Decisions where there is not enough information for a well-informed decision due to unidentified consequences, options, or undetermined demarcation of the decision problem are called decisions under great uncertainty. This paper argues that public policy decisions on _how_ and _if_ to implement decision-making processes based on machine learning and AI for public use are such decisions. Decisions on public policy on AI are uncertain due to three features specific to the current landscape of AI, namely (i) the vagueness of the (...) definition of AI, (ii) uncertain outcomes of AI implementations and (iii) pacing problems. Given that many potential applications of AI in the public sector concern functions central to the public sphere, decisions on the implementation of such applications are particularly sensitive. Therefore, it is suggested that public policy-makers and decision-makers in the public sector can adopt strategies from the argumentative approach in decision theory to mitigate the established great uncertainty. In particular, the notions of framing and temporal strategies are considered. (shrink)

We apply some tools developed in categorical logic to give an abstract description of constructions used to formalize constructive mathematics in foundations based on intensional type theory. The key concept we employ is that of a Lawvere hyperdoctrine for which we describe a notion of quotient completion. That notion includes the exact completion on a category with weak finite limits as an instance as well as examples from type theory that fall apart from this.

Since the 1970s, many Anglo-American studies have investigated the theme of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its costs and benefits. Most studies have tried to test, largely in samples of multiple industries, the relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP). These analyses, however, have produced conflicting results and any attempt to give a generalized and coherent conclusion has proved inadequate. This article examines the ways CSP can be proxied and investigates the possible relationship between CSP (measured (...) by ethical rating) and CFP (measured by market and accounting ratios) in the banking sector using correlation methodology. It emerges that there is no statistically significant link between CSP and CFP. (shrink)

The proliferation of for-profit enterprises offering stem cell storage services for personal use illustrates one of the ways health is increasingly governed through uncertainty and speculative notions of risk. Without any firm guarantee of therapeutic utility, commercial stem cell banks offer to store a range of bodily tissues, signalling the further transformation of the living body into an accumulation strategy within biotechnology capitalism’s ‘tissue economies’. This article makes two related claims: first, it suggests that specifically gendered forms of identification with (...) the leading edge of the bioeconomy are embedded in the speculative practices of commercial stem cell banking and are particularly visible in the recent creation of a banking service for endometrial tissue marketed directly to women. Second, the article offers a novel analytic through which to explore the commercial banking of one’s own bodily tissues (or ‘autologous’ banking) through Marx’s discussion of money hoarding. The aim of the article is to thus further the conceptual claims linking emergent forms of economic and biomedical subjectivity to transformations in biotechnology capital. (shrink)

Este trabajo muestra una concurrencia patente en la resonancia de las categorías ‘industria cultural’ [Kulturindustrie] –empleada por Theodor Adorno para indicar ciertas zonas de la dialéctica subjetiva– e ‘industria de recreo’ [Vergnügungsindustrie] –referida por Walter Benjamin en relación a la dialéctica objetiva–. Me detengo en esta poco explorada concomitancia para determinar por qué Adorno evidencia una dialéctica de la subjetividad administrada en la renuncia sacrificial y Benjamin elabora una dialéctica de la objetividad fetichizada signada por su carácter de fantasmagoría cadavérica. (...) Así, señalo una dimensión de la incardinación entre la veta expansiva de la racionalidad moderna y la instrumentalización de sujetos y objetos. (shrink)

Este livro é o resultado de um estudo sobre a teoria da montagem cinematográfica.

Se busca rastrear la imagen que Platón tiene de Heráclito y articularla con la estructura argumentativa del Cratilo, para comprender las necesidades textuales a las que responde la doctrina del flujo perpetuo, es decir, la discusión sobre la corrección (ὀρθότης) del nombre. Gracias a la inclusión del testimonio heraclíteo, resulta posible rastrear la presunta consolidación de la tesis sobre los nombres primarios y los secundarios como el eje de la separación entre dos planos de realidad (uno estable y uno móvil) (...) y de la teoría de las Ideas -es decir, como la base de la epistemología platónica presente en los diálogos de madurez-. The article seeks to trace the image Plato has of Heraclitus and connect it with the argumentative structure of the Cratylus in order to understand the textual needs that give rise to the doctrine of perpetual flux, that is, the discussion regarding the correctness (ὀρθότης) of names. The inclusion of Heraclitus's testimony makes it possible to trace the alleged consolidation of the thesis regarding primary and secondary names as the axis of separation between two levels of reality (one stable, the other, changing) and the theory of Ideas -that is, as the basis of Plato's epistemology as set forth in the late dialogues-. (shrink)

Ce travail pretend faire reflechir à propos de la question de l'impunite des autorites de L'Etat face aux violations des droits de l'homme. On abordera cet egard: a) le role de I'amnistie b)le complicite des autoritesadministratives c) la lenteur des procedures judicieuse. L'analyse de cette question montre qui L'impunite des responsables des violations des droits de l'homme fait peser une menace sur I'ensemble du systeme de protection universelle des droits de l'homme. On peut on conduire qu 'aucune societe que aspire (...) à la democratie et a la justice ne peut se construire sur I'amoralite des crimes impunis et I'amnesie officielle. (shrink)

A celebrated study of the origins of ancient Greek philosophy, now in English for the first time How can we talk about the beginnings of philosophy today? How can we avoid the conventional opposition of mythology and the dawn of reason and instead explore the multiple styles of thought that emerged between them? In this acclaimed book, available in English for the first time, Maria Michela Sassi reconstructs the intellectual world of the early Greek "Presocratics" to provide a richer understanding (...) of the roots of what used to be called "the Greek miracle." The beginnings of the long process leading to philosophy were characterized by intellectual diversity and geographic polycentrism. In the sixth and fifth centuries BC, between the Asian shores of Ionia and the Greek city-states of southern Italy, thinkers started to reflect on the cosmic order, elaborate doctrines on the soul, write in solemn Homeric meter, or, later, abandon poetry for an assertive prose. And yet the Presocratics whether the Milesian natural thinkers, the rhapsode Xenophanes, the mathematician and "shaman" Pythagoras, the naturalist and seer Empedocles, the oracular Heraclitus, or the inspired Parmenides all shared an approach to critical thinking that, by questioning traditional viewpoints, revolutionized knowledge. A unique study that explores the full range of early Greek thinkers in the context of their worlds, the book also features a new introduction to the English edition in which the author discusses the latest scholarship on the subject. (shrink)

Situating narrative: philosophical and theological context -- Ethical being: the storied self as moral agent -- Reconciled being: narrative and pardon -- Pedagogies of pardon in praxis -- Towards a narrative pedagogy of reconciliation -- Ricoeur's legacy: A Praxis of Peace.

The Ashgate Research Companion to Cosmopolitanism pursues distinct theoretical orientations and empirical analyses, bringing together mainstream discussions ...

In recent years there has been renewed interest in the participation of lay people in regulatory procedures. The debate peaked in the 1980s with the anti-nuclear movements and again more recently as a reaction to the food scandals of the mid-1990s. In the wake of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) crisis there has been a proliferation of European Community rules on the production, processing and retailing of food products, along with the multiplication of scientific committees in order to cope with (...) increased ... (shrink)

This chapter argues that the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation undermined the Christian consensus that unaided human reason could prove God’s existence. As a consequence the issue of the provability of God in principle gained new prominence and had to be addressed in the first instance before entering the discussion of specific proofs of His existence. On the basis of the answers given to the preliminary question of the provability of God’s existence, the chapter discusses eighteenth-century reformulations of a priori (...) and a posteriori arguments for the existence of God, as well as new directions taken by natural theology in the late eighteenth century. (shrink)

The article deals with the main apocalyptic themes and motives in the modern religious literature of Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day of Adventists. The relevance of the apocalyptic perspective in the light of the acute problems of the present, in particular, in the context of the global world situation, is indicated. Author analyzed global problems in accordance with certain Biblical signs of "time of the end", apocalyptic feelings and expectations in the religious literature of Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day of Adventists. A (...) comparative analysis reveals the common and distinctive features of apocalyptic themes, plots and moods in the religious literature of Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-day of Adventists. In this research author used general scientific and special methods. The main research approach was the systematic approach, which allowed integrating the diversity of the investigated material into apocalyptic problems in the field of philosophy and theology in order to carry out a coherent definition of the main themes and motifs in the Protestant literature. A comparative method was also used in this research. The main ideas in the religious literature of Jehovah's Witnesses in this context are: the proclamation of the Second Coming of Christ on Earth during the crisis periods; emphasis on the Millennial Kingdom in the Sky, the opposition of secular power to the Divine Structure. Seventh-day Adventist сoncept: judgment, Second Coming of Jesus Christ, first resurrection and ascension of saints; Armageddon, the devastation of the earth and the destruction of the wicked; Millennial kingdom of the righteous in heaven; The second resurrection and the last judgment; New Land. (shrink)

In his commentary of Dionysius the Areopagite’s Mystical Theology Albert the Great outlines the allegorical exegesis of Moses’ ascent of the mount as a way to the unknown God. Step by step Moses has to purify himself, to leave behind his natural knowledge. Separated from all human beings he alone proceeds to the cloud of unknown. At last the infusion of divine light lets him know God through negations. The normal, human way of knowing God is limited, so the mind (...) should attain the paradox of knowing in unknowing. Albert claims that all we cannot properly predicate by names obtained from things known to us, is best indicated by negations. The peak described by Dionysius as union, Albert shows to be intellectual perfection. Guided by divine illumination man contemplates the Trinitarian God. Thus contemplation supports any theological investigation. Descending the mountain, as Albert says in his Summa, Moses spoke to the people. Likewise after contemplation the theologian has to illumine others about what he... (shrink)

Aphasia is a complex disorder, frequent after stroke (with an incidence of 38%), with a detailed pathophysiological characterization. Effective approaches are crucial for devising an efficient rehabilitative strategy, in order to address the everyday life and professional disability. Several rehabilitative procedures are based on psycholinguistic, cognitive, psychosocial or pragmatic approaches, including amongst those with a neurobehavioral approach the Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT). Van Eeckhout’s adaptation of MIT to French language (Melodic-Rhythmic Therapy: MRT) has implemented the training strategy by adding a (...) rhythmic structure reproducing French prosody. The purpose of this study was to adapt MRT rehabilitation procedures to Italian language and to verify its efficacy in a group of six chronic patients (five males) with severe non-fluent aphasia and without specific aphasic treatments during the previous 9 months. The patients were treated 4 days a week for 16 weeks, with sessions of 30–40 min. They were assessed 6 months after the end of the treatment (follow-up). The patients showed a significant improvement at the Aachener Aphasie Test (AAT) in different fields of spontaneous speech, with superimposable results at the follow-up. Albeit preliminary, these findings support the use of MRT in the rehabilitation after stroke. Specifically, MRT seems to benefit from its stronger structure than the available stimulation-facilitation procedures and allows a better quantification of the rehabilitation efficacy. (shrink)

Los niños con trastorno por déficit de atención con hiperactividad presentan alteraciones en el desarrollo de la función ejecutiva que se traducen en dificultades del control atencional y de la flexibilidad cognitiva. Considerando la complejidad de los procesos involucrados en la comprensión de lectura y el papel fundamental que en ellos cumple la función ejecutiva, puede esperarse que los niños con TDAH presenten diferencias en su desempeño lector en comparación con sus pares sin TDAH. El presente estudio, de carácter correlacional-predictivo, (...) tiene como propósito determinar si tales diferencias de comprensión lectora existen realmente y si es posible predecirlas a partir de la función ejecutiva. Para ello se seleccionaron 71 escolares de tercer y cuarto año de enseñanza básica y se les evaluó la habilidad de comprensión de lectura, el reconocimiento de palabras, la amplitud de la memoria de trabajo verbal, el control atencional y la velocidad de procesamiento. Con el fin de determinar qué variables tenían capacidad para predecir el nivel de comprensión de los escolares se aplicó un análisis de regresión logística binaria. Los resultados ponen en evidencia que el TDAH afecta significativamente el desempeño lector de los escolares y que las variables vinculadas a la función ejecutiva, especialmente la memoria de trabajo, son buenos predictores del rendimiento en comprensión de lectura. (shrink)

The individual, as an actor in the social world, relies on “a stock of knowledge at hand”. However, he also addresses the cultural and historic forms of validity based on the perspectives of his own interests, reasons and wishes, ambitions, religious and ideological commitments. In this sense, not only does the social world constitute the main scene of our actions but also the locus of resistance. These days of highly social complexity and growing cultural interaction mobilize different identification and differentiation (...) processes. In extraordinary situations of change, such as migration for reasons of work or study, or reasons of political or allegedly religious exile, a reformulation of socio-cultural spaces occurs, which is coupled with a rupture of social connections of support and belonging. This refers to a lifestyle under a “transience” status, which may last, in certain cases, all life long. The “place of roots” fails and the subject ends up feeling a stranger even in its own spaces. In this sense, the foreigner’s right to hospitality resides precisely in not being considered the absolute other, the barbarian, the savage who is absolutely excluded and heterogeneous, but in being someone whose identity should be guaranteed. Upon answering this requirement, the foreigner undertakes responsibility before the law and before its hosts: the foreigner becomes “a subject of rights”. (shrink)

This article discusses Aristotle’s doctrine of intellectual virtues in Nicomachean Ethics. The author describes all the intellectual virtues that Aristotle indicates, but mainly focuses on some “secondary” virtues that clarify the concept of reasonableness, with a detailed unpacking of the concepts of “consideration” and “consideration for others”. In addition to commenting on the interrelation of the moral and intellectual virtues, the article also shows why Aristotle must recognize “natural virtues” along with the virtues in the substantive sense of the word.

Abortion has become such an indispensable part of contemporary experience that even Christians sometimes find it difficult to oppose. Since taking the life in utero has ceased to be regarded as a grave sin and is not always recognized as an unmitigated evil, those who wish to remain faithful to the Word of God struggle to find ways of speaking against killing of the unborn. Some of them, like Erika Bachiochi, seek to beat modern culture at its own game, by (...) representing Catholic teaching on human sexuality as a “right kind” of feminism. However, in her appeal to secular rationality, foregoing the metaphysical commitments of faith and replacing them with the consequentialist reasoning and data from scientific research, she thereby renders her alternative unviable and un-Christian. In response to this failure, I would like to present some Orthodox Christian considerations pointing toward a more wholesome and consistent way forward. (shrink)

Relacionándose directamente con el pensamiento griego, que consideraba la etimología como conocimiento del ‘verdadero’ sentido de las palabras, la búsqueda del origen supone una actitud que explique la naturaleza de las cosas a través de la interpretación del lenguaje. Aspecto puramente filosófico, el de relacionar significata y designata, que en la época moderna adquiere un sentido histórico: hacer de la etimología una verdadera historia de palabras a través de etapas documentales y documentables, tanto en la evolución morfofonemática como en la (...) semántica, llevando a la reconstrucción de estructuras o verdaderos sistemas (Zamboni, 1989: 1). Establecer génesis, entrada a la lengua y cronología, por tanto, resulta imprescindible.La etimología tiene su mejor representación en la lexicografía. Es en el diccionario etimológico donde encuentra su natural e inevitable desarrollo, con el fin de registrar y fundamentar de manera científica el origen de las palabras; no obstante, la información etimológica está presente también en algunos diccionarios generales sincrónicos, ya sean descriptivos o normativos, y obedece mayoritariamente al concepto de etimología-origen, que aporta noticias sobre la raíz léxica, la procedencia y la composición de la palabra. De hecho, muchos de los diccionarios modernos ofrecen una indicación etimológica y, aunque a veces contienen forzosamente etimologías inciertas, satisfacen el deseo del lector de conocer, entre otras cosas, el origen de la voz que buscan.Aproximarnos a las principales obras españolas que aportan la información sobre el origen de la palabra y ver cómo ha evolucionado la percepción sobre dicha historia es el cometido de este trabajo. (shrink)

El consumo mediático a través de diferentes redes sociales forma parte de la cultura digital adolescente. Este artículo tiene como objetivo describir la propuesta metodológica cualitativa construida para conocer las influencias de las Tecnologías de la Relación, Información y Comunicación en un grupo-aula de Educación Primaria desde una perspectiva de género. Se utiliza un planteamiento etnográfico en el que se aplican diferentes técnicas de recogida de información como la observación participante, las asambleas o las sesiones de experimentación y creación mediática. (...) Finalmente, se ofrece una aproximación a resultados a modo de revisión exploratoria del trabajo de campo. (shrink)

International Journal of Philosophical Studies, Volume 20, Issue 2, Page 163-164, May 2012.