Approximately one in six top economic research papers draws an explicitly causal conclusion. But what do economists mean when they conclude that A 'causes' B? Does 'cause' say that we can influence B by intervening on A, or is it only a label for the correlation of variables? Do quantitative analyses of observational data followed by such causal inferences constitute sufficient grounds for guiding economic policymaking? The Philosophy of Causality in Economics addresses these questions by analyzing the meaning of causal (...) claims made by economists and the philosophical presuppositions underlying the research methods used. The book considers five key causal approaches: the regularity approach, probabilistic theories, counterfactual theories, mechanisms, and interventions and manipulability. Each chapter opens with a summary of literature on the relevant approach and discusses its reception amongst economists. The text details case studies, and goes on to examine papers which have adopted the approach in order to highlight the methods of causal inference used in contemporary economics. It analyses the meaning of the causal claim put forward, and finally reconstructs the philosophical presuppositions accepted implicitly by economists. The strengths and limitations of each method of causal inference are also considered in the context of using the results as evidence for policymaking. This book is essential reading to those interested in literature on the philosophy of economics, as well as the philosophy of causality and economic methodology in general. (shrink)

Making more accurate marketing decisions by managers requires building effective predictive models. Typically, these models specify the probability of customer belonging to a particular category, group or segment. The analytical CRM categories refer to customers interested in starting cooperation with the company, customers who purchase additional products or customers intending to resign from the cooperation. During building predictive models researchers use analytical tools from various disciplines with an emphasis on their best performance. This article attempts to build a hybrid predictive (...) model combining decision trees and cluster analysis. During experiments five different cluster validity indices and eight datasets were used. The performance of models was evaluated by using popular measures such as: accuracy, precision, recall, G-mean, F-measure and lift in the first and in the second decile. The authors tried to find a connection between the number of clusters and models' quality. (shrink)

Dialectical contradictions influence organizational processes in distinct ways and create a unique dynamics in terms of leadership process in entrepreneurialorganizations. We integrate research from charismatic, transformational, and organizational literature, as well as entrepreneurship literature, to create a generalized model of entrepreneurial leadership that is descriptively robust and conceptually distinct from existing concepts. We focus specifically on visionary, transformational, and motivational contradictions of entrepreneurial leadership and conclude by discussing the implications of organizational reconciliation of these three contradictions for leadership research and (...) practice. (shrink)

The aim of the work is to present the conservative views of the journalist and historian Henryk Lisicki and the role he played in the community with which he collaborated, i.e. the Krakow conservatives called the Stańczyk Circle. The source of the article are monographs, brochures, dissertations, essays and articles published in „Przegląd Polski“ by Lisicki. In order to evaluate to what extent Lisicki’s political thought was original, and to what extent it was in conformity with the Stańczyk Circle, the (...) publications of Walerian Kalinka, Stanisław Tarnowski, Michał Bobczyński, Józef Szujski and Stanisław Koźmian were also used. While working on the topic, the author made use of the works specializing in the history of Polish and Western conservative thought published by Ryszard Ludwikowski, Bogdan Szlachta, Jacek Bartyzel, Józef Szacki and the views expressed by the members of the Stańczyk Circle such as Michał Jaskólski, Wojciech Dutka, Stanisław Filipowicz, Henryk Michalak. When examining the above issues, a comparative method was used, tracing both the similarities and differences in the ideas of Lisicki and his colleagues from the Stańczyk Circle. The main thesis formulated in the work is that although Lisicki did not belong to the group of leaders, his close intellectual ties with Stanisław Koźmian gave him a respected position among Krakow conservatives. The analysis of his works confirmed that he was also capable of original reflections which focused on the attitude of the conservatives to the nineteenth-century democratization processes, the evolution of Western absolute monarchies towards the constitution democracies and the expansion of electoral rights. Hence, it was symptomatic for Lisicki and his community to argue, inter alia, for the necessity of rapprochement with moderate liberals, the aim of which was to weaken the danger coming from the revolted masses which were being under the influence of radicals. (shrink)

W ostatnich latach mamy do czynienia z dynamicznym rozwojem neuroetyki, tj. subdyscypliny nauk o mózgu badającej rozmaite zagadnienia etyczne w kontekście funkcjonowania ludzkiego umysłu i mózgu. Centralnym przedmiotem tych badań jest specyficznie ludzka zdolność do wydawania sądów moralnych oraz jej mechanizmy. Tymczasem twierdzenia neuroetyki mają znacznie szerszy wymiar; wykracza on bowiem poza kwestie czysto opisowe i obejmuje swym zasięgiem zagadnienia teoretyczne etyki. W niniejszym artykule rozważam znaczenie badań neuroetycznych dla analiz przeprowadzanych w obszarze etyki normatywnej oraz metaetyki.

Conflicting results undermine making inferences from the empirical literature. So far, the replication crisis is mainly seen as resulting from honest errors and questionable research practices such as p-hacking or the base-rate fallacy. I discuss the malleability (researcher degrees of freedom) of quantitative research and argue that conflicting results can emerge from two studies using different but plausible designs (e.g., eligibility criteria, operationalization of concepts, outcome measures) and statistical methods. I also explore how the choices regarding study design and statistical (...) techniques bias results in a way that makes them more or less relevant for a given policy or clinical question. (shrink)

Over the years, the Austrian School of Economics has created the image of a thinker associated with ideas of liberalism. The views of members of this school are often considered controversial. However, the concept of freedom clearly displayed by the Austrians is very popular among economists. Carl Menger is said to be the founder and a leading member of the Austrian School of Economics, and his works are mostly devoted to methodology and economic theory. Nevertheless, you can also find his (...) views on the sphere of economic liberalism and freedom. Almost 150 years after the publication of Menger’s main works, it emerged that he had created not only the timeless foundations of the theory and methodology of economics, but his theory of subjective value had become the bedrock which is used to this day in deliberations on economic liberalism. The economy pursued by Menger (based primarily on the ideas of subjectivism and individualism) continues to be an important and timeless foundation for the development of the doctrine of economic liberalism. This article is a review based on an analysis of the literature on the subject. (shrink)

It is well-established that topos theory is inherently connected with intuitionistic logic. In recent times several works appeared concerning so-called complement-toposes, which are allegedly connected to the dual to intuitionistic logic. In this paper I present this new notion, some of the motivations for it, and some of its consequences. Then, I argue that, assuming equivalence of certain two definitions of a topos, the concept of a complement-classifier is, at least in general and within the conceptual framework of category theory, (...) not appropriately defined. For this purpose, I first analyze the standard notion of a subobject classifier, show its connection with the representability of the functor Sub via the Yoneda lemma, recall some other properties of the internal structure of a topos and, based on these, I critically comment on the notion of a complement-classifier. (shrink)

A considerable group of contemporary philosophers and theologians—including those engaged in the science-theology dialogue, such as Barbour, Clayton, Davies, and Peacocke—supports panentheism, i.e., a theistic position which assumes that the world is in God, who is yet greater than everything he created. They see it as a balanced middle ground between the positions of classical theism and pantheism. In this article, I offer a presentation and a critical evaluation of the most fundamental principles of panentheism from the point of view (...) of classical theism. First, I list six main species of panentheism and the motivations of those who support it. In the second part, I analyze the three main difficulties concerning its ontological and theological principles, i.e., (1) the meaning of the preposition ‘in’ (_en_) in ‘pan_en_theism’; (2) the accuracy of panentheistic definition of divine immanence, and (3) the question of whether panentheism is successful in protecting God’s transcendence. I conclude that panentheism fails as a Christian theistic position. Nevertheless, it might still be valuable and play an important role in addressing the cognitive drama of the modern human beings, often seduced by secular (scientific) or spiritual naturalism, or pantheism. (shrink)

The current strategy of searching for an effective treatment for COVID-19 relies mainly on repurposing existing therapies developed to target other diseases. Conflicting results have emerged in regard to the efficacy of several tested compounds but later results were negative. The number of conducted and ongoing trials and the urgent need for a treatment pose the risk that false-positive results will be incorrectly interpreted as evidence for treatments’ efficacy and a ground for drug approval. Our purpose is twofold. First, we (...) show that the number of drug-repurposing trials can explain the false-positive results. Second, we assess the evidence for treatments’ efficacy from the perspective of evidential pluralism and argue that considering mechanistic evidence is particularly needed in cases when the evidence from clinical trials is conflicting or of low quality. Our analysis is an application of the program of Evidence Based Medicine Plus to the drug repurposing trials for COVID. Our study shows that if decision-makers applied EBM+, authorizing the use of ineffective treatments would be less likely. We analyze the example of trials assessing the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 and mechanistic evidence in favor of and against its therapeutic power to draw a lesson for decision-makers and drug agencies on how excessive hypothesis testing can lead to spurious findings and how studying negative mechanistic evidence can be helpful in discriminating genuine from spurious results. (shrink)

In his recent paper in the Journal of Economic Methodology, Tobias Henschen puts forth a manipulationist definition of macroeconomic causality that strives for adequacy. As the notion of ‘adequacy’...

In theology there has never been any doubt that God can cause things to happen, but there has been a great deal of controversy about the precise nature of God’s causal activity in nature. The theory of divine concurrentism (both God, as primary cause, and creatures, as secondary causes, are engaged in causal processes), fostering the middle way between the anti-providential notion of natural causation and occasionalism (which attributes all causation to God), was questioned in the era of modern science (...) and philosophy. The restriction of divine action to the moment of the first creation in deism led to the agnostic and atheistic rejection of God as an ‘unnecessary hypothesis.’ Most theological responses to this crisis followed the restriction of causality to efficient causes, showing an implicit tendency to speak about the causation of God and creatures in univocal terms and trying to define the ‘causal joint’ between God and nature. A philosophical analysis of evolutionary biology, emergence, big bang cosmology, chaos theory, and quantum mechanics, however, has recently brought a retrieval of a broader understanding of causation, triggering a renewed interest in divine action. The topic of causality has raised interest among analytical philosophers as well. Those following the metaphysics of dispositions and manifestations acknowledge the neo-Aristotelian flavor of their analyses, which becomes, in turn, an incentive for a revival of the classical version of divine concurrentism. (shrink)

This paper offers an Aristotelian-Thomistic response to the question whether AI is capable of developing virtue. On the one hand, it could be argued that this is possible on the assumption of the minimalist (thin) definition of virtue as a stable (permanent) and reliable disposition toward an actualization of a given power in the agent (in various circumstances), which effects that agent’s growth in perfection. On the other hand, a closer inquiry into Aquinas’s understanding of both moral and intellectual virtues, (...) and a more detailed analysis of the ontological status of AI, show that it is highly unlikely to envision the design of specifically human-like reason-based and/or behavioral-based (“strong”) AI that would possess properly human virtues. Still, virtuous “weak AI” might be possible, although a question ought to be asked whether we should classify artifacts’ virtues using categories developed in reference to specifically human dispositions and actions. (shrink)

One of the main challenges of the nonreductionist approach to complex structures and phenomena in philosophy of biology is its defense of the plausibility of the theory of emergence and downward causation. The tension between remaining faithful to the rules of physicalism and physical causal closure, while defending the novelty and distinctiveness of emergents from their basal constituents, makes the argumentation of many proponents of emergentism lacking in coherency and precision. In this article I aim at answering the suggestion of (...) several thinkers to redefine emergence and downward causation in terms of the broader Aristotelian view of causation. In addition, I further develop this interdisciplinary conversation to include theological implications of emergentism, analyzed in reference to Aquinas’ understanding of divine action in terms of the same fourfold division of causes—bringing thus natural science, philosophy, and theology into creative and fruitful dialogue. (shrink)

The results of econometric modeling are fragile in the sense that minor changes in estimation techniques or sample can lead to statistical models that support inconsistent causal hypotheses. The fragility of econometric results undermines making conclusive inferences from the empirical literature. I argue that the program of evidential pluralism, which originated in the context of medicine and encapsulates to the normative reading of the Russo-Williamson Thesis that causal claims need the support of both difference-making and mechanistic evidence, offers a ground (...) for resolving empirical disagreements. I analyze a recent econometric controversy regarding the tax elasticity of cigarette consumption and smoking intensity. Both studies apply plausible estimation techniques but report inconsistent results. I show that mechanistic evidence allows for discriminating econometric models representing genuine causal relations from accidental dependencies in data. Furthermore, I discuss the differences between biological and social mechanisms and mechanistic evidence across the disciplines. I show that economists mainly rely on mathematical models to represent possible mechanisms. Still, claiming the actuality of the represented mechanisms requires establishing that crucial assumptions of these models are descriptively adequate. I exemplify my approach to assessing the quality of mechanistic evidence in economics with an analysis of two models of rational addiction. (shrink)

A survey of the main approaches in a mind study -oriented part of Artificial Intelligence is made focusing on controversial issues and extreme hypotheses. Various meanings of terms: "intelligence" and "artificial intelligence" are discussed. Limitations for constructing intelligent systems resulting from the lack of formalized models of cognitive activity are shown. The approaches surveyed are then recapitulated in the light of these limitations.

Artykuł stanowi próbę określenia najważniejszych współczesnych trendów dotyczących rozpoznania społecznych, politycznych i kulturowych aspektów myśli (tradycji) liberalnej. W tym celu przedstawione i poddane analizie są dwa podejścia. Pierwsze z nich to główna obecnie definicja liberalizmu przez pryzmat praw i uprawnień jednostki. Teoria liberalna w tym ujęciu związana jest w bardziej ogólnymi dyskursami społeczno-kulturowymi na temat pluralizmu, praw jednostek, rządów prawa, konstytucjonalizmu, swobód politycznych, wolnego rynku i praw człowieka. Z drugiej strony zbadane zostaje stanowisko I. Wallersteina, dla którego liberalizm jest wyrafinowanym (...) konstruktem, projektem nastawionym na stworzenie i rozwijanie "geokultury" współczesnego świata - ideologicznej bazy usprawiedliwiającej nierówną dystrybucję bogactw i władzy w skali globalnej, układu powiązań określanego mianem nowożytnego (kapitalistycznego) systemu-świata. Zdaniem Wallersteina - którego wykładnia zaakceptowana zostaje w niniejszym tekście - ewolucja struktur systemu-świata nie uległa jeszcze zakończeniu, a niedawno jeszcze głoszony triumf kapitalizmu i liberalizmu musi być postrzegany przez pryzmat wielu faz, stadiów rozwoju i przemian zamiast w ramach tezy o "końcu historii". (shrink)

Recently, it has become a custom to treat questions as a game between two subjects. Unfortunately, one rarely goesbeyond the scheme of Questioner-Scientist and Answerer-Nature, althoughthe Interlocutor so conceived displays some undesirable features. This paperargues for the idea that logic of questions can be build as a logic of the gamebetween “knowledge resources” persons or theories, rather than errant Scientist and omniscient Nature. To this end the concept of epistemically-possibleworlds is discussed, which is conceived as analogous to that of possible (...) worldsin modal logic. And, furthermore, the concepts of relation of epistemic alternativeness and of epistemically-alternative worlds are introduced. On thisbasis a version of semantics for propositional, three-valued logic of questionsis offered and semantic proofs of some theses are given. (shrink)

Artykuł składa się z dwóch części. W części pierwszej rekonstruuję filozoficzne poglądy polskiego filozofującego fizyka Czesława Białobrzeskiego, a w drugiej części przedstawiam jego biografię oraz wkład w rozwój fizyki. Filozoficzne rozważania Białobrzeskiego kształtowały się na bazie wiodących problemów w fizyce końca XIX i przede wszystkim XX wieku; Białobrzeski prowadził te rozważania w ścisłym związku ze swoją praktyką naukową. Działalność polskiego uczonego przypada na okres powstawania i rozwoju mechaniki kwantowej. Białobrzeski – jak wielu innych ówczesnych fizyków – był świadomy konieczności spójnego (...) wyjaśniania fundamentalnie nowych zjawisk świata atomowego. Jego wyjaśnienie jest oryginalne – odwołał się mianowicie w nim do klasycznej, filozoficznej teorii kategorii i zaproponował jej własną ontologiczną interpretację. (shrink)

The impact of background category information on the creation of social cliques: The role of need for cognitive closure and decisiveness This article focuses on the role of need for cognitive closure in the process of mental model creation about social relations. We assumed that high need for closure participants tend to rely on background category information when forming social cliques. We predicted that this tendency to employ categorical information as a mental aid, used in order to form social cliques, (...) would be efficient in simple task structures but would lead to increased error rates in complex task structures. The results confirmed our predictions, showing especially strong effects for the decisiveness component of need for closure. The importance of individual differences in need for closure and decisiveness in social reasoning is discussed. (shrink)

[The paper is in Polish, an English abstract is given only for information.] This article is intended for philosophers and logicians as a short partial introduction to category theory and its peculiar connection with logic. First, we consider CT itself. We give a brief insight into its history, introduce some basic definitions and present examples. In the second part, we focus on categorical topos semantics for propositional logic. We give some properties of logic in toposes, which, in general, is an (...) intuitionistic logic. We next present two families of toposes whose tautologies are identical with those of classical propositional logic. The relatively extensive bibliography is given in order to support further studies. (shrink)

The methodological nonreductionism of contemporary biology opens an interesting discussion on the level of ontology and the philosophy of nature. The theory of emergence (EM), and downward causation (DC) in particular, bring a new set of arguments challenging not only methodological, but also ontological and causal reductionism. This argumentation provides a crucial philosophical foundation for the science/theology dialogue. However, a closer examination shows that proponents of EM do not present a unified and consistent definition of DC. Moreover, they find it (...) difficult to prove that higher-order properties can be causally significant without violating the causal laws that operate at lower physical levels. They also face the problem of circularity and incoherence in their explanation. In our article we show that these problems can be overcome only if DC is understood in terms of formal rather than physical (efficient) causality. This breakdown of causal monism in science opens a way to the retrieval of the fourfold Aristotelian notion of causality. (shrink)

A compelling approach among works on temporality, phenomenology, and the ecologies of the new sound worlds, Enacting Musical Time argues that musical time is itself the site of the interaction between musical sounds and a situated, embodied listener, created by the moving bodies of participants engaged in musical activities.

As a middle path between classical theism and pantheism, the panentheistic turn in the twentieth century has been described as a "quiet revolution." Today, in fact, many theologians hold that the world is "in" God (who, at the same time, is more than the world). Panentheism has been especially influential in the dialogue between theology and the natural sciences. Many have seen panentheism as compatible with emergentism, and thus have brought the two together in developing models of divine action that (...) do not abrogate the regularities of processes of the natural world. In Divine Action and Emergence, Mariusz Tabaczek argues that, as inspiring and intriguing as emergentist panentheism is, it requires deeper examination. He begins by looking at the wonder of emergence (which calls into question the overly reductionist attitude in natural science) and by reflecting philosophically on emergence theory in light of classical and new Aristotelianism. Moving in a theological direction, Tabaczek then offers a critical evaluation of emergentist panentheism and a constructive proposal for how to reinterpret the idea of divine action as inspired by the theory of emergence with reference to the classical Aristotelian-Thomistic understanding of God's action in the universe. Through a unique interdisciplinary approach that puts theology and the natural sciences into a dialogue through philosophy, Divine Action and Emergence offers a comprehensive evaluation of panentheism. It then puts forward an original reinterpretation of emergence theory, thus setting forth a constructive proposal for reinterpreting the concept of divine action that is currently espoused by emergence theory. It will appeal to scholars of theology and philosophy, those who work in the area of theology and science, those interested in emergence theory or panentheism, and finally those who are interested in the dialogue between the classical Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition and contemporary philosophy and theology. (shrink)