This article examines the evaluative nature of the folk concepts of weakness and strength of will and hypothesizes that their evaluative nature is strongly connected to the folk concepts of blame and credit. We probed how people apply the concepts of weakness and strength of will to prototypical and non-prototypical scenarios. While regarding prototypical scenarios the great majority applied these concepts according to the predictions following from traditional philosophical analyses. When presented with non-prototypical scenarios, people were divided. Some, against traditional (...) analyses, did not apply these concepts, which we explain in terms of a clash of evaluations involving different sorts of blame and credit. Others applied them according to traditional analyses, which we explain in terms of a disposition to be reflective and clearly set apart the different sorts of blame and credit involved. Still others applied them in an inverse way, seemingly bypassing the traditional components resolution and be.. (shrink)

Philosophers have long debated whether, if determinism is true, we should hold people morally responsible for their actions since in a deterministic universe, people are arguably not the ultimate source of their actions nor could they have done otherwise if initial conditions and the laws of nature are held fixed. To reveal how non-philosophers ordinarily reason about the conditions for free will, we conducted a cross-cultural and cross-linguistic survey (N = 5,268) spanning twenty countries and sixteen languages. Overall, participants tended (...) to ascribe moral responsibility whether the perpetrator lacked sourcehood or alternate possibilities. However, for American, European, and Middle Eastern participants, being the ultimate source of one’s actions promoted perceptions of free will and control as well as ascriptions of blame and punishment. By contrast, being the source of one’s actions was not particularly salient to Asian participants. Finally, across cultures, participants exhibiting greater cognitive reflection were more likely to view free will as incompatible with causal determinism. We discuss these findings in light of documented cultural differences in the tendency toward dispositional versus situational attributions. (shrink)

In the remainder of this article, we will disarm an important motivation for epistemic contextualism and interest-relative invariantism. We will accomplish this by presenting a stringent test of whether there is a stakes effect on ordinary knowledge ascription. Having shown that, even on a stringent way of testing, stakes fail to impact ordinary knowledge ascription, we will conclude that we should take another look at classical invariantism. Here is how we will proceed. Section 1 lays out some limitations of previous (...) research on stakes. Section 2 presents our study and concludes that there is little evidence for a substantial stakes effect. Section 3 responds to objections. The conclusion clears the way for classical invariantism. (shrink)

Is behavioral integration a necessary feature of belief in folk psychology? Our data from over 5,000 people across 26 samples, spanning 22 countries suggests that it is not. Given the surprising cross-cultural robustness of our findings, we argue that the types of evidence for the ascription of a belief are, at least in some circumstances, lexicographically ordered: assertions are first taken into account, and when an agent sincerely asserts that p, nonlinguistic behavioral evidence is disregarded. In light of this, we (...) take ourselves to have discovered a universal principle governing the ascription of beliefs in folk psychology. (shrink)

This article examines whether people share the Gettier intuition (viz. that someone who has a true justified belief that p may nonetheless fail to know that p) in 24 sites, located in 23 countries (counting Hong Kong as a distinct country) and across 17 languages. We also consider the possible influence of gender and personality on this intuition with a very large sample size. Finally, we examine whether the Gettier intuition varies across people as a function of their disposition to (...) engage in “reflective” thinking. (shrink)

Since at least Hume and Kant, philosophers working on the nature of aesthetic judgment have generally agreed that common sense does not treat aesthetic judgments in the same way as typical expressions of subjective preferences—rather, it endows them with intersubjective validity, the property of being right or wrong regardless of disagreement. Moreover, this apparent intersubjective validity has been taken to constitute one of the main explananda for philosophical accounts of aesthetic judgment. But is it really the case that most people (...) spontaneously treat aesthetic judgments as having intersubjective validity? In this paper, we report the results of a cross‐cultural study with over 2,000 respondents spanning 19 countries. Despite significant geographical variations, these results suggest that most people do not treat their own aesthetic judgments as having intersubjective validity. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for theories of aesthetic judgment and the purpose of aesthetics in general. (shrink)

Does the Ship of Theseus present a genuine puzzle about persistence due to conflicting intuitions based on “continuity of form” and “continuity of matter” pulling in opposite directions? Philosophers are divided. Some claim that it presents a genuine puzzle but disagree over whether there is a solution. Others claim that there is no puzzle at all since the case has an obvious solution. To assess these proposals, we conducted a cross-cultural study involving nearly 3,000 people across twenty-two countries, speaking eighteen (...) different languages. Our results speak against the proposal that there is no puzzle at all and against the proposal that there is a puzzle but one that has no solution. Our results suggest that there are two criteria—“continuity of form” and “continuity of matter”— that constitute our concept of persistence and these two criteria receive different weightings in settling matters concerning persistence. (shrink)

The present research examines whether identity essentialism, an important component of psychological essentialism, is a fundamental feature of human cognition. Across three studies (Ntotal = 1723), we report evidence that essentialist intuitions about the identity of kinds are culturally dependent, demographically variable, and easily malleable. The first study considered essentialist intuitions in 10 different countries spread across four continents. Participants were presented with two scenarios meant to elicit essentialist intuitions. Their answers suggest that essentialist intuitions vary dramatically across cultures. Furthermore, (...) these intuitions were found to vary with gender, education, and across eliciting stimuli. The second study further examined whether essentialist intuitions are stable across different kinds of eliciting stimuli. Participants were presented with two different scenarios meant to elicit essentialist intuitions—the “discovery” and “transformation” scenarios. Their answers suggest that the nature of the eliciting stimuli influences whether or not people report essentialist intuitions. Finally, the third study demonstrates that essentialist intuitions are susceptible to framing effects. Keeping the eliciting stimulus (i.e., the scenario) constant, we show that the formulation of the question eliciting a judgment influences whether or not people have essentialist intuitions. Implications of these findings for identity essentialism and psychological essentialism, in general, are discussed. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to present a reflection on the idea of religiousness or religious sentiment in Benjamin Constant de Rebecque and the importance of this in free societies. For the author, the religious sentiment avoids the evils of selfishness and individualism and, at the same time, the dangers of political despotism and religious. In this sense, religion is seen as necessary to free societies. However, it must be separated from the priestly factions. Constant presents a strategy of (...) fusing a perspective of Enlightenment - with the concepts of progress and civilization - with aspects of the thought of Edmund Burke who advocated a more local interest. Thus, the "Greeks" - an "ideal type" avant la lettre - are presented with real people in history, which can help to think of our civilization. An "intermediate political principle", avoiding the excesses of philosophical abstraction. (shrink)

Socratis et Socraticorum Reliquiae Source presents the transcription of the collection of testimonies about Socrates and Socratics (Socratis et Socraticorum Reliquiae) originally edited by G. Giannantoni. -/- The site enable users to access texts, exploit resources, and perform queries. Notes, additional information and a legenda for a better access to the texts are also available. -/- The publication is peer-reviewed and aspire to meet the highest quality standards. The content of the site and its internet addresses are stable and can (...) be freely consulted and used for scholarly purposes. -/- The site will be soon open for semantically enrich the data published on the websites. A use of peer-to-peer (p2p) networking will also provide an efficient and engaging collaborative work space. (shrink)

En el presente trabajo se realiza una breve presentación de la teoría de la democracia deliberativa, tal como la describe Carlos Santiago Nino. En particular, se sugiere que la idea de democracia deliberativa como sucedáneo de un discurso moral que nos permite acceder a la verdad moral adolece de un platonismo en sentido fuerte, según el cual la verdad está fuera de las relaciones sociales, y de un platonismo en sentido débil, según el cual la verdad es ajena a (...) toda relación de poder. (shrink)

La presencia de la filosofía nietzscheana en Argentina a principios del siglo xx ha adquirido un lugar cada vez más importante en los estudios de recepción. Entre los muchos nombres propios que acusan una huella nietzscheana, el caso de Juan Carlos Paz merece especial atención. Considerado uno de los músicos y teóricos latinoamericanos más importantes del siglo pasado, el alcance de sus ideas estético-filosóficas ofrece aún un terreno fértil para la investigación. Este trabajo se ocupa de relevar y analizar (...) una posible marca de recepción de la filosofía nietzscheana asequible en las intervenciones de Paz en el Suplemento Semanal del diario La Protesta (1922-1923) y en La campana de palo (1925 y 1927). La hipótesis a desarrollar consiste en afirmar que a partir la figura del “burro” como “paradigma de la necedad” y del recurso de su adoración irónica, puede indicarse preliminarmente una correspondencia conceptual entre las ideas estéticas del joven Paz, relativas a una puesta en cuestión de la crítica musical como institución, y el tratamiento nietzscheano de la “convicción” [Ueberzeugung]. (shrink)

El presente escrito se propone a partir del análisis de los trabajos de Francisco Leocata sobre la historia de las ideas filosóficas en la Argentina distinguir tres líneas de fuerza o bien tres modos de hacer filosofía en armonía con la fe cristiana. Dos de ellos presentes ya desde los comienzos en la época de la colonia, y entrando progresivamente en disputa; un tercero que se perfila en el marco del llamado pensamiento latinoamericano. Para ello, será necesario elucidar primeramente dos (...) presupuestos, a saber, qué entiende el autor por filosofía cristiana y por qué es importante distinguir modernidad de ilustración. A partir de allí, seguirá una reseña histórica crítica de pensadores argentinos en mayor o menor medida afines al cristianismo que se clasificarán por su rechazo o apoyo a las ideas de la modernidad/ilustración. Finalmente, se sugiere reconocer como derivación de estas reflexiones una tercera posición en el pensamiento de Juan Carlos Scannone. (shrink)

Este livro procura ilustrar que o ser professor não resulta de um evolucionismo natural do qual a vocação ou o dom seriam consequências lógicas. Ao contrário, a presença do docente e a presença do discente são buscadas no campo historiográfico seja pela memória individual e coletiva deles em seus escritos, seja pelos novos enfrentamentos suscitados não só pela sociedade de classes, mas também pelas diversidades que aí se aninham. Sumário - Prefácio - Carlos Roberto Jamil Cury; Apresentação - (...) class='Hi'>Mauro Passos; Parte I - Teoria e confrontos temáticos; Parte II - História e condições de trabalho; Sobre os autores. (shrink)

Partimos dos eixos propostos por José Carlos Barcellos no artigo “Literatura e teologia” para enquadrar a fortuna crítica que se elevou em torno de Franz Kafka quanto à relação entre sua literatura e a temática religiosa. O primeiro eixo lida com a perspectiva de que a literatura se apresente como uma teologia não teórica, nele analisamos a configuração de Kafka como um cabalista de acordo com Scholem. No segundo, sob a ótica de que a teologia está presente na literatura, (...) observamos a crítica de Anders aos investimentos apologistas que diagnosticam em Kafka uma teologia positiva. O terceiro eixo enfoca a literatura como “lugar teológico” e por ele discutimos com Brod e Moller sobre a possibilidade de visualizar a literatura de Kafka como signatária da mesma esperança que se encontra nestes analistas. Já o quarto eixo trata de uma interpretação mais focada no aspecto humano, assim como a leitura interpretativa de Heller. Por último é apresentado o método da analogia estrutural de Kuschel como uma possibilidade de respeitar as peculiaridades de cada uma das áreas envolvidas. Por meio deste levantamento procuramos defender a manutenção da tensão entre literatura e religião como a melhor forma de respeitar tanto uma quanto a outra. Palavras-chave: Literatura. Religião. Teologia. Franz Kafka. José Carlos Barcellos.We assumed the positions proposed by José Carlos Barcellos in the article “Literature and theology” to frame the criticism which revolves Franz Kafka and the relation between his literature and religion. The first position deals with the perspective which considers literature as a non-theoretical theology. Based on that, we analyze the configuration of Kafka as a cabalist, according to Shcolem. In the second position, under the point of view that theology is present in literature, we observed Ander’s criticism of the apologist investments which diagnosed a positive theology in Kafka. The third aspect focuses on literature as a “theological place”, and based on it we discuss with Brod and Moller about the possibility of seeing Kafka’s literature as holder of the same hope found on those analysts. The fourth point approaches an interpretation focused on the human aspect, as Heller’s interpretative reading. Finally, it is presented Kuschel’s method of structural analogy as a possibility of respecting the peculiarities of each area involved. Through this survey we tried to defend the maintenance of the tension between literature and religion as the best way to respect both of them. Keywords : Literature. Religion. Theology. Franz Kafka. José Carlos Barcellos. - DOI: 10.5752/P.2175-5841.2012v10n25p157. (shrink)

In this article I will begin by discussing recent criticism, by Mauro Antonelli and Werner Sauer, of the ontological interpretation of Franz Brentano’s concept of intentionality, as formulated by i.a. Roderick Chisholm. I will then outline some apparent inconsistencies of the positions advocated by Antonelli and Sauer with Brentano’s formulations of his theory in several works and lectures. This new evaluation of (unpublished) sources will then lead to a sketch of a new approach to Brentano’s theory of intentionality. Specifically, (...) it will be argued that the notion of “intentional object” is inherently and un- avoidably ambiguous in every act of external perception, due to the fact that we can only have improper intentions directed at the external world. (shrink)

Les neuf contributions composant le volume se succèdent selon l’ordre chronologique des philosophes examinés et essaient de mettre en lumière les stratégies et les modes selon lesquels un exégète juif de la Bible (Philon) et des philosophes platoniciens (Plutarque, Jamblique, Proclus) ou néo‑pythagoriciens (Nicomaque) s’approprient, en les réinterprétant, des thèmes, des doctrines et des textes pythagoriciens anciens et tardifs, provenant notamment de l’ancienne Académie et de la littérature...

Although language processing seems to resist age advancement, linguistic changes in aging are the reflection of systematic decline in cognitive and energy resources. However, aging does not affect language in a global way, being predominant a marked deterioration of production versus a relative maintenance of comprehension at various levels. This review provides updated information on the changes occurring in linguistic aging, focusing on lexical-semantic processing and the role of sociodemographic factors such as education, socioeconomic status and gender; In addition, a (...) brief approach to linguistic processing in the fourth age is attached. As a result, literature shows that lexical-semantic processing is asymmetric; older adults maintain their vocabulary and conceptual knowledge, however, they fail in tasks of access and lexical availability, with notable increase in events of the tip of the tongue associated with dependence on the psycholinguistic variables of the word. At the same time, the educational and socioeconomic level can influence lexical-semantic performance of the older adult, given its relation with the cognitive reserve and the greater elaboration of compensatory strategies. (shrink)

Según cierto sector de la posteoría, Ilya Prigogine habría creado una nueva alianza con la naturaleza bajo el signo de una conjunción de ciencia y filosofía, donde los estudios sobre la irreversibilidad, las estructuras disipativas y las estructuras auto-organizativas juegan un rol preponderante ..

In this paper, we evaluate some proposals that have been put forward to clarify the ontological consequences of relational quantum mechanics. We first focus on priority monism and ontic structural realism and argue that these views are not suitable for providing an ontological interpretation of the theory. Then, we discuss an alternative interpretation that we regard as more promising, based on so-called ‘metaphysical coherentism’, which we also connect to the idea of an event-based, or ‘flash’, ontology.

The paper argues for an analytic interpretation of Protagoras’ myth in Plato’s dialogue by showing that its goal is not so much to reconstruct the origins of civilization as to identify some essential features of humankind. Against the widespread opinion that human progress depends on the development of technai, Protagoras claims that political art is the most important one, insofar as it is the condition for the existence of society. More concretely, the emphasis on the political art also serves to (...) bring light to what is distinctive of Protagoras as opposed to the other sophists and poets. As clearly shown in the dialogue, Protagoras can thus present himself as the only teacher who is capable of imparting the teachings suited to the needs of the new world of the polis. (shrink)

The first comprehensive account of Platonism in Antiquity, from the foundation of Plato's Academy in the fourth century BC to Late Antiquity. Written in a clear language, the book shows that Platonism is philosophically engaging and very influential in the history of philosophy. Useful for both students and scholars.

In line with earlier works, this article argues for a “continuist” interpretation of Brentano’s conception of intentionality. It maintains that Brentano’s conception of intentionality rests on a complex set of notions, which are reduced to a minimal core or applied more fully depending on the complexity of the mental phenomenon under consideration and perspective from which it is analyzed. The article positions this conceptual structure in relation to theories of objects developed within the framework of late- and Neo-Scholastic philosophy where, (...) since the psychic act can relate to its object in different ways, the different types and roles of objects must be distinguished. This theory of objects enables Brentano to reinterpret Aristoteles’s idea of the intentionality of mental phenomena in light of the commentaries and interpretations of Thomas Aquinas while also giving space to other medieval texts. (shrink)

Resumen: En el presente artículo se realiza una comparación crítica de dos enfoques sobre los fundamentos de la teoría microeconómica del comportamiento del consumidor, a saber: el enfoque utilitarista y el de la preferencia revelada. Se lleva a cabo un análisis de la preferencia revelada en el contexto de la introducción de restricciones a la función de elección en la teoría de la decisión. Se evalúan sus ventajas y limitaciones en contraste con el problema de la utilidad propio del punto (...) de vista subjetivista de la teoría utilitarista. Y se confronta la capacidad explicativa de los distintos modelos de agencia racional sobre las bases de las curvas de demanda. Asimismo, se desarrolla una crítica formal al método de la preferencia revelada en entornos estratégicos de decisión.: This article makes a critical comparison of two approaches to the foundations of the microeconomic theory of consumer behavior, namely: the utilitarian approach and that of the revealed preference theory. An analysis of revealed preference is carried out in the context of introducing restrictions to the choice function in decision theory. Its advantages and limitations are evaluated in contrast to the utility problem proper to the subjectivist point of view of utilitarian theory. And the explanatory capacity of the different models of rational agency is confronted on the bases of the demand curves. Furthermore, a formal critique of the revealed preference method is developed in strategic decision-making environments. (shrink)

This paper discusses the varieties of capitalism in transitional societies in Latin America and Central / Eastern Europe. The intended purpose of these transitions from semi-closed import-substituting economies in the first case and state socialist ones in the second was to institutionalize open-market economies. Twenty or thirty years later, there is a variety of types of capitalism in these countries, which I classify into three: open-market, neo-mercantilist, and anemic. The question for sociology is whether these quite different variants represent temporary (...) stages or distortions in the same process of transition or whether, on the contrary, they may institutionalize as discrete forms of peripheral capitalism. Neither standard “legacy” argu­ments nor institutionalist theories offer satisfactory answers to this question. The multiple modernities approach, on the other hand, is more appropriate as a theoretical perspective, but it has not produced yet specific propositions applicable to this question. My paper makes two claims. First, the successful transfer of institutions depends on the congruence between these institutions and the broader institutional framework of the recipient economies, a point not developed by institutionalist theories. I offer a hypothesis in this regard: Two critical nodes of congruence are the regulatory and extractive capacity of the state and the strength of civil society. Second, market capitalism (as liberal democracy as well) is a complex institution, and some of its components “travel” more easily across societies and institutional frameworks, and therefore are easier to institutionalize. This is the source of the hybrid variants. (shrink)

We investigate the complexity of embeddings between bi-embeddable structures. In analogy with categoricity spectra, we define the bi-embeddable categoricity spectrum of a structure A as the family of Turing degrees that compute embeddings between any computable bi-embeddable copies of A; the degree of bi-embeddable categoricity of A is the least degree in this spectrum (if it exists). We extend many known results about categoricity spectra to the case of bi-embeddability. In particular, we exhibit structures without degree of bi-embeddable categoricity, and (...) we show that every degree d.c.e above 0(α) for α a computable successor ordinal and 0(λ) for λ a computable limit ordinal is a degree of bi-embeddable categoricity. We also give examples of families of degrees that are not bi-embeddable categoricity spectra. (shrink)

In this paper we argue, against a somewhat standard view, that pragmatic phenomena occur in mathematical language. We provide concrete examples supporting this thesis.

We study the algorithmic complexity of isomorphic embeddings between computable structures.

Las ciencias sociales, desde sus orígenes, consideraron sencillo explicar sucesos relevantes y, en general, todas las manifestaciones de la vida humana, a través de un discurso que tenía como meta la reducción del significado de las acciones sociales a explicaciones nomológicas que se asumieron como verdades absolutas. Sostengo que este paradigma epistemológico fue asumido por las ciencias sociales como si el conocimiento de los hechos del pasado y del presente no fuese más que el resultado de explananda, inferidos de la (...) corroboración o ‘falsación’ de explanans, en conformidad con la aplicación de métodos inductivos e, incluso, deductivos. El objetivo de este trabajo es proponer, siguiendo a Hannah Arendt, que la tarea del teórico social no consiste en intentar someter a prueba, a través del “método científico”, sus hipótesis, sino que debe hurgar y analizar aquellos hechos que se presumen que son relevantes para las experiencias humanas concretas, acudiendo a la hermenéutica; un enfoque que vislumbro como más apropiado si lo que se desea es determinar la verdad relativa de los resultados de las actividades, instituciones y manifestaciones sociales, dentro del contexto histórico-político en el cual se insertan. (shrink)

"La afirmación de que la ciencia dogmática del Derecho es una ciencia normativa es una de aquellas que gozan de firme predicamento, no solo entre los juristas de todas las épocas, sino que también entre los filósofos que se han dedicado con especialidad a caracterizar las distintas modalidades del saber humano. Pero a poco que se quiera esclarecer el alcance preciso que se asigna a la calificación de ciencia normativa, se advierte que los juristas entienden por ello dos cosas muy (...) diferentes. Según unos, la Ciencia del Derecho es normativa porque suministra normas, entendidas estas como reglas de comportamiento que, incluso, serían “indicaciones mecánicas de la exacta ejecución de negocios jurídicos”. Sin embargo, respaldada por la gran obra de crítica epistemológica, que caracteriza al pensamiento filosófico del último tercio del siglo XIX, poco a poco va afianzándose la opinión de que la Ciencia del Derecho es normativa porque conoce normas; no porque las suministra. Se ha hecho clara la idea de que la ciencia no se estudia a sí misma; de que la ciencia examina objetos que no son ella misma; de que la actitud científica es contemplativa y neutral respecto de los objetos que investiga y de que, por lo tanto, la ciencia suministra conocimientos, pero no suministra el objeto que conoce". Carlos Cossio. (shrink)