Young children interpret some acts performed by adults as normatively governed, that is, as capable of being performed either rightly or wrongly. In previous experiments, children have made this interpretation when adults introduced them to novel acts with normative language (e.g. ‘this is the way it goes’), along with pedagogical cues signaling culturally important information, and with social-pragmatic marking that this action is a token of a familiar type. In the current experiment, we exposed children to novel actions with no (...) normative language, and we systematically varied pedagogical and social-pragmatic cues in an attempt to identify which of them, if either, would lead children to normative interpretations. We found that young 3-year-old children inferred normativity without any normative language and without any pedagogical cues. The only cue they used was adult socialpragmatic marking of the action as familiar, as if it were a token of a well-known type (as opposed to performing it, as if inventing it on the spot). These results suggest that – in the absence of explicit normative language – young children interpret adult actions as normatively governed based mainly on the intentionality (perhaps signaling conventionality) with which they are performed. (shrink)

This paper investigates the logic of reasons. Its aim is to provide an analysis of the sentences of the form ‘p is a reason for q’ that yields a coherent account of their logical properties. The idea that we will develop is that ‘p is a reason for q’ is acceptable just in case a suitably defined relation of incompatibility obtains between p and ¬q. As we will suggest, a theory of reasons based on this idea can solve three challenging (...) puzzles that concern, respectively, contraposing reasons, conflicting reasons, and supererogatory reasons, and opens a new perspective on some classical issues concerning non-deductive inferences. (shrink)

This paper develops a formal theory of non-monotonic consequence which differs from most extant theories in that it assumes Contraposition as a basic principle of defeasible reasoning. We define a minimal logic that combines Contraposition with three uncontroversial inference rules, and we prove some key results that characterize this logic and its possible extensions.

The notion of schema has been given a major role by Recanati within his conception of primary pragmatic processes, conceived as a type of associative process. I intend to show that Recanati’s considerations on schemata may challenge the relevance theorist’s argument against associative explanations in pragmatics, and support an argument in favor of associative (versus inferential) explanations. More generally, associative relations can be shown to be schematic, that is, they have enough structure to license inferential effects without any appeal to (...) genuine inferential processes. Associative processes are thus able to explain a number of pragmatic and linguistic phenomena which have instead been thought to require specialized inferential processes. (shrink)

This paper outlines an account of concessive conditionals that rests on two main ideas. One is that the logical form of a sentence as used in a given context is determined by the content expressed by the sentence in that context. The other is that a coherent distinction can be drawn between a reading of ‘if’ according to which a conditional is true when its consequent holds on the supposition that its antecedent holds, and a stronger reading according to which (...) a conditional is true when its antecedent supports its consequent. As we will suggest, the logical form of concessive conditionals can be elucidated by relying on this distinction. (shrink)

Many versions of the ontological argument have two shortcomings: First, despite the arguments put forward, for example, by Hugh Chandler and Nathan Salmon, they assume that S5 is the correct modal logic for metaphysical modality. Second, despite the classical arguments put forward, for example, by David Hume and Immanuel Kant or the more recent arguments put forward, for example, by John Findlay and Richard Swinburne, they assume that necessary existence is possible. The aim of the paper is to develop an (...) alternative version of the ontological argument that, by an appeal to the logic of ‘actually’, avoids these two shortcomings. The version helps to leave aside unnecessary debates about the modal logic S5 or about the possibility of necessary existence and to focus on the actual challenge for the debate about the ontological argument: the challenge to evaluate the claim that it is possible that God exists. (shrink)

Cultured meat is a lab grown product that aims to tackle the cravings of omnivores who struggle to switch to a plant-based diet, while still being friendly to animals and the environment. Possibly, in time, the curiosity to apply this technology towards human meat production will emerge. However, when presented with the thought of eating cultured human meat potential consumers’ reaction greatly varies from pure disgust to indifference to excitement. This instinctive response indicates a lack of preformed judgements towards the (...) topic. Without a clear vision on the possibility of cultured human meat, scattered and uncertain regulations will fail to uphold paramount moral values. The risk is that we would either dig into this option out of excitement, or ban it without convincing motivations. The ethical theories of deontology and consequentialism can be followed to investigate this divisive issue. With an evaluation based on disgust I argue that the deontological perspective is mostly concerned with values of identity and humanness, while with a chain-reaction reasoning I argue that consequentialism would be concerned with health safety, privacy and equality. I conclude that cultured human meat is not acceptable. (shrink)

The aim of this dissertation is to provide an analysis of central concepts in philosophy of science from the perspective of current molecular and developmental research. Each chapter explores the ways in which particular phenomena or discoveries in molecular biology influences our philosophical understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge. The introductory prologue draws some general connections between the various threads, which revolve around two central themes: causation and explanation. Chapter Two identifies a particular type of causal relation which is (...) widespread across the sciences, but cannot be straightforwardly accommodated by extant accounts of causation and causal explanation. Chapter Three explores how the form of redundant causality identified in the previous chapter plays an important role in causal explanation, by making the effect stable and robust. Chapter Four offers a novel perspective on the debate over biological reductionism by distinguishing between different paradigms of molecular explanation. Chapter Five provides a philosophical analysis of the so-called "Developmental Synthesis" of evolutionary and developmental biology, and suggests a general account of scientific unification grounded in the notion of explanatory relevance. Chapter Six offers an account of dispositional properties inspired by mechanisms of gene regulation, according to which dispositions are not properties of entities, but properties that describe the behavior of abstract idealized models. Finally, Chapter Seven scrutinizes the concept of the molecular ecosystem, a metaphor frequently employed by biologists to describe cellular interactions, but seldom articulated in detail. (shrink)

(2013). Distributed intentionality: A model of intentional behavior in humans. Philosophical Psychology: Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 267-290. doi: 10.1080/09515089.2011.641743.

This paper investigates the relationships between two claims about conditionals that are often discussed separately. One is the claim that conditionals express inferences, in the sense that a conditional holds when its consequent can be inferred from its antecedent. The other is the claim that conditionals intuitively obey the characteristic principles of connexive logic. Following a line of thought that goes back to Chrysippus, we suggest that these two claims may coherently be understood as distinct manifestations of a single and (...) more basic idea, namely, that a conditional holds when its antecedent is incompatible with the negation of its consequent. The account of conditionals we propose is based precisely on this idea. (shrink)

El imaginario poético que emerge de la cultura porteña del Pacífico Sur es un producto de la imaginación que responde a un ejercicio escritural histórico. Hacemos un repaso de estas manifestaciones a partir de tres momentos o sensibilidades que construyen una imagen del puerto de Valparaíso. Desde el relato de viaje, el gesto modernista y la narrativa del naturalismo, todos previos a un producto estético-literario mayor, enseñan en su mirada un modo de habitar el puerto que permiten proponer la existencia (...) de una cultura en conflicto con Occidente. Los pasajes de estas manifestaciones no pueden leerse aislados de esa poética del habitar porteño, sino como parte integral de un discurso de frontera que se pronuncia contra el olvido y a favor de la sobrevivencia histórica de estos puertos. (shrink)

In the philosophical and cognitive literature, the word ‘intention’ has been used with a variety of meanings which occasionally have been explicitly distinguished. I claim that an important cause of this polysemy is the fact that intentions are complex entities, endowed with an internal structure, and that sometimes different theories in the field are erroneously presented as if they were in conflict with each other, while they in fact just focus on different aspects of the phenomenon. The debate between Gallese’s (...) embodied simulation theory and Csibra and Gergely’s teleological stance hypothesis is discussed as a case in point, and some misunderstandings occurring in that debate are analyzed. The thesis that intentions are complex entities is argued for by shedding light on the following aspects of intentions: conscious control; perceptual (and not only motoric) representations of end-states; attributions of value to those representations; appreciation of the rational relationships between means and ends. (shrink)

The academic database JSTOR offers more than eleven thousand entries for environmental justice, which become eight hundred limiting our search to the last couple of years. Indeed, those numbers prove that the academic interest for EJ is still remarkable. David Pellow has been one of the most influential scholars in the field; starting with his book Garbage Wars, his publications have substantially contributed to shaping EJ research. As an environmental historian, I have always appreciated his attention to history and, more (...) broadly, his effort to include time as a scale of analysis for EJ research. In a 2005 volume, Pellow and Brulle launched the idea of a new wave... (shrink)

In the present article, I review some evidence that shows how body odor disgust sensitivity plays a central role in the so-called behavioral immune system, a set of processes aimed at detecting, emotionally reacting, and behaviorally avoiding pathogen threats. I also report empirical evidence on how the BODS relates to social attitudes such as authoritarianism, xenophobia, and condemnation of “impure” moral violations. This research is interpreted from an Evolutionary psychology framework.

Tanto frente al avance de los medios electrónicos y las teletransmisiones del siglo XX como frente a la digitalización cibernética del siglo XXI, los diversos campos epistémicos se han encargado de problematizar la relación entre lo perceptivo, lo estético (espacio-tiempo) y los cambios tecnológicos que imponen nuevas prácticas intersubjetivas, comportamientos y modos de subjetivación. En muchos autores surge el uso de un concepto puntual: el sensorium. Ya sea que se proponga un enfoque cultural o una perspectiva específicamente gnoseológica, suele repetirse (...) una referencia de dicha categoría en relación con los cambios de la velocidad y la aceleración de las imágenes, los textos y las comunicaciones; primero en la era de la electrónica analógica y luego en la época digital. El objetivo de este trabajo es exponer una breve sistematización del concepto de sensorium en vistas de una posible definición en tanto unidad de análisis estético-política. Dicha categoría permite, por un lado, pensar la disciplina Estética como pensamiento político; y por el otro, pensar lo político en clave estética. Para ello el texto repasa los diversos sentidos que ha tenido la categoría a lo largo de la historia, según su emergencia en diferentes epistemes. La primera parte recorre ciertos discursos puntuales identificando autores en los cuales se pueden encontrar usos específicos (Newton, Simmel, Benjamin, McLuhan, Kittler, etc.), delineando así una serie de sentidos relacionados con el espacio y el tiempo desde lo estético, lo perceptivo, lo gnoseológico, lo sociológico y lo técnico. A partir de dicho esquema, en la segunda parte se presenta la idea de un “giro sensorial” en los estudios sociopolíticos contemporáneos, donde la idea de sensorium cobra una nueva importancia. Por último, se hace foco en las relaciones conceptuales que se derivan del uso que propone Rancière en torno a la categoría. En base a dicho recorrido el texto busca delinear una serie de elementos para abrir la posibilidad de definir la Estética como el pensamiento del sensorium común; se trata de una unidad de análisis estético-política que funciona como marco teórico para una morfología de lo social en tanto analítica del orden de lo sensible. (shrink)

How should defenders of liberalism think about access to reproductive technologies? Mitochondrial replacement technique (MRT) enables women with pathogenic variations of mitochondrial disease to have children without the fear of transmission. This technology can also allow lesbians, or partners with female-assigned physiology (PFP), to have genetically related offspring. Cavaliere and Palacios-Gonzalez argue that lesbians should be able to access MRT on autonomy grounds. They argue MRT should not be restricted to those with mitochondrial disease because it is non-therapeutic and invokes (...) the Millian harm principle. Yet, Baylis argues that a desire for genetically related offspring is not sufficient to access MRT because it contributes to harmful social narratives about adopted families. I strengthen Cavaliere and Palacios-Gonzalez’s liberal defence by bringing another liberal commitment—equality. Ultimately, I argue that the liberal state must allow PFPs to use MRT. I first show that the use of MRT by PFPs is permissible even if MRT is therapeutic by comparing MRT with cosmetic surgery—that is, social uses of therapeutic interventions are permitted if we are interested in doing so. Borrowing from Dillard, a possible interest is self-replication. Next, I outline and respond to a possible criticism by Baylis—MRT is necessary but not sufficient for self-replication. Ultimately, I show that the liberal state must permit MRT because (a) it provides PFPs with an equal opportunity to experience having genetically related offspring with their partner and (b) contributing to harmful social narratives is insufficient for limiting autonomy. (shrink)

The position of the extreme right within the Italian political system has been modified since 1993. A larger political space became available to the rightwing parties when some of the pillars of the "First Republic" governmental coalitions collapsed. The most representative party of this area, the MSI, is experiencing an ideological and organizational change which started by the assumption of the new label "Alleanza Nazionale". In this article we try to explain why the shape and logic of the clientelistic and (...) partitocratie Italian system can be hold responsible for the success of the MSI and to discuss some organizational, ideological and political aspects of its change into the AN. We also analyze the chances of success for the movements of the populist Radical Right, whose strategy is mainly related to the emergence of the immigration cleavage, in a country were the dissatisfaction for the working of democracy is still widespread. (shrink)

O ensaio investiga a diferença qualitativa do fogo a partir de suas diversas configurações histórico-físicas. Com apoio em concepções de Schrödinger, Margulis & Sagan, Asimov e Prigogine & Stengers, desenvolve-se o problema da conexão entre matéria, vida e espírito por meio da comparação entre conceitos divergentes de entropia. Conclui-se com uma especulação cosmológica a respeito da historicidade da natureza.

Esse artigo parte da arte, da ficção científica e da literatura fantástica para propor uma outra cosmopolítica, divergente daquela que sustentaria, simultaneamente, realismo literário e etnocentrismo ocidental.

- "La piů grande figura religiosa del cristianesimo moderno" č quella di Sebastian Franck, che, perseguitato dai teologi di tutte le Chiese, visse povero ed errabondo, «mantenendo la visione piů viva e luminosa delle grandi veritÀ del cristianesimo ed immedesimandole con la sua personalitÀ e la sua vita». La sua opera maggiore, i Paradoxa, scritta nella scia della mistica medievale germanica, mostra che il cristianesimo consiste essenzialmente di una vita nello spirito, basata su conversione e distacco, indipendentemente da teologie e (...) credenze, da libri sacri, culti, cerimonie e Chiese. (shrink)

Après avoir passé en revue la diversité des politiques nationales en matière de transition énergétique, cet entretien fait le point sur ce que l’Union européenne a déjà pu et pourra apporter aux multiples redimensionnements en cours. Alors que les politiques nationales restent obnubilées par une conception centralisatrice de la production énergétique, le nouveau monde de la parité-réseau et des consommateurs-producteurs redistribue les cartes selon des échelles sensiblement différentes. Une coordination européenne entre initiatives locales peut devenir un atout, pour autant que (...) des mesures de redistribution sachent prévenir une nouvelle « lutte des classes énergétiques » qu’exaspèrent nos inégalités actuelles. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to relate the debate about the status of S4 and S5 as modal logics for metaphysical modality to the debate about the identity of propositions. The necessary truth of the characteristic axioms of S4 and S5 (when interpreted in terms of metaphysical modality) is derived from a view about the identity of propositions, the view that necessarily equivalent propositions are identical.

Name der Zeitschrift: Klio Jahrgang: 99 Heft: 1 Seiten: 278-289.

Anthony Kenny e Orlando Todisco, in due diversi contesti, hanno proposto un originale accostamento tra Wittgenstein e alcuni filosofi francescani. Alla luce di questi studi è possibile chiedersi quale valore possa avere la nozione di francescanesimo wittgensteiniano e quale utilità essa ricopra nell’identificare i caratteri di una filosofia francescana. Nella prima parte considererò l’atteggiamento di Kenny nei confronti di Duns Scoto, le cui tesi, dapprima frettolosamente associate a quelle del neopositivismo, vengono poi adeguatamente contestualizzate all’interno della contrapposizione tra la tradizione (...) neoplatonica-agostiniana e l’aristotelismo radicale nell’Università di Parigi. Nella seconda parte, analizzerò il parallelo suggerito da Todisco tra Wittgenstein e Occam, con particolare attenzione alla filosofia del linguaggio, alla critica alla metafisica e alla nozione di ineffabilità. Dopo aver evidenziato i limiti storiografici di entrambe queste proposte, concluderò sostenendo che il francescanesimo wittgensteiniano non può essere considerato un progetto di ricerca autonomo capace di stabilire delle tesi comuni. Esso comunque non è una mera provocazione, in quanto offre interessanti considerazioni circa una affine modalità di porsi gli interrogativi filosofici da parte di Wittgenstein e dei filosofi francescani. Questo esito permette di identificare alcune condizioni necessarie perché si possa parlare di una filosofia francescana all’interno della storia della filosofia. In two very different contexts, Anthony Kenny and Orlando Todisco have proposed an original combination between Wittgenstein and some Franciscan thinkers. Thanks to their studies it is possible to question the value and the usability of the expression Wittgensteinian Franciscanism in order to identify the features of a Franciscan philosophy. In the first paragraph, I will take the approach of Kenny about Duns Scotus into consideration. At the beginning of his career, Kenny hastily associates Scotus’ theses to the Neo-Positivistic ones, but in his mature works, Kenny adequately contextualizes them within the contrast between, on the one hand, the Neoplatonic-Augustinian tradition and, on the other, the radical Aristotelism held at the Paris University. In the second paragraph, I will study in depth the parallelism suggested by Todisco between Wittgenstein and Occam, paying particular attention to the philosophy of language, to the criticism toward some types of metaphysics, and to the notion of ineffability. After having underlined the historiographic limits of both of these proposals, I will conclude arguing that Wittgensteinian Franciscanism cannot be appreciated as an autonomous research project able to establish common theses. All the same, it is not a mere provocation, in fact it presents interesting considerations about analogous modalities to submit philosophical questions shared between Wittgenstein and Franciscan thinkers. This outcome allows to distinguish some necessary conditions in order to identify a Franciscan philosophy in the history of Western thought. (shrink)