Graphical AbstractScience and technology consortia provide a viable solution for the recent unsustainable academic growth in biomedical research.

Predictive processing (PP) has been repeatedly presented as a unificatory account of perception, action, and cognition. In this paper, we argue that this is premature: As a unifying theory, PP fails to deliver general, simple, homogeneous, and systematic explanations. By examining its current trajectory of development, we conclude that PP remains only loosely connected both to its computational framework and to its hypothetical biological underpinnings, which makes its fundamentals unclear. Instead of offering explanations that refer to the same set of (...) principles, we observe systematic equivocations in PP‐based models, or outright contradictions with its avowed principles. To make matters worse, PP‐based models are seldom empirically validated, and they are frequently offered as mere just‐so stories. The large number of PP‐based models is thus not evidence of theoretical progress in unifying perception, action, and cognition. On the contrary, we maintain that the gap between theory and its biological and computational bases contributes to the arrested development of PP as a unificatory theory. Thus, we urge the defenders of PP to focus on its critical problems instead of offering mere re‐descriptions of known phenomena, and to validate their models against possible alternative explanations that stem from different theoretical assumptions. Otherwise, PP will ultimately fail as a unified theory of cognition. (shrink)

Predictive processing models of psychopathologies are not explanatorily consistent with the present account of abstract thought. These models are based on latent variables probabilistically mapping the structure of the world. As such, they cannot be informed by representational ontology based on mental objects and states. What actually is the case is merely some terminological affinity between subjective and informational uncertainty.

A calculus of names is a logical theory describing relations between names. By a pure calculus of names we mean a quantifier-free formulation of such a theory, based on classical propositional calculus. An axiomatisation of a pure calculus of names is presented and its completeness is discussed. It is shown that the axiomatisation is complete in three different ways: with respect to a set theoretical model, with respect to Leśniewski's Ontology and in a sense defined with the use of axiomatic (...) rejection. The independence of axioms is proved. A decision procedure based on syntactic transformations and models defined in the domain of only two members is defined. (shrink)

Stoicism is coming back in a big way. Seen as a remedy for the craziness of the times we live in, it is experiencing a great surge in academic and cultural interest. Yet, can one live stoically and be a creative artist at the same time? Delving into its underlying tenets, obscure restrictions and limits of applicability, Stankiewicz critically explores Stoicism and its complex association with artistic creativity. Stoicism and artistic creativity are two great displays of the human spirit. Yet, (...) there are multiple reasons to suspect that they are at odds with each other. Popular culture encapsulates this problem in the figure of the rational, yet emotionally remote Stoic, who achieves serenity through withdrawal, and the contrasting figure of the “cursed poet,” “tormented artist,” or simply a rock star, who lives in a whirl of creative energy, yet falls short of quietude. Is this contrast valid? Other disciplines, including psychology, have explored this problem. But it has never been done philosophically. Pioneering in its philosophical approach, this book discusses how artistic creativity and its problems of identity, expression and self-creation serve as a great testing ground for Stoicism, as well as its theoretical challenges and practical limits. Stankiewicz presents a detailed investigation into the stereotypes of Stoic life that seeks to explain the cause of Stoicism’s modern revival. This book is an essential read for anyone captivated by Stoicism’s complex allure. (shrink)

The articles in this collection focus on philosophical approaches to proper names. The issues discussed include abstract names, empty names, naming and name-using practices, definite descriptions, individuals, reference, designation, sense and semantics. The contributions show the importance and lasting influence of theories proposed by John Stuart Mill, Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Donald Davidson, and Saul Kripke. Individual chapters assess traditional analyses and modern controversies, and contribute to the debate on proper names in contemporary philosophy of language.

The papers in this collection discuss broadly understood cognitive turns in the philosophy of language, inspired by the Chomskyan revolution in linguistics, Langacker's and Lakoff's Cognitive Linguistics, but also phenomenology, Relevance Theory and Classical Indian Philosophy. The individual texts investigate, from different angles, the relations between philosophy of language and linguistics, and contribute to the development of theoretical frameworks for studying language. Most of the contributions were presented at the first International Conference on Philosophy of Language and Linguistics, PhiLang2009 (University (...) of Łodź, May 2009).". (shrink)

Artykuł zawiera szkic ontologicznych podstaw coachingu filozoficznego – nowej dyscypliny praktycznej, która od roku 2016 stanowi składnik oferty edukacyjnej Uniwersytetu Opolskiego. Jest rozwinięciem idei zawartych w moim tekście „Filozofia jako ćwiczenie duchowe – coachingowy model uprawiania filozofii”. W drugim paragrafie przedstawiono ontologię Platona z perspektywy filozofii procesu. Widziana z tej perspektywy ontologia Platona jest rodzajem metafizyki doświadczenia – byt nazywany przez Platona „prawdziwym” nie jest rzeczywistością abstraktów, lecz tym, czego doświadczamy w chwilach, gdy rozpoznajemy znaczenie konkretnych sytuacji życiowych w perspektywie (...) Dobra. Filozofia Platona okazuje się rodzajem filozoficznej logoterapii – praktyki duchowej polegającej na uwalnianiu umysłu przez odwracanie go od pato-logicznych pseudoznaczeń w stronę Sensu. Przyjęcie tej perspektywy oznacza uznanie doświadczenia medytacyjnego za punkt odniesienia refleksji filozoficznej. Oznacza też skierowanie uwagi w stronę doświadczenia wewnętrznego, również w stronę odczuć płynących z ciała jako istotnego składnika tego doświadczenia. Jako konkretny przykład starożytnego coachingu filozoficznego opisano w tekście stoicką praktykę „wytyczania teraźniejszości”. Dla zilustrowania idei współczesnego coachingu filozoficznego opisano ćwiczenie „Moje tu i teraz” – jedno z narzędzi opracowanych na potrzeby indywidualnej praktyki coachingowej. Opiera się ono na założeniach zarysowanej wcześniej ontologii doświadczenia. Tekst kończy opis kompetencji uzyskiwanych przez absolwenta kierunku Coaching filozoficzny. (shrink)

This article is a critical discussion of the book Setting Health-Care Priorities by Torbjörn Tännsjö. This critique targets mainly Tännsjö’s method, but also several unjustified conclusions and some implicit assumptions.

In this text, we consider Gärdenfors’ conceptual spaces that are separable Hilbert spaces. In particular, the results we obtained apply to finite-dimensional Euclidean spaces. Our main contribution can be formulated as a combination of the theory of opinion dynamics with the theory of conceptual spaces. This combination, in turn, leads us to propose a new model for the time evolution of conceptual spaces. To achieve this goal, we propose some extension of the multidimensional opinion dynamics model of Parsegov, Proskurnikov, Tempo (...) and Friedkin to opinions with values in Hilbert spaces. (shrink)

The process of continuing education of paramedics is based on gaining educational credits during five-year educational periods. One of the forms of self-improvement are Internet-based educational programs. The lack of regulations concerning the organizational and technical aspects of e-learning made the authors attempt to analyze the phenomenon. The aim of the article is to present an initial analysis of the role of online educational programs in comparison with other forms of professional training of paramedics. One in three respondents has recently (...) used one of the methods of distance learning. Despite the low awareness of the effectiveness of e-learning, almost 70% of the interviewees expressed a positive opinion about it and over 50% were willing to use such forms in the future. The respondents preferred online trainings in the asynchronous version, containing audio-visual materials and providing the possibility to obtain a certificate issued to the participant after completing the course. The demand for topics in the area of professional training included mainly the fields of Drug Therapy, electrotherapy, electrocardiogram evaluation, medical segregation, and help in delivery in pre-hospital conditions. Modern forms of distance learning do not make it possible to acquire practical skills, yet their role in professional training of paramedics is still significant. According to the authors, online educational programs constitute an effective complement to traditional training through the performance of tasks in a mixed form, known as blended-learning. (shrink)

It is our intention to re-investigate only a few of the innumerable epistemological problems concerning Paley's argumentation for the existence of God. Nowadays this argumentation is commonly considered as invalid. Modern philosophers believe that the Humean Dialogs on Natural Religion and the Darwinian theory of evolution deprived Paley's reasoning of any cognitive validity. This judgment seems to us unjustified. We shall try to demonstrate that the very meaning and the logical structure of Paley's argumentation are continuously misunderstood, and that critics (...) have attacked rather a false image of Paley's cognitive pathway. Furthermore, we will show that Paley actually argues for the existence of a single agent producing biological organs. Indeed Paley demonstrates, that a biological organ is a kind of objective whole, and by necessity one produced by a single agent. However, Paley's form of argumentation is not sufficient to indicate whether this agent might be identified with a divine Creator, or Aristotelian "soul" building and commanding biological organs, or the recently discovered, described and deciphered deoxynucleotide polymer present in the reproductive biological cell. (shrink)

The article reviews the book Życie a orientacja w rzeczywistości przyrodniczej [Life and Orientation in Natural Reality], by Jolanta Koszteyn.

Simplicity was recently described in the philosophy of science as “perhaps the most controversial theoretical virtue” (Schindler 2018). It has been also argued that contrary to the standard view, simplicity is not merely a pragmatic virtue but also an epistemic one. Virtue epistemologists are also interested in epistemic virtues, but simplicity is usually absent in their discussions. This paper adduces several contemporary approaches to simplicity showing that in philosophy and in psychology it can be considered either as a virtue or (...) as a vice. The paper then refers to the thought of Thomas Aquinas as an example of a premodern understanding of the virtue simplicity and suggests that his notion of simplicity as a virtue might be developed today within virtue epistemology into an interesting complement to this “perhaps the most controversial theoretical virtue” (Schindler 2018) known from contemporary philosophy. (shrink)

Celem artykułu jest analiza trwającej w środowisku filozoficznym debaty na temat możliwości wykorzystywania najnowszych osiągnięć naukowych z zakresu farmakologii, psychiatrii czy technologii informatycznej w zamiarze usprawniania sfery emocjonalnej człowieka. Perspektywa przedstawicieli ruchu transhumanistycznego uznaje, że wzmocnienia afektywne niosą ze sobą potencjał uwolnienia wszystkich świadomych istot od cierpienia oraz zapewnienia im szczęścia przez całe życie. W artykule analizowane są główne argumenty transhumanisty i filozofa Davida Pearce’a i jego programu Imperatywu Hedonistycznego. Następnie podejmuje się refleksję nad rolą i strukturą emocji w ludzkim (...) życiu, a także nad warunkami, które musiałyby spełnić środki umożliwiające osiągnięcie „permanentnego uśmiechu”, to jest nad metodami wzmocnienia afektywnego, które ograniczałyby negatywne oddziaływanie emocji na jednostkę. Analiza teoretycznych założeń projektu transhumanistycznego zostaje rozszerzona o przegląd obecnie dostępnych środków farmakologicznych oraz informatycznych, które przyczyniałyby się do wzmocnienia afektywnego człowieka i innych istot świadomych. Prowadzona analiza skupiać będzie się na dwóch rzędach ludzkiej sfery afektywnej: (1) emocjach i (2) metaemocjach. Wykazuje się, że wszelkie interwencje transhumanistyczne powinny uwzględniać kwestię autentyczności sądów wydawanych na poziomie metaemocjonalnym. (shrink)

We give geometric axioms for existentially closed Hasse fields. We prove a quantifier elimination result for existentially closed n-truncated Hasse fields and characterize them as reducts of existentially closed Hasse fields.

We state and prove a generalization of Ax’s theorem on the transcendence degree of solutions of the differential equation of the exponential map. We also discuss a positive characteristic analogue of this theorem.

Ethical principles concerning foresters were presented in this article in the light of the forest law passed in the interwar period for the whole country, as well as in the light of the documents issued by the local forest administration. For analysis were submitted especially archive documents on foresters’ responsibility for forest goods: wood and game. Ethical attitude of foresters translated, among other things, into efficient functioning of forest management all over Greater Poland.