Psychological Aspects of Risk and Aggression among Motorcyclists - "Mad Max" Syndrome The primary objective of this study was the psychological examination of a group of Polish motorcyclists against a group of students and graduates of Technical Universities. This work poses a question regarding the differences in temperament, aggression and the level of risk between motorcyclists and the control group. The second question was whether it was possible to create a typology of Polish motorcyclists taking into account the variables describing (...) risk, temperament and aggression. This study used the Pavlovian Temperamental Scale, Stimulating-Instrumental Risk Inventory, SIRI 2001, Multifactor Risky Behavior Scale, Unhealthy behavior Inventory and the Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire. The tests were performed on 267 motorcyclists and 188 students and graduates of Technical Universities. A number of important differences was observed between the motorcyclists and the control group. Motorcyclists had a higher level of mobility of nervous processes and higher degree of excitation at the lower level of inhibitory processes. In terms of the measured level of risk they also had a higher level of stimulating, instrumental and unhealthy risk, at the lower levels of physical, social, ethical and financial risk in relation to the control group. Cluster and confirmation analyses showed the existence of three sub-groups of motorcyclists: prevaricators, ones with a Mad Max syndrome, and adventurers. The confirmation analysis was carried out on an additional group of 243 motorcyclists. (shrink)

The paper is a discussion of the book by Witold Wachowski entitled Poznanie rozproszone: Od heurystyk do mechanizmów (Distributed Cognition: From Heuristics to Mechanisms). At the beginning, I introduce the theoretical context of the reviewed publication. Then, I discuss the content of the publication and the research thesis. In the further part, I draw attention to certain difficulties related to the application of ecological heuristics and the possibility of its connection with the research tradition developed on the basis of the (...) so-called free energy principle. In the last part, I indicate the importance of the discussed publication for the contemporary debateconducted on the basis of the philosophy of cognitive science. (shrink)

One of the greatest challenges of consciousness research is to understand the relationship between consciousness and its implementing substrate. Current research into the neural correlates of consciousness regards the biological brain as being this substrate, but largely fails to clarify the nature of the brain-consciousness connection. A popular approach within this research is to construe brain-consciousness correlations in causal terms: the neural correlates of consciousness are the causes of states of consciousness. After introducing the notion of the neural correlate of (...) consciousness, we argue (see Against Causal Accounts of NCCs) that this causal strategy is misguided. It implicitly involves an undesirable dualism of matter and mind and should thus be avoided. A non-causal account of the brain-mind correlations is to be preferred. We favor the theory of the identity of mind and brain, according to which states of phenomenal consciousness are identical with their neural correlates. Research into the neural correlates of consciousness and the theory of identity (in the philosophy of mind) are two major research paradigms that hitherto have had very little mutual contact. We aim to demonstrate that they can enrich each other. This is the task of the third part of the paper in which we show that the identity theory must work with a suitably defined concept of type. Surprisingly, neither philosophers nor neuroscientists have taken much care in defining this central concept; more often than not, the term is used only implicitly and vaguely. We attempt to open a debate on this subject and remedy this unhappy state of affairs, proposing a tentative hierarchical classification of phenomenal and neurophysiological types, spanning multiple levels of varying degrees of generality. The fourth part of the paper compares the theory of identity with other prominent conceptions of the mind-body connection. We conclude by stressing that scientists working on consciousness should engage more with metaphysical issues concerning the relation of brain processes and states of consciousness. Without this, the ultimate goals of consciousness research can hardly be fulfilled. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to present the ontic approach to the normativity of cognitive functions and mechanisms, which is directly related to the understanding of biological normativity in terms of normative mechanisms. This approach assumes the hypothesis that cognitive processes contain a certain normative component independent of external attributions and researchers’ beliefs. This component consists of specific cognitive mechanisms, which I call normative. I argue that a mechanism is normative when it constitutes given actions or behaviors of a (...) system. More precisely, it means that, on the one hand, it is their constitutive cause, and on the other hand, it determines a certain field of possibilities from which the system, guided by its own goals, preferences, environmental constraints, etc., chooses the appropriate action or behavior according to a given situation. The background for the analyses presented here is the predictive processing framework, in which it can be shown that at least some of the predictive mechanisms are in fact normative mechanisms. I refer here to the existence of a motivational relation which determines the normative dependence of the agent’s actions due to specific predictions and environmental constraints. (shrink)

In these reflections, we want to prove a thesis whereby normativity of rules and norms may be linked to the domain of artefacts which we understand as social things. We claim that some norms and rules are situated in human socio-material ecosystems especially when it comes to the role played by affordances. The thesis advanced in this article will also enable us to indicate one of the potential interpretations of Wittgenstein’s ‘forms of life’ concept, demonstrating that some solutions suggested by (...) the author of Philosophical Investigations are still relevant today. We will relate the issue of the normativity of artefacts to the problem of rule recognition which Wittgenstein also raises in some of his later studies. We will demonstrate that the problem of normativity recognition is linked to relational properties of objects, that is affordances; structured nature of the world of human communities; and the ability to recognise affordances related to the ability to create predictions about future states of affairs. The analyses presented herein will show that it is possible to link the perspectives of cognitive ecology, design practice and philosophical analyses focused on the problem of normativity. (shrink)

Individual eschatological images are rarely a research subject that applies in-depth interviews and qualitative methods of analysis. Due to the use of simple questionnaire measures, knowledge about possible variations in personal images of heaven or hell is very poor. Furthermore, data concerning any connection between personality and eschatological images is scarce. The research project presented in the article was an attempt to apply a narrative method and to combine qualitative and simple quantitative methods to describe the wide variety of individual (...) views of heaven, hell, and purgatory. The relationship between individual eschatological images, denominational culture, and the chosen dimension of personality—i.e., hope understood in Erik Erikson's terms as a relatively stable conviction that the world is meaningful, ordered and friendly towards people—was also explored. The research was conducted among religiously engaged Christians from two denominational groups: Catholics and Lutherans. (shrink)

Certainly principles of criminal liability may be understood as rules or norms outlining orders or prohibitions and standing out among other norms with their weight, for legal culture, legal doctrine, etc. In such a classic approach they are norms defining basic rights and obligations in the applicable criminal law. However, is it the only possible and cognitively interesting meaning of the word “principle” in jurisprudence? From the semiotic point of view, they can occur in three forms: special-kind norms, teleological directives, (...) rules which constitute valid performance of conventional activities. In an extra-directival sense these principles may be understood as models-descriptions of shaping the system of criminal law. From a theoretical and practical point of view principles addressed to the legislator are extremely weighty—they can be called rules constructing the system of criminal liability. These all problems are discussed in the article. (shrink)

In this paper, I attempt to address some of the themes of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus logico-philosophicus with the aim of their deconstructionist interpretation. My analysis is based on David Gunkel’s book Deconstruction (MIT Press 2021). Based on some of its findings, I show how the Tractatus allows deconstruction and its practice to be thought. I show that the graphic structure of signs is crucial for the young Wittgenstein’s analysis and that it justifies the metaphysical findings in favor of which he (...) argues. ------------------------- Received:11/09/2022. Reviewed: 17/11/2022. Accepted: 1/12/2022. (shrink)

In this article I discuss the thesis put forward by David Gunkel and Mark Coeckelbergh in their essay Facing Animals:A Relational, Other-Oriented Approach to Moral Standing. The authors believe that the question about the status of animals needs to be reconsidered. In their opinion, traditional attempts to justify the practice of ascribing rights to animals have been based on the search for what is common to animals and people. This popular conviction rests on the intuition according to which we tend (...) to treat better those beings that are closer to us and resemble man in one way or the other. The attempts to ascribe a special status to animals are therefore based on the question “What properties does the animal have?”. However, the question is not well formulated because it leads to a number of ontological and epistemological problems. The question should rather be “What are the conditions under which an entity becomes a moral subject?”. Whilst fully subscribing to the suggestion, I cannot agree to the way the question is understood by both authors. I will demonstrate that the question opens up a transcendental dimension of reflections and may provide a clear justification of the need to engage in animal ethics. To do so, I will separate the easy and hard problems of animal ethics and use a different approach from the one suggested by Gunkel and Coeckelbergh to demonstrate how the need to pursue animal ethics may be justified. (shrink)

The article is an attempt at explaining the category of logical form used by Ludwig Wittgenstein in his Tractatus logico-philosophicus by using concepts from Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s The Monadology. There are many similarities and analogies between those works, and the key concept for them is the category of the inner and acknowledged importance of consideration based on basic categories of thinking about the world. The Leibnizian prospect allows for a broader look at Wittgenstein’s analysis of the relation between propositions and (...) facts, between language and the world. Using the Hanoverian philosopher’s terminology allows for the demonstration of the ambivalence of the concept of logical form in the philosophy of Wittgenstein and also the metaphysical nature of his first book. (shrink)

Language not only reflects and cocreates social universes but can also be and is performative regarding the planetary common good, e.g., through international treaties and agreements. This paper investigates the rationale and feasibility of altering the language used by Glasgow Climate Pact to a posthuman mode that addresses the issue of more-than-human inequality by becoming inclusive toward nonhuman actors, and presents a selection of edited excerpts. The main findings state that (1) the language of the Glasgow Climate Pact is inadequate (...) concerning its expected agency, (2) the reasons for this include its anthropocentrism, capitalocentrism and technocentrism, and (3) it is possible to rephrase the Glasgow Climate Pact and similar documents to address the diagnosed problems in a radically inclusive way. This paper represents a starting point for a discussion on the interrelations between climate and language and on the importance of language used by policy documents in the optics of climate action. (shrink)

A first impulse to write this article came from noticing, while reading Descartes' "Meditations", that author gives different meaning to the idea of "doubt" in each part of book. In First Meditation "doubt" has a function of a unique method of research, first step to build new, strictly rational and scientific knowledge – in contrast to the former collection of unjustified and un-proved or even false conceptions. Therefore "doubt" has positive value. So why does Descartes in his evidence of God's (...) existence in Third Meditation, talks about "doubt" as if it were imperfection and weakness of human nature? As if it were something worthless and part of "nothingness"? The only way to resolve this contradiction is to consider thoroughly what the role of "doubt" is in each part of "Meditations". Then, it will be clear that in Descartes' "Meditations" problem of knowledge is strictly attached to problem of existence, and how order of cognition changes without notice into cognition of Divine Order. (shrink)

The paper shows the history of the Academia Electronica – a virtual department of the Jagiellonian University, which has been in operation since 2007 in Second Life 3D graphic environment. The contributor focused on the transformation it underwent and problems which have been addressed for 14 years. Three aspects of the analysis have been identified with the first one concerning the philosophy of virtuality, the second – teaching in the 3D graphic environment, and the third one revealing the social importance (...) of an open university. This text is autobiographic, which means that it includes short memories on a number of events related to the development of the Academia Electronica as a university alongside the contributor’s personal reflections based on his long staying in the Second Life world. (shrink)

The review concerns the book Kapitalizm sieci (Network Capitalism). After discussing the structure of the book, a deeper reflection is made on some of the themes of the publication. The question of ideology that emerge as a response to the course of the digital transformation is addressed. Then the issue of primary accumulation and how it plays out in the digital space is tackled. Finaly, the digital space is situated in the context of material infrastructure.

Celem artykułu jest ukazanie zasadniczych różnic między rozumieniem pojęć kontyngencji, wolności, indywidualności w filozofii Szkota w odniesieniu do tradycji arystotelesowskiej. Podkreślam, że istotnymi elementami koncepcji Szkota, będącymi wyraźnym odejściem od klasycznego arystotelizmu, są: (1) odrzucenie zasady pełności, (2) interpretacja teraźniejszości jako niekoniecznej, (3) rozwinięcie pojęcia synchronicznej kontyngencji, (4) zerwanie związku między niezmiennością i koniecznością. W swej antropologii Szkot kładzie nacisk na (1) pojęcie wolnej wolijako władzy autonomicznej i zdolnej do samodeterminacji, (2) przypisuje woli racjonalność, która nie polega na zależności woli (...) od intelektu czy wiedzy, (3) odchodzi od arystotelesowskiego eudajmonizmu. Boga traktuje jako zdolnego do poznania i miłowania jednostkowych, kontyn- gentnych bytów. W swej aksjologii podkreśla pozytywny wymiar indywidualności, wielości i nie- powtarzalnościjednostek. (shrink)

Numerous studies show that language can influence both perceptual judgments, as well as the mental categorization of objects in memory. Previous research showed that using diminutive names of objects resulted in being less satisfied with owning said objects and lowering their perceived value. In the present studies, to explore this phenomenon, we decided to investigate whether the influence of a diminutive on the reduction in the subjective value of an object is determined by the perceived size of the object, in (...) accordance with the „bigger is better” heuristic. In Study 1 participants estimated a banknote to be smaller when it was presented with a diminutive label “banknocik” than “banknot”. However, this was not related to the perceived subjective value of the banknote. In Study 2 participants declared that they could buy less with a coin labeled as “pieniążek” than “pieniądz”, but the effect was not linked to the perceived size of the coins. In Study 3 a candy bar labeled as “batonik” was evaluated worse than the same product labeled “baton”, however, once again this was not related to the evaluation of its size. Thus, we show that the effect of diminutives on the reduction in the subjective value of an object is independent of the evaluation of the size of the object and we consider other explanations for the occurrence of this phenomenon. (shrink)

Expansive body posture is the most commonly studied and widely described in psychological literature. For many years, expansive posture was universally identified as a pose of power, but more recent research has revealed that the link between expansive posture and power may be moderated by gender, culture or even contextual cues. Our findings show that with little variation added to expansive posture it does not necessarily lead to the sense of power, and may actually trigger the opposite effect: a feeling (...) of submissiveness. In three studies, persons assuming their body in a standing-at-attention posture were perceived as being more obedient, thus participants who expanded their body in a standing-at-attention manner displayed greater compliance to requests and declared greater submissiveness toward social norms. We discuss how the cultural and interpersonal context imprinted in specific body posture can modify the feedback of innate and universal body states. (shrink)

Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Volume 44, Issue 4, Page 433-460, December 2021.

A class of quantum probabilities is reformulated in terms of non-Newtonian calculus and projective arithmetic. The model generalizes spin-1/2 singlet state probabilities discussed in Czachor (Acta Physica Polonica:139 70–83, 2021) to arbitrary spins _s_. For \(s\rightarrow \infty\) the formalism reduces to ordinary arithmetic and calculus. Accordingly, the limit “non-Newtonian to Newtonian” becomes analogous to the classical limit of a quantum theory.

We investigate how Dutch Book considerations can be conducted in the context of two classes of nonclassical probability spaces used in philosophy of physics. In particular we show that a recent proposal by B. Feintzeig to find so called “generalized probability spaces” which would not be susceptible to a Dutch Book and would not possess a classical extension is doomed to fail. Noting that the particular notion of a nonclassical probability space used by Feintzeig is not the most common employed (...) in philosophy of physics, and that his usage of the “classical” Dutch Book concept is not appropriate in “nonclassical” contexts, we then argue that if we switch to the more frequently used formalism and use the correct notion of a Dutch Book, then all probability spaces are not susceptible to a Dutch Book. We also settle a hypothesis regarding the existence of classical extensions of a class of generalized probability spaces. (shrink)

The issue of the relationship between predictive processing (PP) and the free energy principle (FEP) remains a subject of debate and controversy within the research community. Many researchers have expressed doubts regarding the actual integration of PP with the FEP, questioning whether the FEP can truly contribute significantly to the mechanistic understanding of PP or even undermine such integration altogether. In this paper, I present an alternative perspective. I argue that, from the viewpoint of the constraint-based mechanisms approach, the FEP (...) imposes an important constraint, namely variational free energy, on the mechanistic architecture proposed by PP. According to the constraint-based mechanisms approach, high-level cognitive mechanisms are integral parts of extensive heterarchical networks that govern the physiology and behavior of agents. Consequently, mechanistic explanations of cognitive phenomena should incorporate constraints and flows of free energy as relevant components, given that the implemented constraints operate as long as free energy is available. Within this framework, I contend that the FEP provides a relevant constraint for explaining at least some biological cognitive mechanisms described in terms of Bayesian generative models that minimize prediction errors. (shrink)

Background - Early adulthood is the developmental stage during which, for the first time, an individual can independently choose their own lifestyle. For the future health of a young adult, it is important that they incorporate healthy behaviors from different health dimensions into their lifestyle. Analyzing the foregoing issue gives rise to a fundamental question: did intensive social changes experienced after Poland’s accession to the European Union lead to changes in different aspects of a healthy lifestyle? Method - The presented (...) study involved 504 people. The research data was collected in two separate measurements in 2003 and 2013. Subjects were asked to complete sets of questionnaires which measured: health behaviors, health beliefs, social influence, intention. Results - Statistical comparison of means tests and regression equations were conducted. Results demonstrate that young adults were similarly engaged in pro-health activities in both 2003 and 2013. A detailed analysis of health lifestyle factors shows that young adults from the 2013 group care more about their diet, physical activity, and more frequently undergo preventive medical health examinations. Moreover, significant changes in healthy lifestyle factors were reported. The most important observation concerned the changes in health beliefs. Beliefs derived from a holistic-functional model of health played a major role in the 2003 group, whereas in the 2013 group beliefs close to the biomedical model of health were more important. Conclusions - Analyses demonstrate changes in detailed healthy lifestyle factors. At the same time, no significant differences in global measures of concern for one’s health were observed. Importantly, results show modifications in healthy lifestyle factors. It is suggested that the observed differences stem from the social change of the last decade. (shrink)

In the first part of the article the concept of associative duties and their justification as distinctive from general moral duties are analyzed. The second part considers associative duties to fellow citizens and distinguishing features of those duties such as reciprocity, mutuality and equal status. In the final part the author deals with specific cases concerning refugees and stresses arguments as to why the associative duties of cocitizens should overcome duties to refugees, as well as the failures of those arguments. (...) It is argued that the status of refugees is different from the status of other non-citizens, such as immigrants, due to the lack of institutional representation and protection. (shrink)

The text begins with the analysis of two terms regarding life crucial to both Wittgenstein's early and late philosophy. These are life form and nature, specifically, human nature. Wittgenstein treats both concepts in a very specific manner, different from the traditional approach of philosophy. He also criticized philosophical attempts to attribute special characteristics to human intellectual abilities which would separate them from natural processes. A particular 'spiritual' status of epistemic and other rational powers disappears when there is an insight into (...) their dependence on discursive practices and specific forms of life on which these powers are based. Concepts such as certainty, knowledge, or explanations do not rest on a rational foundation, that is, they do not refer to processes with particular un-natural properties. Nor can they be reduced to neuro-physiological processes, either. Instead, it is a specific grammar of their usage that makes them different from other concepts describing physical or biological processes. In that sense, Wittgenstein develops a non-reductionist version of naturalism which preserves the diversity of human relations in the world. (shrink)

The paper argues that Rawls’ critique of perfectionism from the standpoint of neutral liberalism scrutinizes the conceptions of the good without demarcation between them, that is, without distinguishing whether they are comprehensive religious or philosophical conceptions, or whether they are piecemeal comprehensions of local values, concepts and goods. In addition to the high contestability in the use of the concept of comprehensiveness, it is necessary to retain the concept of reasonableness, as comprehensions of the good have to be to some (...) extent well-founded, consistent and coherent to be considered relevant in a political dispute. Considering these distinctions, it can be claimed that, in particular cases, the application of considerations of the good in disputes concerning constitutional essentials can be supported and, considering reasonable pluralism, morally justified. Nevertheless, moderate perfectionism has to specify whether political decisions create and support options, promote valuable goods or they discourage worthless goods. It is necessary to delineate the limits of perfectionistic measures accordingly. (shrink)

Analysis starts from Rawls’s disposition that in a liberal society autonomous persons should have two moral powers – the capacity for a sense of justice and the capacity to establish, pursue and revise the concept of the good. Political or neutral liberalism advocates the justification of state intervention to improve the first type of capacity while declaring the interference with the second capacity illegitimate. The critique of this disposition is done by analysing the perspectives of Jonathan Quong and Martha Nussbaum, (...) showing that they lead to allowing irrational and authoritarian perspectives in education, that is, neglecting the development of valuable capacities. Although institutional influence can be biased and paternalistic, in some cases it may be legitimate for the institution to create conditions that enhance people’s ability to evaluate, reevaluate, and revise their conceptions of the good. (shrink)

The aim of this article is to analyse the new forms of militarism as well as the position and the role of the armed forces in Latin American political systems in the twenty-first century. The first part analyses two selected forms of military participation in politics: the participation of former servicemembers in presidential elections and their performance as presidents, and the militarisation of political parties. The second part of the article focuses on the issue of contemporary civil-military relations in Latin (...) America, discussing the problems associated with the establishment of democratic control over the armed forces, the reform of the Ministries of Defense and the redefinition of the functions of the army. (shrink)

In this paper I present the explanatory potential of Antoni Kępiński’s model of information metabolism in the question of data smog (data glut, information overload). Kępiński’s model is not well known and the bibliography concerning the model of information metabolism is still rather poor. In the article I present the model as a good heuristics for explaining information exchange between the system and the environment. The particular aim of my deliberations is to use the model of information metabolism to discuss (...) the pathological, although common phenomenon of data smog. This allows for a holistic view of the problem and allows for new statements on data smog, ethical consequences and counteracting the negative consequences of information overload. (shrink)

Celem niniejszych rozważań jest zarysowanie nowego podejścia w analizowaniu, czym jest normatywność. Po pierwsze wskazuję na miejsce problemu normatywności we współczesnej filozofii, koncentrując się sporze pomiędzy naturalizmem i antynaturalizmem. Następnie omawiam tzw. odgórną drogę w badaniu normatywności, którą przeciwstawiam inspirowanej przez współczesną filozofię nauki, drodze oddolnej. W integracji podejścia odgórnego i oddolnego upatruję możliwość takiego badania zjawisk normatywnych, które nie będzie ich redukowało do jednego z rodzajów normatywności.

Celem niniejszego artykułu jest dyskusja z niektórymi tezami zawartymi w książce Witolda Płotki, Studia z fenomenologii poznania. Transcedentalna filozofia Edmunda Husserla a problem wiedzy. Zostaje podjęta kwestia dotyczącą miejsca i znaczenia rozważań nad językiem w kontekście fenomenologii Husserlowskiej. Autor zastanawia się, czy język jest medium przezroczystym, czy jednak jest on elementem konstytutywnym dla treści i charakteru doświadczenia.