In a recent paper, Christian List (2014) has argued for the compatibilism of free will and determinism. Drawing on a distinction between physical possibility (used in defining determinism) and agential possibility (used in defining free will), List constructs a formal two-level model in which the two concepts are consistent. This paper's first contribution is to show that though List's model is formally consistent, philosophically it falls short of establishing a satisfactory compatibilist position. Ensuingly, an analysis of the shortcomings of the (...) model leads to the identification of a controversial epistemological assumption implicit in the statements of both compatibilist and incompatibilist positions. Arguing that this assumption is not currently satisfied, the paper's second contribution is to show that neither the compatibilist nor the incompatibilist position is presently well-founded. (shrink)

In the literature there are at least two main formal structures to deal with situations of interactive epistemology: Kripke models and type spaces. As shown in many papers :149–225, 1999; Battigalli and Siniscalchi in J Econ Theory 106:356–391, 2002; Klein and Pacuit in Stud Log 102:297–319, 2014; Lorini in J Philos Log 42:863–904, 2013), both these frameworks can be used to express epistemic conditions for solution concepts in game theory. The main result of this paper is a formal comparison between (...) the two and a statement of semantic equivalence with respect to two different logical systems: a doxastic logic for belief and an epistemic–doxastic logic for belief and knowledge. Moreover, a sound and complete axiomatization of these logics with respect to the two equivalent Kripke semantics and type spaces semantics is provided. Finally, a probabilistic extension of the result is also presented. A further result of the paper is a study of the relationship between the epistemic–doxastic logic for belief and knowledge and the logic STIT by Belnap and colleagues. (shrink)

Ever since Wesley Salmon’s theory, the mechanical approach to causality has found an increasing number of supporters who have developed it in different directions. Mechanical views such as those advanced by Stuart Glennan, Jim Bogen and Peter Machamer, Lindley Darden and Carl Craver have met with broad consensus in recent years. This paper analyses the main features of these mechanical positions and some of the major problems they still face, referring to the latest debate on mechanisms, causal explanation and the (...) relationship between mechanisms and counterfactuals. I shall claim that the mechanical approach can be recognised as having a fundamental explanatory power, whereas the counterfactual approach, recently developed mainly by Jim Woodward and essentially linked to the notion of intervention, has an important heuristic role. Claiming that mechanisms are by no means to be seen as parasitic on counterfactuals or less fundamental than them – as it has been recently suggested –, and that yet counterfactuals can play a part in a conceptual analysis of causation, I shall look for hints in support of the peaceful coexistence of the two. (shrink)

Standard applications of evolutionary game theory look at a single game and focus on the evolution of behavior for that game alone. Instead, this article uses tools from evolutionary game theory to study the competition between choice mechanisms in a rich and variable multigame environment. A choice mechanism is a way of subjectively representing a decision situation, paired with a method for choosing an act based on this subjective representation. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach by a case study (...) that shows how subjective representations in terms of regret that differ from the actual fitness can be evolutionarily advantageous. (shrink)

Standard evolutionary game theory investigates the evolutionary fitness of alternative behaviors in a fixed and single decision problem. This paper instead focuses on decision criteria, rather than on simple behaviors, as the general behavioral rules under selection in the population: the evolutionary fitness of classic decision criteria for rational choice is analyzed through Monte Carlo simulations over various classes of decision problems. Overall, quantifying the uncertainty in a probabilistic way and maximizing expected utility turns out to be evolutionarily beneficial in (...) general. Minimizing regret also finds some evolutionary justifications in our results, while maximin seems to be always disadvantaged by differential selection. (shrink)

Utilising science and technology to maximize human performance is often an essential feature of military activity. This can often be focused on mission success rather than just the welfare of the individuals involved. This tension has the potential to threaten the autonomy of soldiers and military physicians around the taking or administering of enhancement neurotechnologies (e.g., pills, neural implants, and neuroprostheses). The Hybrid Framework was proposed by academic researchers working in the U.S. context and comprises “rules” for military neuroenhancement (e.g., (...) ensuring transparency and maintaining dignity of the warfighter). Integrating traditional bioethical perspectives with the unique requirements of the military environment, it has been referenced by military/government agencies tasked with writing official ethical frameworks. Our two-part investigation explored the ethical dimensions of military neuroenhancements with military officers – those most likely to be making decisions in this area in the future. In three workshops, structured around the Hybrid Framework, we explored what they thought about the ethical issues of enhancement neurotechnologies. From these findings, we conducted a survey (N = 332) to probe the extent of rule endorsement. Results show high levels of endorsement for a warfighter’s decision-making autonomy, but lower support for the view that enhanced warfighters would pose a danger to society after service. By examining the endorsement of concrete decision-making guidelines, we provide an overview of how military officers might, in practice, resolve tensions between competing values or higher-level principles. Our results suggest that the military context demands a recontextualisation of the relationship between military and civilian ethics. (shrink)

In this contribution we will present a generalization of de Finetti's betting game in which a gambler is allowed to buy and sell unknown events' betting odds from more than one bookmaker. In such a framework, the sole coherence of the books the gambler can play with is not sucient, as in the original de Finetti's frame, to bar the gambler from a sure-win opportunity. The notion of joint coherence which we will introduce in this paper characterizes those coherent books (...) on which sure- win is impossible. Our main results provide geometric characterizations of the space of all books which are jointly coherent with a xed one. As a consequence we will also show that joint coherence is decidable. (shrink)

This paper aims to critically approach the development of capitalist relations of production, as well as the genesis of the vindications of women's rights in the French Revolution. We seek to understand the socioeconomic conditions that made possible the rise of the first typically modern philosophical and political reflections about the exclusion of women from political rights and their inferiorization in society. In this sense, it is possible to emphasize the work of Mary Wollstonecraft and Olympe de Gouges, which, in (...) contesting the theories of natural law, enabled the development of a first political program to attend to the needs of women (peasants, proletarians and petit bourgeois). (shrink)

Protágoras de Abdera, conhecido sofista da Grécia antiga, é compreendido em seus dizeres no decorrer da história da filosofia principalmente devido às contribuições de Platão. O ateniense não apenas dedicou uma obra com seu nome, como também apresentou sua famosa tese do homem-medida no diálogo Teeteto, contribuindo imensamente para elucidar questões importantes sobre seu relativismo. O quão seria pertinente afirmar que é possível saber na íntegra o que queria dizer Protágoras nesse fragmento quando seguimos apenas os testemunhos de Platão. No (...) presente trabalho, iremos propor algumas interpretações dos fragmentos de Protágoras de Abdera com a finalidade de percebermos se há divergências com a interpretação platônica, acima de tudo sobre o fragmento do homem-medida. Traremos, para a análise de Protágoras, o livro de Edward Schiappa, Protagoras and Logos, fazendo as devidas considerações sobre suas conclusões, para, ao final da pesquisa, nos posicionar devidamente diante do que Platão, de fato concordou e acertou sobre o homem-medida. (shrink)

Responding to serious environmental problems, requires urgent and fundamental shifts in our day-to-day lifestyles. This paper employs a qualitative, cross-cultural approach to explore people’s subjective self-reflections on their experiences of pro-environmental behavioral spillover in three countries; Brazil, China, and Denmark. Behavioral spillover is an appealing yet elusive phenomenon, but offers a potential way of encouraging wider, voluntary lifestyle shifts beyond the scope of single behavior change interventions. Behavioral spillover theory proposes that engaging in one pro-environmental action can catalyze the performance (...) of others. To date, evidence for the phenomenon has been mixed, and the causal processes governing relationships between behaviors appear complex, inconsistent and only partly understood. This paper addresses a gap in the literature by investigating accounts of behavioral spillover in three diverse cultural settings using qualitative semi-structured interviews. The analysis shows that while around half of participants overall who were questioned recalled spillover effects, the other half had not consciously experienced spillover. There were few significant differences across cultures, though some forms of spillover effects were reported more in some cultures than others. More environmentally-engaged participants across all three countries were significantly more likely to experience spillover than those who were less engaged. Accounts of within-domain spillovers were most commonly reported, mainly comprising waste, resource conservation and consumption-related actions. Accounts of between-domain spillover were very rare. Recollection of contextual and interpersonal spillover effects also emerged from the interviews. Our findings suggest that more conscious behavioral spillover pathways may be limited to those with pre-existing environmental values. Behavioral spillover may comprise multiple pathways incorporating conscious and unconscious processes. We conclude that targeting behavioral catalysts that generate more socially diffuse spillover effects could offer more potential than conventional spillover involving a single individual. (shrink)

Introduction: Empathy is a complex human experience that involves the subjective intersection of different individuals. In the context of nursing care in the geriatric setting, the benefits of empathetic relationships are directly related to the quality of the practice of nursing. Objective: Analyze scientific production on the benefits of empathy in the nurse–patient relationship in the geriatric care setting. Methods: An integrative review of the literature was performed using the PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science databases. The (...) articles retrieved were organized, evaluated, and classified based on the level of scientific evidence. Results: Relationships of empathy between nurses and older people were analyzed in quasi-experimental studies using different assessment tools, the majority of which had moderate levels of validity and reliability. Studies with a qualitative approach discussed the meaning of empathy in terms of the quality of care offered, compassion, and vulnerability. Discussion: Levels of empathy increase when activities are developed with the aim of teaching, sensitization, and training for relational care between nursing staff and older people. The analysis of empathetic relationships is important to the evaluation of the quality of care provided to older people. Conclusion: Empathy in the nurse–patient relationship in the geriatric care setting is an important ethical aspect that contributes to the quality of the practice of nursing. The present findings indicate the need for more robust assessment tools with adequate psychometric properties and the descriptive analysis of empathy. (shrink)

The US neutrino community gathered at the Workshop on the Intermediate Neutrino Program at Brookhaven National Laboratory February 4-6, 2015 to explore opportunities in neutrino physics over the next five to ten years. Scientists from particle, astroparticle and nuclear physics participated in the workshop. The workshop examined promising opportunities for neutrino physics in the intermediate term, including possible new small to mid-scale experiments, US contributions to large experiments, upgrades to existing experiments, R&D plans and theory. The workshop was organized into (...) two sets of parallel working group sessions, divided by physics topics and technology. Physics working groups covered topics on Sterile Neutrinos, Neutrino Mixing, Neutrino Interactions, Neutrino Properties and Astrophysical Neutrinos. Technology sessions were organized into Theory, Short-Baseline Accelerator Neutrinos, Reactor Neutrinos, Detector R&D and Source, Cyclotron and Meson Decay at Rest sessions.This report summarizes discussion and conclusions from the workshop. (shrink)

The relationship between traumatic life events and increased suicide risk has been well reported in literature. However, the complex nature of suicidality phenomena still hinders our ability to comprehend the mediation mechanism underlying this association. In this study, we examined the mediating role of adult attachment and reflective functioning in the relationship between traumatic life events and suicidal ideation. Nine hundred and fifty Italian adults completed an online survey evaluating traumatic life events, adult attachment, reflective functioning and suicidal ideation. The (...) path analysis showed that the positive relationship between traumatic life events and suicidal ideation was partially mediated by attachment anxiety and reflective functioning. From a clinical point of view, these results support the relevance of evaluating and improving patients’ ability to mentalize as a part of psychotherapeutic intervention aimed at reducing suicidality in people with a history of traumatic experiences and attachment anxiety. (shrink)

Observa-se, no Brasil, um movimento significativo para consolidação de escolas inclusivas em que estudantes com deficiência possam encontrar efetivas possibilidades de aprendizagem. Este artigo apresenta uma revisão de literatura realizada com o objetivo de identificar, em artigos nacionais, os principais desafios à inclusão de estudantes com deficiência física em escolas comuns. Para situar a análise, uma discussão introdutória a respeito do conceito de deficiência física permite compreendê-lo como uma construção influenciada pelo paradigma ou modelo de deficiência. A revisão de literatura (...) foi realizada utilizando o banco de dados do Portal de Periódico da Capes, por meio do cruzamento dos descritores deficiência física, inclusão escolar, educação inclusiva e paralisia cerebral. Os 29 artigos selecionados foram analisados utilizando a análise de conteúdo qualitativa. O presente artigo apresenta uma discussão de quatro categorias. A análise permitiu identificar aspectos específicos relativos à inclusão de estudantes com deficiência física. Em relação à formação de professores, os estudos destacam as demandas ocasionadas pela perspectiva da inclusão e as críticas à formação inicial e continuada. Outros aspectos evidenciados são o desconhecimento acerca da tecnologia assistiva ou de seu uso, a falta de recursos e as barreiras que os estudantes continuam enfrentando. Os estudos apontam, ainda, à necessidade de dar maior apoio às equipes multidisciplinares nas escolas e à importância das adaptações curriculares à aprendizagem e ao desenvolvimento dos estudantes com deficiência. As pesquisas revelam que estamos longe ainda de ter as condições ideais para aprendizagem e desenvolvimento integral de estudantes com deficiência física em nossas escolas. Palavras-chave: Deficiências físicas. Inclusão educacional. Educação inclusiva. Educação especial. (shrink)

Il contributo consiste in una analisi e commento della prima sezione del De docta ignorantia di Nicola Cusano (capp. I-XVI), dedicata ai concetti di precisione matematica e di uguaglianza. Il saggio offre la possibilità di ripercorrere la teoria della conoscenza di Cusano, laddove l'impossibilità per la ragione di giungere ad una mens-ura precisa dell'oggetto da conoscere non si trasforma in una mera cultura del limite, bensì la filosofia negativa diviene base per la mistica. In altri termini l'obiettivo specifico del saggio (...) è rilevare come il metodo della dotta ignoranza apra alla conoscenza dell'infinito proprio nel momento in cui essa nega ogni conoscenza razionale precisa. La matematica diviene dunque il fondamento su cui far leva per innalzare la propria mente (transferre) verso la conoscenza simbolica di Dio, nel medesimo solco tracciato da Dionigi e dalla tradizione della mistica speculativa. (shrink)