Why is there something rather than nothing? About this storied question we challenge the commonly accepted main assumption: the existence of something. Starting from Nothing only, we explain how our perceived reality emerges as an illusory self-referential interpretation of Nothing and build a framework to give precise definitions to fundamental concepts such as existence, reality, nothingness and somethingness. We then explore the consequences of this framework and we discover an explanation for the existence of laws of physics in our illusory (...) reality. By aiming to describe reality starting with Nothing, we provide the first instance of an assumption-less theory. (shrink)

In this paper, I offer a systematic account of Kant’s view on ‘phenomenal substance’. Several studies have recently analysed Kant’s notion of substance. However, I submit that more needs to be said about how this notion is reconceptualized within the critical framework to vindicate a genuine and legitimate sense of substance in the phenomenal realm. More specifically, I show that Kant’s transcendental idealism does not commit him to a rejection of substantiality in phenomena. Rather, Kant isolates a general notion of (...) substance (as ultimate subject) and argues that (i) the relationality of phenomena is compatible with this notion; and that (ii) matter and all its parts are the ultimate subjects of everything existing in space (as what is independently movable in space). I suggest that vindicating a genuine and legitimate notion of phenomenal substance has far-ranging consequences for the interpretation of Kant’s empirical realism. (shrink)

Despite recent essentialist approaches to Kant’s laws of nature, it is unclear whether Kant’s critical philosophy is compatible with core tenets of essentialism. In this paper, I first reconstruct Kant’s position by identifying the key metaphysical and epistemological features of his notion of ‘nature’ or ‘essence’. Two theses about natures can be found in the literature, namely that they are noumenal in character (_noumenal thesis_) and that they guide scientific investigation as regulative ideas of reason (_regulative thesis_). I argue that (...) Kant’s notion of nature does not entail the noumenal thesis and, based on his model of causal explanation, I propose a novel, _phenomenal thesis_, that allows for a better understanding of the function of natures as regulative ideas. In the last part of the paper, I show that Kant’s ‘essentialism’ is a genuine form of essentialism committed to _de re_ modality, although it differs in several respects from major contemporary essentialist accounts. I conclude by suggesting that Kant’s essentialism (if appropriately updated) can be relevant to the contemporary debate, which has so far been dominated by Humean and Aristotelian proposals. (shrink)

The use of statistical methods to model gravitational systems is crucial to physics practice, but the extent to which thermodynamics and statistical mechanics genuinely apply to these systems is a contentious issue. This paper provides new conceptual foundations for gravitational thermodynamics by reconsidering the nature of key concepts like equilibrium and advancing a novel way of understanding thermodynamics. The challenges arise from the peculiar characteristics of the gravitational potential, leading to non-extensive energy and entropy, negative heat capacity, and a lack (...) of standard equilibrium. Hence it has been claimed that only non-equilibrium statistical mechanics is warranted in this domain, whereas thermodynamics is inapplicable. We argue instead that equilibrium statistical mechanics applies to self-gravitating systems at the relevant scale, as they display equilibrium in the form of metastable quasi-equilibrium states. We then develop a minimal framework for thermodynamics that can be applied to these systems and beyond. Thermodynamics applies in the sense that we can devise macroscopic descriptions and explanations of the behaviour of these systems in terms of coarse-grained quantities like energy and temperature within equilibrium statistical mechanics. (shrink)

Este artículo pretende analizar la teoría moral que J. Rawls propuso en su famosa obra A Tbeory of Justice (1971). Este análisis se hace tratando tres conceptos básicos de la moral, como son bien, deber y virtud. Tales conceptos muestran que la visión del hombre y de la ética que Rawls propone es individualista, rasgo que dificulta seriamente la pretensión de universalidad que el autor dio a su teoría moral y política.

In the Critique of Pure Reason, Kant often remarks that phenomena consist only in relations. This is a highly puzzling thesis that is not easily reconcilable with the explanation of natural processes. More specifically, it is not clear whether and how a network of mere relations (such as ‘being higher than’, ‘being next to’, etc.) can give rise to genuine changes in nature. I call this the problem of global relationality. In this paper, I suggest a solution to this problem (...) by showing that Kant’s specific sense of relationality is ultimately grounded in the spatiality of phenomena and differs from the one usually assumed in the contemporary debate. I argue that a subset of empirical properties can be regarded as ‘comparatively intrinsic’ since they preserve a genuine sense of intrinsicness while being fully relational in space. As a result, real changes can take place in the phenomenal realm if they concern comparatively intrinsic properties of empirical objects. (shrink)

The use of statistical methods to model gravitational systems is crucial to physics practice, but the extent to which thermodynamics and statistical mechanics genuinely apply to these systems is a contentious issue. This paper provides new conceptual foundations for gravitational thermodynamics by reconsidering the nature of key concepts like equilibrium and advancing a novel way of understanding thermodynamics. The challenges arise from the peculiar characteristics of the gravitational potential, leading to non-extensive energy and entropy, negative heat capacity, and a lack (...) of standard equilibrium. Hence it has been claimed that only non-equilibrium statistical mechanics is warranted in this domain, whereas thermodynamics is inapplicable. We argue instead that equilibrium statistical mechanics applies to self-gravitating systems at the relevant scale, as they display equilibrium in the form of metastable quasi-equilibrium states. We then develop a minimal framework for thermodynamics that can be applied to these systems and beyond. Thermodynamics applies in the sense that we can devise macroscopic descriptions and explanations of the behaviour of these systems in terms of coarse-grained quantities like energy and temperature within equilibrium statistical mechanics. (shrink)

According to dispositionalism, objects possess genuine powers. This paper argues that the signature claim of dispositionalism can only be articulated with the help of intensionally opaque linguistic resources. This bears a twofold consequence. Firstly, standard non-humility arguments against modal quidditism support too weak of a conclusion to be of use for the dispositionalist. Secondly, if the dispositionalist wishes their position about the powerful nature of properties to be a metaphysically substantive one, they will have to endorse the claim that at (...) least some hyperintensionality has a non-representational source. This adds a new layer of complexity to the discussion: for the legitimacy of the dispositionalism vs. categoricalism debate, as a substantive debate about which kind of property is instantiated in the physical world, rests on the assumption that reality itself is finer-grained than modality. Interestingly, dispositionalism is also able to provide a compelling solution to the unique issues raised by a hyperintensional account of properties, and one in line with their philosophical sensibilities. (shrink)

When the Canonical Ramsey’s Theorem by Erdős and Rado is applied to regressive functions, one obtains the Regressive Ramsey’s Theorem by Kanamori and McAloon. Taylor proved a “canonical” version of Hindman’s Theorem, analogous to the Canonical Ramsey’s Theorem. We introduce the restriction of Taylor’s Canonical Hindman’s Theorem to a subclass of the regressive functions, the $$\lambda $$ λ -regressive functions, relative to an adequate version of min-homogeneity and prove some results about the Reverse Mathematics of this Regressive Hindman’s Theorem and (...) of natural restrictions of it. In particular we prove that the first non-trivial restriction of the principle is equivalent to Arithmetical Comprehension. We furthermore prove that the well-ordering-preservation principle for base-$$\omega $$ ω exponentiation is reducible to this same principle by a uniform computable reduction. (shrink)

The Price equation provides a comprehensive representation of evolutionary processes. Since its original formulation by George Price, it has been used to model a variety of phenomena in quantitative genetics and related fields. However, there is no consensus on the explanatory power of the equation. In this article we aim to clarify its place within modern evolutionary theory. To this end, we first state the basic concepts from which the Price equation can be derived as a theorem. From this axiomatization, (...) we conclude that the Price equation is not explanatory in itself. It merely provides a phenomenological description of evolutionary processes. We argue that its role is analogous to that of Galilean kinematics in classical mechanics. Both the Price equation and Galilean kinematics function as conceptual frameworks that define the basic features of the behavior of a class of systems. Practitioners are encouraged to theorize further on these frameworks to find the possible explanation of this behavior in various specific scenarios. Thus, despite its phenomenological character, the Price equation integrates different fields of evolutionary biology by providing a common formalization of their shared explanandum. (shrink)

According to Bird’s Naïve Dispositional Monism, all properties are powers, and are individuated by their manifestations. Lowe has famously challenged the position with an individuation regress or circularity argument. Bird has then offered a structuralist side-step in the form of Structuralist Dispositional Monism, according to which powers are individuated through the unique position they occupy in an asymmetric power-structure. However, Structuralist Dispositional Monism has been argued to be just as problematic as Naïve Dispositional Monism, if not more so.I argue that (...) the debate is severely flawed to the extent that it relies on Lowe’s standard characterization of metaphysical individuation as a binary relation between objects. I will argue against this characterization in favor of a different one, either as a standard or sui generis explanatory relation of individuality facts. In the former case, Naïve Dispositional Monism is clear of all charges previously raised against it; whereas in the latter case, Structuralist Dispositional Monism works just fine; Structuralist Dispositional Monism may ultimately be argued to the be the superior option. Either way, the status of Dispositional Monism, vis à vis individuation circularities, is not as compromised as some have claimed—and Lowe’s intended way out (viz., allow for some non-power to eventually break the circularity) loses much of its appeal. (shrink)

(2006). Introduction. World Futures: Vol. 62, No. 3, pp. 153-156.

Firstly, this contribution proposes to address synthographies – images generated through Text-to-image technologies – by deepening the epistemological shift related to the possibility of transposing the image-creation process from the analogue arts to the notational ones (or, by drawing on Nelson Goodman's terminology, from the “autographic” to the “allographic” forms of art). Secondly, the paper highlights how synthographies can be considered partly autographic and partly allographic, since the linguistic prompts constitute only the notational aspect of the generated images. Furthermore, this (...) contribution argues that the recent critiques around such images, which referenced aspects related to the absence of authorial presence and mechanicality, characterised the history of photography since its beginning. Finally, the contribution explores how the possibility to create synthographies that are almost indistinguishable from photographies easily might further separate the interaction between the detective and the depictive functions to the advantage of the latter, erasing what remains of the visual reliability and documental value of images. (shrink)

This article examines a complex passage of Aristotle's Physics in which a Pythagorean doctrine is explained by means of a mathematical example involving gnomons. The traditional interpretation of this passage (proposed by Milhaud and Burnet) has recently been challenged by Ugaglia and Acerbi, who have proposed a new one. The aim of this article is to analyse difficulties in their account and to advance a new interpretation. All attempts at interpreting the passage so far have assumed that ‘gnomons’ should indicate (...) ‘odd numbers’. In this article it is argued that the usage of ‘gnomon’ related to polygonal numbers, which is normally considered late, could be backdated to at least the fifth/fourth centuries b.c.; in particular, it explains the link between the philosophical explanandum and the mathematical explanans in Aristotle's passage. (shrink)

In greco antico, i composti che presentino come secondo costituente un sostantivo formato con il suffisso -σις sono molto rari e godono di scarse attestazioni: la maggior parte, infatti, è rappresentata in realtà da derivati da lessemi già composti, soprattutto verbi. Nonostante il significato prototipico dei nomi semplici in -σις sia eventivo, la semantica dei nomi composti in -σις non derivati è perlopiù risultativo-strumentale, per slittamento metonimico; questo fatto è confermato dal comportamento sintattico dei composti in -σις, più vicino a (...) quello dei nomi puri, e quindi generalmente privo di una struttura argomentale. Il secondo costituente di alcuni composti in -σις non è attestato in isolamento, ma l’intero composto è comunque considerabile endocentrico dal punto di vista categoriale. Il suffisso -σις, scarsamente produttivo in composizione, viene sostituito in quest'ambito da suffissi che rientrano nella declinazione tematica, in particolare da -σία, supplendovi invece nella creazione di nomi semplici, in un rapporto analogo a quello che si può evidenziare rispettivamente, nel campo dei nomi d'agente, fra i suffissi -τήρ/-τωρ e -της. (shrink)

This book presents a novel interpretation of Hume as a proponent of sentimental virtue ethics. This interpretation sheds light on the nature of Hume's ethics, as well as its relevance for contemporary debates in moral philosophy. The book starts by developing an understanding of the self in Hume based on the passion of pride. Contrary to the common view that Hume denies the unity of the self by diluting it into a bundle or collection of different perceptions, the author argues (...) that, by focusing on pride, it is possible to identify in Hume a firm notion of the self as having a sentimental nature that can be explained in narrative terms. Pivoting on this narrative self, he shows how it accounts for the Humean notion of the virtuous person by holding together in a harmonious whole several central issues in Hume's moral philosophy, including sympathy, the point of view from which we make moral judgements, the practical nature of ethics and the role that reflection plays in it, and the definition of perfect character. Finally, the author maintains that Humean virtue ethics, so understood, has the individual at its core, representing a secular and pluralist alternative to neo-Aristotelian versions discussed today The Proud Self will appeal to scholars and graduate students working on Hume, 18th-century philosophy, virtue ethics, and moral psychology. (shrink)

This is the first volume of a new edition of Plotin's works, adapted for the modern age and with updated bibliographies, notes, and apparatus. It also contains an extensive introduction to Plotin's philosophy, demonstrating in particular its distance from the later phase of Neoplatonism. French text.

Bas Van Fraassen is a nifty philosopher of science. He received his PhD in Pittsburgh in 1966, under the guidance of Adolf Grünbaum, he taught at Yale University, the university of Toronto, the University of Southern California, he has been McCosh Professor of Philosophy in Princeton, and eventually joined the department of philosophy at San Francisco State University, where he has the title of Distinguished Professor of Philosophy. He first gained attention with his book An Introduction to the Philosophy of (...) Time and Space where he tried to develop a formal theory of space and time based on the notion of causality. The book had an enormous legacy, with experts of the likes of John Earman and David Malament joining the debate. However, he achieved V.I.P. status with his classic The Scientific Image, where he defends a combination of empiricism and antirealism towards unobservable entities based on a re-definition of what the scientific enterprise is. His last achievement is the tome Scientific Representation: Paradoxes of Perspectives, where he combines his scientific empiricism with the view that theories are best thought as models or structures, rather than sets of sentences. In this interview, we talk about his philosophical influences and the birth of The Scientific Image during a journey through North-Africa, Turkey and Eastern Europe, we talk about saving the phenomena and suspending judgement over the existence of unobservable entities, living in world full of mysteries and leaving unanswerable questions unanswered, rationality and irrationality, living in a simulation, the historical interplay between theorizing and experimenting, the meaning of particle detectors for an empiricist, the unity of science and physicalism, the condemnation of Galilei by the Church, and the distinction between Appearance and Reality…. (shrink)

Ecological developmental biology considers the phenotype as actively produced through an environmentally informed process of individual development, rather than predetermined by the genotype. Accordingly, the genotype is viewed as one among many interactants that contribute formative elements; it is understood to do so no differently from the way other organism-internal and environmental resources do. Although the EcoDevo approach is evidently particularly apt to inform approaches to human development, which mostly takes shape in rich cultural environments, it is remarkable that, at (...) least within some highly influential circles of the linguistic sciences, the study of many distinctive human cognitive traits including language remains strongly anchored to a preformationist stance. This article brings an EcoDevo approach to the biologically focused study of language to argue that an aspect of language design commonly assumed to be “blueprinted,” namely, the lexicon-syntax interface, may instead be explained as a plastic effect of ongoing developmental processes in the mind of the child, in which designated aspects of the environment fulfill a key constructive role. (shrink)

Voces técnicas mínimas que forman el lenguaje filosófico, extraídas de los libros de Filosofía de Bachillerato, Ética y textos de COU.

Ce texte est originellement paru dans la Revue Rursus. Poétique, réception et réécriture des textes antiques, le 3 octobre 2017. Nous remercions Laurent Calvié, Arnaud Zucker et la revue Rursus de nous avoir autorisé à le reproduire ici. Résumé : On a aujourd'hui tendance à souligner les libertés qu'auraient prises Martianus Capella en traduisant la rythmique d'Aristide Quintilien : on hésite même à considérer le premier comme un traducteur du second. Cela - Études grecques et latines.

Theoretical and manipulative abduction conjectures and manipulations : the extra-theoretical dimension of scientific discovery. -- Non-explanatory and instrumental abduction : plausibility, implausibility, ignorance preservation. -- Semiotic brains and artificial minds : how brains make up material cognitive systems. -- Neuromultimodal abduction : pre-wired brains, embidiment, neurospaces. -- Animal abduction : from mindless organisms to srtifactual mediators. -- Abduction, affordances, and cognitive niches : sharing representations and creating chances through cognitive niche construction. -- Abduction in human and logical agents : hasty (...) generalizers, hybrid abducers, fallacies. -- Morphodynamical abduction : causation of hypotheses by attractors dynamics. (shrink)

La référence au Fichte du Discours à la nation allemande est présente dans la double genèse de la social-démocratie allemande, chez Marx-Engels, et chez Lassalle. Cet article revient d’abord sur un débat trop peu connu sur la consubstantialité entre idéalisme fichtéen, unification et renforcement de l’Allemagne impériale, et social-démocratie. Celle-ci, plutôt louée par Jaurès dès 1891, est critiquée par Andler pour qui l’Allemagne, en 1918 comme après, demeure un Reich (et non une république) où la révolution, qu’elle soit bourgeoise ou (...) prolétarienne, est impossible. On examine ensuite la différence, chez Engels puis chez Kautsky, entre leur appréciation du nationalisme tchèque (perçu comme opposition à la domination austro-germanique) et celle du nationalisme polonais (confronté à la Russie), pour mettre en question qu’y soit en jeu « le seul intérêt de la révolution » (Engels), sans égard à celui des puissances « centrales » de 1914. On suit enfin les traces du débat Andler-Jaurès dans un clivage récurrent parmi les socialistes français sur la question allemande et européenne : Guerre d’Espagne, Munich, Collaboration et Résistance, CED, Traité de Maastricht et Constitution européenne. En 1989-1990, la « chute du Mur » et l’unification allemande résultent d’une poussée nationaliste qui, jointe à la dislocation du système soviétique, s’est particulièrement répercutée sur une Yougoslavie détruite sous l’effet d’une politique européenne d’inspiration largement allemande. (shrink)