sanctae Fidis, hints at the existence of a “mental” sacred space in which specific movements performed in venerating the saint, as well as the comings and goings of pilgrims and other worshippers, formed a sacred space that was more fluid but no less central to understanding Conques as a place of devotion. Going farther, the analysis here suggests a notion of “sacred space” that includes the terrain surrounding a place of devotion: once worshippers’ senses of hearing, sight, and touch were activated, the natural setting itself became a place of holiness and protection. (shrink)

Moral principles are indispensable for the assessment of the sciences. Medicine is one of the sciences in need of the guidance of ethics. Ethical principles are put forward and interpreted by society. Vital principles for bioethics include a high standard for professional medical workers, confidentiality between the physician and the patient, and informed consent. Marxist teaching calls for the unity of science and ethics, based on humanist ideas. Keywords: ethics of science, ethical neutrality, professional ethics, Marxism-Leninism, humanist ideals, USSR, bioethics (...) CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this? (shrink)

In this paper, we propose an account of how perceptual evidence might allow us to draw justified conclusions about the existence of composite objects. We call the thesis at issue PERCEPTUAL ADEQUACY, and argue that a specific, naïve realist picture of the phenomenal character of perception provides us with a straightforward way to defend it. The claim that we have empirical evidence for the existence of macroscopic composites cannot be propped up merely by the plausible claim, granted by many, that (...) our perceptual experiences have composites-presenting phenomenology. Rather, a specific account of the nature of the phenomenology is needed so that it can provide the required evidence. We propose a way to accomplish this: one on which in the good cases it would be constituted by the presentation of the truth-makers of the relevant ontological claims. We argue, further, that this potential defence of a feasible empirically-informed approach to metaphysics is preferable to the best alternative, one based on an object-dependent version of intentionalism about perceptual consciousness. (shrink)

Članak predstavlja prikaz obilježavanja 50. obljetnice Hrvatskog filozofskog društva, koje se održalo u Zagrebu od 6. do 8. prosinca 2007., a uključivalo je simpozij Suvremena hrvatska filozofija, predstavljanje novih knjiga u izdanju Hrvatskog filozofskog društva, godišnju skupštinu Hrvatskog filozofskog društva, svečanu akademiju u povodu 50. obljetnice Hrvatskog filozofskog društva, te okrugli stol o Vladimiru Filipoviću, prvom predsjedniku Hrvatskog filozofskog društva.The paper outlines the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Croatian Philosophical Society that took place in Zagreb 6–8 December, 2007. (...) The event incorporated the symposium entitled Contemporary Croatian Philosophy, the presentation of books published by the Society, the annual assembly of the Society, the formal academy to mark the 50th anniversary, and the round table on Vladimir Filipović, the first president of the Croatian Philosophical Society. (shrink)

Contemporary research offers a more compelling account on the complex emotion of envy than the traditional view of envy as simply something bad. This essay explains how Logic-Based Therapy can use this account to coach individuals struggling with negative species of envy. Given that jealousy and envy are often equated, the essay differentiates the two; explains the conditions that make the four species of envy possible; identifies cardinal fallacies associated with negative species of envy; proposes counteractive virtues, and describes ways (...) to help people struggling with negative species of envy acquire these virtues. (shrink)

How do we relate globalisation to other types of mondialisation, such as communications and economics? The answer should be: any globalisation should be motivated by the general interest of humanity and striving to that aim. In practice, this means that international protection of human rights and environmental rights need not only jurisdictional but also, above all, ethical standards. Without it, a conflict between different types of globalisation could become damaging, almost dangerous. The very idea of the global village that has (...) so well explained the phenomenon of mondialisation can assist in solving the problems that need to be addressed. One of the features of each village is the intense connection among the inhabitants. That phenomenon is now present globally, which is the essence of globalisation. That implies a global responsibility that must be implemented on the one hand by communities and the other by individuals, especially those who serve in the service of community — politicians. The crucial question arises, “How to define the responsibility of one and the others?” It is evident that at the top of the pyramid, there are major planetary problems whose solutions require the cooperation of all nations and countries. The straightforward phrase “Think globally, act locally”, expresses the rule of the fundamental game of the global world and its diversity — a possible ethic of sustainable development. (shrink)

Classical, selectionist (adaptationist) evolutionary epistemology of science draws an analogy between development of science and natural selection. But natural selection immediately increases only the relative fitness of organisms with regard to specific and changing environment. Therefore evolutionary epistemology of science is exploited (by van Fraassen in particular) against scientific realism which presumes existence of absolute scientific progress as an approach to truth. In modern biology in order to explain absolute evolutionary progress nonadaptationist, nonselectionist models based on a passive trend mechanism (...) (a random walk limited by walls) were worked out, the ratchet model in particular. This paper suggests nonadaptationist extension of evolutionary epistemology of science, namely the ratchet model of scientific progress and illustrates it by history of thermodynamics. This model enables to combine realistic concept of scientific progress as an approach to truth with antirealistic concept of scientific development as an improvement of problem-solving ability: the former is ascribed to scientific dynamics on a global scale and the latter on a local. (shrink)