In this paper we propose a semantic analysis of Lewis' counterfactuals. By exploiting the structural properties of the recently introduced boolean algebras of conditionals, we show that counterfactuals can be expressed as formal combinations of a conditional object and a normal necessity modal operator. Specifically, we introduce a class of algebras that serve as modal expansions of boolean algebras of conditionals, together with their dual relational structures. Moreover, we show that Lewis' semantics based on sphere models can be reconstructed in (...) this framework. As a consequence, we establish the soundness and completeness of a slightly stronger variant of Lewis' logic for counterfactuals with respect to our algebraic models. In the second part of the paper, we present a novel approach to the probability of counterfactuals showing that it aligns with the uncertainty degree assigned by a belief function, as per Dempster-Shafer theory, to its associated conditional formula. Furthermore, we characterize the probability of a counterfactual in terms of Gärdenfors' imaging rule for the probabilistic update. (shrink)

Causal Modeling Semantics (CMS, e.g., Galles and Pearl 1998; Pearl 2000; Halpern 2000) is a powerful framework for evaluating counterfactuals whose antecedent is a conjunction of atomic formulas. We extend CMS to an evaluation of the probability of counterfactuals with disjunctive antecedents, and more generally, to counterfactuals whose antecedent is an arbitrary Boolean combination of atomic formulas. Our main idea is to assign a probability to a counterfactual (A ∨ B) € C at a causal model M as a weighted (...) average of the probability of C in those submodels that truthmake A ∨ B (Briggs 2012; Fine 2016, 2017). The weights of the submodels are given by the inverse distance to the original model M, based on a distance metric proposed by Eva, Stern, and Hartmann (2019). Apart from solving a major problem in the epistemology of counterfactuals, our paper shows how work in semantics, causal inference and formal epistemology can be fruitfully combined. (shrink)

The logico-algebraic study of Lewis's hierarchy of variably strict conditional logics has been essentially unexplored, hindering our understanding of their mathematical foundations, and the connections with other logical systems. This work aims to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive logico-algebraic analysis of Lewis's logics. We begin by introducing novel finite axiomatizations for varying strengths of Lewis's logics, distinguishing between global and local consequence relations on Lewisian sphere models. We then demonstrate that the global consequence relation is strongly algebraizable in (...) terms of a specific class of Boolean algebras with a binary operator representing the counterfactual implication; in contrast, we show that the local consequence relation is generally not algebraizable, although it can be characterized as the degree-preserving logic over the same algebraic models. Further, we delve into the algebraic semantics of Lewis's logics, developing two dual equivalences with respect to particular topological spaces. In more details, we show a duality with respect to the topological version of Lewis's sphere models, and also with respect to Stone spaces with a selection function; using the latter, we demonstrate the strong completeness of Lewis's logics with respect to sphere models. Finally, we draw some considerations concerning the limit assumption over sphere models. (shrink)

L'actualisme de Gentile et l'historicisme de Croce entrent en résonance avec les questions théoriques de la pensée contemporaine : une nouvelle conception de la subjectivité transcendantale, et de ses liens avec l'expérience, voit le jour. Font notamment l'objet de ce livre les divergentes reformes de l'hégelisme proposées par Croce et Gentile afin d'en surmonter le résidu métaphysique, et ainsi de sauvegarder la concrétude et l'originalité du devenir. Empruntant des chemins différents et parvenant à des formulations théoriques souvent opposées, les deux (...) protagonistes du néo-idéalisme italien ont, l'un et l'autre, défini une philosophie fidèle à l'esprit plus élevé de l'humanisme. (shrink)

This book covers the fascist period in Italy and Giovanni Gentile as a man and his works.

This paper investigates the influence of contrastive stress in resolving potential semantic ambiguities. The sentences under investigation contain the focus operator only. Sentences with only have three main properties: (a) some sentential element is typically in focus, (b) the speaker presupposes that a set of alternatives to the focus element (the contrast set) has previously been introduced in the context; and (c) the speaker makes the assertion that the focus element has some unique property which other members of the reference (...) set lack. Previous literature on focus has concluded that stress plays a role in the interpretation of only-sentences in many natural languages, including English (Rooth, 1992). In processing terms, this suggests that contrastive stress could immediately determine which NP bears the semantic focus (and therefore the NP that presupposes a contrast set in the context). On this scenario, the processing cost associated with contrastive stress should be no greater than the cost associated with neutral stress. There is, however, a theoretically motivated proposal that makes the opposite prediction (Reinhart, 1999). As we understand it, in this model the parser is expected calculate default stress first, with its associated interpretation, and only later reanalyze the sentence, if necessary, based on the contrastive stress pattern. Since in English the default stress falls on the last NP of the sentence, any deviation from this pattern will be more costly. In processing sentences with contrastive stress, the model implies that the parser first calculates the interpretation that is associated with the default stress pattern. In this regard, young children’s interpretation of sentences with stress and the focus operator only is of special interest. Because young children are in the throes of grammar formation, their behavior can reveal default strategies for sentence processing, as well as the extent to which the parser’s sensitivity to contrastive stress is universal, i.e., includes child languages.. (shrink)

This volume, originally published in 1977 by Litton Educational Publishing, Inc., is divided into four main parts. Part I: The Learner, and Part II: The Teacher, deal with the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual aspects of the learner and the teacher in the educational process. Part III: The Learning Process, emphasizes the interactions of learners and teachers and specific philosophies and methods employed, such as Gestalt, Piaget, and Montessori. Part IV: The Never-Ending Odyssey, expounds the main theme of the text, (...) that learning is an on-going, life-long process. (shrink)

The paper provides an innovative interpretation of the treatise De Victu, showing that, though Heraclitean, Anaxagorean and Empedoclean borrowings in the work are certainly pervasive, the author also develops a sophisticated and multi-purpose explanatory framework, which, being based on an original conception of the nature of man, the cosmos and the relationship between the two, provides an effective foundation for the medical enterprise, allowing him to propose his dietetics as a ‘way of life’. At the core of this enterprise is (...) the relationship between microcosm and macrocosm: in virtue of this relationship, I submit, the cosmos becomes both an active factor to be taken into account for the maintenance of individual physical well-being and the normative standard to which a dietician and whoever cares about health must refer in order to live the healthiest possible life. (shrink)

The aim of this work is to find an answer to the following questions: is it possible to develop a truthmaker semantics for modal statements? And how? The answer to the first question is assumed to be positive and we will focus on seeking the answer to the second one. We believe that the truth-maker semantic account originally developed by Johannes Korbmacher in some unpublished work constitutes a satisfactory answer to the second question. So, we will prove some results on (...) the connections between Korbmacher’s account and already existing logics and we will also extend the framework and the related results to the first-order case. Moreover, we will engage in a philosophical discussion about the nature of truthmakers of modal statements and the way we should conceive of it in the light of this novel modal truthmaker approach. In the end, we will discuss the details of a possible application of the new semantic framework analysed in the thesis. (shrink)

This paper introduces a new framework, based on the notion of compatibility space, obtained by adding a primitive incompatibility relation to a state space in the sense of Fine. The key idea inspiring the framework is to modify Fine's truthmaker semantics by taking the notion of incompatibility as primitive, and use it to define other notions. We discuss some interesting features of the framework and explore its advantages over the standard framework of state spaces. We review some applications of the (...) framework, including proofs of soundness and completeness theorems for a number of logics, one way to use compatibility states to mirror Kripke frames, and an exploration of a way to use the new framework to provide truthmaking clauses for modal formulas. (shrink)

The present thesis focuses on counterfactuals. Specifically, we will address new questions and open problems that arise for the standard semantic accounts of counterfactual conditionals. The first four chapters deal with the Lewisian semantic account of counterfactuals. On a technical level, we contribute by providing an equivalent algebraic semantics for Lewis' variably strict conditional logics, which is notably absent in the literature. We introduce a new kind of algebra and differentiate between local and global versions of each of Lewis' variably (...) strict conditional logics. We study the algebraic properties of Lewis' logics and the structure theory of our newly introduced algebras. Additionally, we employ a new algebraic construction, based on the framework of Boolean algebras of conditionals, to provide an alternative semantics for Lewisian counterfactual conditionals. This semantic account allows us to establish new truth conditions for Lewisian counterfactuals, implying that Lewisian counterfactuals are definable conditionals, and each counterfactual can be characterized as a modality of a corresponding probabilistic conditional. We further extend these results by demonstrating that each Lewisian counterfactual can also be characterized as a modality of the corresponding Stalnaker conditional. The resulting formal semantic framework is much more expressive than the standard one and, in addition to providing new truth conditions for counterfactuals, it also allows us to define a new class of conditional logics falling into the broader framework of weak logics. On the philosophical side, we argue that our results shed new light on the understanding of Lewisian counterfactuals and prompt a conceptual shift in this field: Lewisian counterfactual dependence can be understood as a modality of probabilistic conditional dependence or Stalnakerian conditional dependence. In other words, whether a counterfactual connection occurs between A and B depends on whether it is "necessary" for a Stalnakerian/probabilistic dependence to occur between A and B. We also propose some ways to interpret the kind of necessity involved in this interpretation. The remaining two chapters deal with the probability of counterfactuals. We provide an answer to the question of how we can characterize the probability that a Lewisian counterfactual is true, which is an open problem in the literature. We show that the probability of a Lewisian counterfactual can be characterized in terms of belief functions from Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence, which are a super-additive generalization of standard probability. We define an updating procedure for belief functions based on the imaging procedure and show that the probability of a counterfactual A > B amounts to the belief function of B imaged on A. This characterization strongly relies on the logical results we proved in the previous chapters. Moreover, we also solve an open problem concerning the procedure to assign a probability to complex counterfactuals in the framework of causal modelling semantics. A limitation of causal modelling semantics is that it cannot account for the probability of counterfactuals with disjunctive antecedents. Drawing on the same previous works, we define a new procedure to assign a probability to counterfactuals with disjunctive antecedents in the framework of causal modelling semantics. We also argue that our procedure is satisfactory in that it yields meaningful results and adheres to some conceptually intuitive constraints one may want to impose when computing the probability of counterfactuals. (shrink)

In this article we will present the Conjoint Family Drawing, a graphic-interactive tool developed to evaluate family relationships. This tool allows an analytical and clinical evaluation of families and their relationships while facilitating the understanding of the overall family functioning through a synthetic coding system which distinguishes families from each other. First of all, a presentation of the analytical coding system is provided; such system consists of a grid, formed by two distinct levels of observation: the analysis of the product, (...) which, in turn focuses on two levels, the global-familiar one and the individual one, and the analysis of the drawing process, which is made up of the observations of family interactions at the individual and group level. Consistently with our objectives and the theoretical and methodological literature on family drawing in its various forms and ways of implementation, 10 indicators for product analysis and 9 indicators for process analysis have been identified. A sample of 117 Conjoint Family Drawings was analyzed in order to verify the coding system’s applicability and effectiveness. The sample was constituted according to a convenience criterion. Following, a computing system was developed to allow the investigation of the overall family functioning through three steps: the analysis of the frequency distribution of each indicator, in order to verify the non-determinability rates and the distribution of the different answer options; a two-step cluster analysis, to determine homogeneous groups of Conjoint Family Drawings and identify, within each cluster, the indicators and answer modalities that mostly affect the clusters’ aggregation itself; the development of a synthetic system to code the Conjoint Family Drawing, beginning with the indicators that define the typological profiles of the clusters obtained. The synthetic system was developed through a summative and logical-combinatorial method, merging the most discriminating and clinically significant coding items, that is, those that are best associable to specific ways of family functioning. Seven family types emerged from these analyses: families characterized by optimal functioning, families characterized by adequate functioning, families characterized by chaotic functioning, families characterized by fragile paternity, families characterized by separate functioning, families with multiproblematic functioning and residual families. The characteristics of these family types will be outlined in this article. (shrink)

Wilfred Sieg and Rosella Lupiccini. Computing Machines: Entry for the Second Edition of the Encyclopedia of Philsophy.

Book review of Andrea Iacona, Logical Form: Between Logic and Natural Language, Springer, 2018, 133 pages.

This article aims at proposing the construct of living and working together in organizations as an interpretation and tool proposed in a Juvenile Criminal Mediation Service, in order to highlight how important it was as a turning point in activating the working group's reflexive function as far as their sense of belonging, otherness, culture of diversity, and work subject matter are concerned and start an important transformation process in the very service delivery. Our proposal finds its roots in a follow-up (...) experience regarding the aforementioned service, which has been taking place for almost three years. It was structured in three different phases: a research phase evaluating process and results of the activity that was carried out; a phase of monitoring the mediation practice; a research-action phase in a clinical perspective on the working group's operating mode. The leverage of living and working together in organizations is specifically proposed as far as this last working phase is concerned, las... (shrink)

This article provides a defence of B112, arguing that, far from being a weak paraphrase, the fragment is a genuine piece of Heraclitean art packing into a few, carefully organized words Heraclitus’ original view on human life and ethos, deeply integrated with the whole of his thought. In so doing, it counters the ‘deflationary reading’ of Heraclitus’ moral philosophy and, connecting B112 to other fragments, attributes him a robust and original ethical framework, pivoting on the idea that grasping the harmony (...) of opposites as the all-pervasive, world-sustaining pattern unavoidably and instantly transforms the way one lives, causing ‘to act and speak the truth’. It offers an interpretation of this puzzling phrase, suggesting that, as the world-unifying pattern of opposites applies also to the objects of human pursuits and avoidances, this is the ἀληθέα Heraclitus’ wise man signifies in words and actions; it concludes providing examples. (shrink)

Lewis-Gärdenfors imaging is an updating procedure for probability functions that generalizes Bayesian conditionalization, allowing to approach the probability of conditionals and counterfactual formulas without incurring in Lewis well-known triviality result. Precisely, while the probability of a so called Stalnaker conditional (as formalizable in Lewis logic C2) was proved to be an imaged probability by Lewis in his celebrated paper from 1976, a variant of Gärdenfors generalized imaging (proposed by Dubois and Prade in 1994) has been recently proved to characterize the (...) probability of Lewis counterfactuals, the latter refer to those conditionals of Lewis’s logic C1. -/- The present contribution extends the analysis on Lewis’s triviality result, imaging and generalized imaging to cope with possibility and necessity measures. In particular, after showing that the triviality result also holds in the possibilistic framework, we introduce a way to define the possibility measure of conditional and counterfactual formula. Then we prove that the possibilistic version of Lewis-Gärdenfors imaging (that is inspired by a definition given again by Dubois and Prade in 1994) actually characterizes, as in the aforementioned cases, the possibility of Stalnaker conditionals and Lewis counterfactuals. -/- Furthermore, we show that possibilistic imaging can also be described within the setting of Boolean algebras of conditionals and Lewis algebras. These are algebraic models for conditional and counterfactual formulas recently introduced by two of the present authors. On these structures one can (canonically) define a notion of possibility measure that turns out to be the conditional possibility and imaged possibility mentioned above, respectively, and hence it represents the possibility of conditional and counterfactual formulas. (shrink)

Is it necessary to contrast the spreading process of genetic engineering in the agri-food stuff sector? Can EU rules really consider the impact of this brand new technologies on biology and, consequently, on public health? Despite the general trend, a firm opposition is what is happening in some Regions of Italy, where GMOs production and placing on the market are foibidden.

The debate concerning the secularism of the state always returns to the regulation of certain issues, such as same-sex marriage or embryonic stem cell research. In this study, we analysed the effects of political orientation, Catholic identity, and religious orientations on the desire to have a secular state. Participants were 209 Italians who completed a questionnaire containing measures of the investigated constructs. The results showed that secularism of the state is negatively correlated with Catholic identity, extrinsic and intrinsic orientation, and (...) right-wing political orientation, and is positively correlated with quest orientation. Moreover, the application of dominance analysis showed that intrinsic orientation dominates all other variables. (shrink)

A conflict of interest is a situation in which a person has competing loyalties or interests that make it difficult to fulfil his or her duties impartially. Conflict of interest is not categorically improper in itself but requires proper management. A SCOPUS literature search was performed for publications on the efficacy/safety of Phospho-Di-Esterase Inhibitors for treating erectile dysfunction. A categorization tool was used to review and classify the publications as supportive/not-supportive for the discussed active ingredient and reporting or not reporting (...) a COI for that specific drug or for the remaining PDEIs. Multivariable binary logistic regression was performed. In the 419 selected records the prevalence of supportive opinions was higher when a COI for the index label was declared. The CoOpCaT showed good internal consistency, discriminative validity and intra/inter-rater agreement. The strongest predictor for a supportive opinion was the total number of financial COIs for the index label. A mild protective effect of the total number of financial COIs for any competitor label was noted. Financial COIs have frequently been associated with bias, and the measures currently adopted to restrain it lack effectiveness. Some evidence for monitoring and/or compensating this bias is reported here, but the ultimate solution remains distant. (shrink)

The 'Enciclopedia Filosofica' is an encyclopaedia of philosophical topics promoted by the Centre for Philosophical Studies of Gallarate and published, in its third and last edition in 2006, by the Bompiani publishing house in Milan. The first edition of the 'Enciclopedia Filosofica' was promoted by the Centre for Philosophical Studies of Gallarate in the 1950s, seeing the light in 1957-58. A second edition, published by the Sansoni publishing house in Florence, was published in 1968-69 and reprinted in 1979. The third (...) and last edition, published by Bompiani in 2006, is intended to cover the whole of philosophical knowledge and related disciplines with over ten thousand entries edited by about a thousand academics, both Italian and non-Italian, and distributed in twelve volumes for a total of 12,496 pages. (shrink)

In heterologous artificial insemination, the donation of gametes from a third person allows infertile and same-sex couples to become parents. Therefore, the child is genetica...

In our article, “Syntactic complexity effects in sentence production”, we reported two elicited production experiments and argued that there is a cost associated with planning and uttering syntactically complex, object-extracted structures that contain a non-local syntactic dependency. MacDonald et al. () have argued that the results of our investigation provide little new information on the topic. We disagree. Examining the production of subject versus object extractions in two constructions across two experimental paradigms—relative clauses in Experiment 1 and wh-questions in Experiment (...) 2—we found a strikingly similar pattern: reliable differences in latency and word durations, as well as in rates of disfluencies, signaling a greater cost associated with planning and uttering the syntactically more complex object extractions. MacDonald et al. reject that interpretation, namely that the differences we observed in the production of subject versus object extractions demonstrate asymmetric production difficulties. Here we address the concerns they raise by clarifying confusion and presenting novel experimental evidence in support of our original claims. (shrink)