The chemist and philosopher Michael Polanyi was one of the first twentieth-century scientists to propose a program to resolve the internal conflict of the modern Enlightenment: scientific detachment and moral nihilism with humanist values. Stefania Jha’s intellectual biography places Polanyi in the context of his time and culture, analyzes his key philosophical ideas, and explicates the application—and at times misappropriation—of his work. Polanyi’s method was not laid out in his published works, and his vocabulary tends to make his writings (...) difficult to understand. By exposing the structure of his theory of tacit knowing, and by tracing the growth of his thinking, Jha shows how the various elements of his thought are integrated. Through examination of his philosophical roots in Kant and the complexity of his evolving thought, she counteracts the popular notion that Polanyi’s philosophy stands apart from the western philosophic tradition. Jha’s deep analysis makes Polanyi’s shift of focus from science to philosophy more intelligible, his philosophy more approachable, and the causes he championed—such as the freedom of science and cultural freedom—more understandable. Applying his notion of tacit knowing in practical directions, Jha seeks to bring the study of Polanyi’s philosophy out of the specialists’ enclave and into such fields as ethics and clinical medicine. (shrink)

This article approaches the paradigm shift of datafication from the perspective of civil society. Looking at how individuals and groups engage with datafication, it complements the notion of “data politics” by exploring what we call the “contentious politics of data”. By contentious politics of data we indicate the bottom-up, transformative initiatives interfering with and/or hijacking dominant processes of datafication, contesting existing power relations or re-appropriating data practices and infrastructure for purposes distinct from the intended. Said contentious politics of data is (...) articulated in an array of practices of data activism taking a critical stance towards datafication. In data activism, data as mediators take a central role, both as part of an action repertoire or as objects of struggle in their own right. Leveraging social movement studies and science and technology studies, this theoretical essay argues that data activism can be mapped along two analytical dimensions: “data as stakes” vs. “data as repertoires”, and “individual practice vs. collective action”. Mapping action repertoires and tactics along these axes allows us to chart the potential emergence of a political data subject at the intersection of these two dimensions. This furthers our understanding of people’s engagement with data in relation to other forms of activism and existing work in social movement studies. It also helps us interpreting potential trajectories of contemporary social movements, as they increasingly interface with data, devices and platforms. (shrink)

We examined how people think about how things could have turned out differently after they made a decision to cooperate or not in three social interactions: the Prisoner’s dilemma (Experiment 1), the Stag Hunt dilemma (Experiment 2), and the Chicken game (Experiment 3). We found that participants who took part in the game imagined the outcome would have been different if a different decision had been made by the other player, not themselves; they did so whether the outcome was good (...) or bad for them, their own choice had been to cooperate or not, and the other player’s choice had been to cooperate or not. Participants who only read about a fictional protagonist’s game imagined changes outside the protagonist’s control (such as the other player’s decision) after a good outcome but within the protagonist’s control (such as the protagonist’s decision) after a bad outcome. The implications for theories of counterfactual thinking and moral decision-making are discussed. (shrink)

By providing an interdisciplinary reading of advance directives regulation in international, European and domestic law, this book offers new insights into the most controversial legal issues surrounding the debate over dignity and autonomy ...

The paper discusses inappropriate (futile) treatment by analyzing the casuistics of palliative patients in the terminal stage of illness who are hospitalized at the Department of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics of the Faculty hospital with policlinic (FNsP). Our research applies the principles of palliative care in the context of bioethics. The existing clinical conditions of healthcare in Slovakia are characteristic of making a taboo of the issues of inappropriate treatment of palliative patients. Inductive-deductive and normative clinical bioethics methods of palliative (...) care and ethical strategy are applied for defining issues found in inappropriate hemodialysis treatment. An algorithm of hemodialysis treatment requires the definition of those lege artis criteria which, in the context of a patient’s autonomy and his/her decision, precondition the avoidance of the situation in which hemodialysis treatment is inappropriate (futile). Futile treatment in a terminal condition is ethically inappropriate medical treatment that extends the suffering of patients and their relatives. Its definition is determined by the relevant legislation and the methods of bioethics. An active palliative strategy is aimed at managing the process of incurable diseases in the patient’s bio-psycho-socio-spiritual continuity in the process of special bioethics. The global bioethical objective of general bioethics for palliative care is based on the paradigm of social harmony and solidarity in the context of an authentic modus of the patient’s existence as a constitutive principle for the phenomenon of the patient’s being to finite being (death). (shrink)

In his earlyContributions to a Better-Grounded Presentation of Mathematics Bernard Bolzano tries to characterizerigorous proofs.Rigorousis,prima facie, any proof that indicates the grounds for its conclusion. Bolzano lists a number of methodological constraints all rigorous proofs should comply with, and tests them systematically against a specific collection of elementary inference schemata that, according to him, are evidently of ground-consequence-kind. This paper intends to give a detailed and critical account of the fragmentary logic of theContributions, and to point out as well some (...) difficulties Bolzano’s attempt runs into, notably as to his methodological ban on ‘kind crossing’. (shrink)

This paper analyzes and evaluates Bolzano's remarks on the apagogic method of proof with reference to his juvenile booklet "Contributions to a better founded presentation of mathematics" of 1810 and to his ?Theory of science? (1837). I shall try to defend the following contentions: (1) Bolzanos vain attempt to transform all indirect proofs into direct proofs becomes comprehensible as soon as one recognizes the following facts: (1.1) his attitude towards indirect proofs with an affirmative conclusion differs from his stance to (...) indirect proofs with a negative conclusion; (1.2) by Bolzano's lights arguments via consequentia mirabilis only seem to be indirect. (2) Bolzano does not deny that indirect proofs can be perfect certifications (Gewissmachungen) of their conclusion; what he denies is rather that they can provide grounds for their conclusions. (2.1) They cannot do the latter, since they start from false premises and (2.2) since they make an unnecessary detour. (3) The far-reaching agreement between his early and late assessment of apagogical proofs (in the Beyträge of 1810 and the Wissenschaftslehre of 1837) is partly due to the fact that he develops his own position always against the background of Wolff's and Lambert's views. (shrink)

In his booklet "Contributions to a better founded presentation of mathematics" of 1810 Bernard Bolzano made his first serious attempt to explain the notion of a rigorous proof. Although the system of logic he employed at that stage is in various respects far below the level of the achievements in his later Wissenschaftslehre, there is a striking continuity between his earlier and later work as regards the methodological constraints on rigorous proofs. This paper tries to give a perspicuous and critical (...) account of the fragmentary logic of Beyträge, and it shows that there is a tension between that logic and Bolzano's methodological ban on ?kind crossing? (shrink)

Quantification is particularly seductive in times of global uncertainty. Not surprisingly, numbers, indicators, categorizations, and comparisons are central to governmental and popular response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This essay draws insights from critical data studies, sociology of quantification and decolonial thinking, with occasional excursion into the biomedical domain, to investigate the role and social consequences of counting broadly defined as a way of knowing about the virus. It takes a critical look at two domains of human activity that play a (...) central role in the fight against the virus outbreak, namely medical sciences and technological innovation. It analyzes their efforts to craft solutions for their user base and explores the unwanted social costs of these operations. The essay argues that the over-reliance of biomedical research on “whiteness” for lab testing and the techno-solutionism of the consumer infrastructure devised to curb the social costs of the pandemic are rooted in a distorted idea of a “standard human” based on a partial and exclusive vision of society and its components, which tends to overlook alterity and inequality. It contends that to design our way out of the pandemic, we ought to make space for distinct ways of being and knowing, acknowledging plurality and thinking in terms of social relations, alterity, and interdependence. (shrink)

In the present paper, we discuss Husserl's deep account of the notions of ?calculation? and of arithmetical ?operation? which is found in the final chapter of the Philosophy of Arithmetic, arguing that Husserl is as far as we know the first scholar to reflect seriously on and to investigate the problem of circumscribing the totality of computable numerical operations. We pursue two complementary goals, namely: (i) to provide a formal reconstruction of Husserl's intuitions, and (ii) to demonstrate on the basis (...) of our reconstruction that the class of operations that Husserl has in mind turns out to be extensionally equivalent to the one that, in contemporary logic, is known as the class of partial recursive functions. (shrink)

Four studies show that observers and readers imagine different alternatives to reality. When participants read a story about a protagonist who chose the more difficult of two tasks and failed, their counterfactual thoughts focused on the easier, unchosen task. But when they observed the performance of an individual who chose and failed the more difficult task, participants' counterfactual thoughts focused on alternative ways to solve the chosen task, as did the thoughts of individuals who acted out the event. We conclude (...) that these role effects may occur because participants' attention is engaged when they experience or observe an event more than when they read about it. (shrink)

This explorative article is organized around a set of questions concerning the concept of a function. First, a summary of certain general facts about functions that are a common coin in contemporary logic is given. Then Frege's attempt at clarifying the nature of functions in his famous paper Function and Concept and in his Grundgesetze is discussed along with some questions which Freges' approach gave rise to in the literature. Finally, some characteristic uses of functional notions to be found in (...) the work of Bernard Bolzano and in Edmund Husserl's early work are presented and elucidated. (shrink)

This book presents a unique rethinking of G. W. F. Hegel's philosophy from unusual and controversial perspectives in order to liberate new energies from his philosophy. The role Hegel ascribes to women in the shaping of society and family, the reconstruction of his anthropological and psychological perspective, his approach to human nature, the relationship between mental illness and social disease, the role of the unconscious, and the relevance of intercultural and interreligious pathways: All these themes reveal new and inspiring aspects (...) of Hegel’s thought for our time. (shrink)

The history of modern modal logic is too often presented as an American success story that started with the work of the Harvard philosopher C. I. Lewis, while prewar modal logic research in Europe is passed off as a side-show of well-intended failures. As a contribute towards correcting this picture, we carefully analyze and reconsider Oskar Becker’s pioneering work On the Logic of Modalities (1930), highlighting its influence on the early development of modal logic in the decade 1930 - 1940.

Background Ethics is a fundamental component of nursing education to increase students’ moral competence and moral reasoning abilities. However, the core ethics content that should be included in undergraduate education has not been established to date at the international level. Aim To identify the core contents required in formal undergraduate education to ensure morally competent nurses. Research Design An international workshop-research study design in 2023 reported here according to the COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research. Participants and Research Context Five (...) countries in the context of Promoting a Morally Competent Nurse project participated. In each country, two workshops took place, one with nurse professionals and one with patients’ representatives for a total of 58 individuals (32 and 26, respectively). After being translated into English language, data were categorized deductively. The Dublin Learning Outcomes Descriptors and the blueprint methodology were applied. Ethical Considerations The research protocol was ethically approved in every country where the study was performed. Results A total of 59 core content elements emerged, with ‘ethics of individualized/tailored/patient-centred care’ ( n = 8) and ‘empathy’ ( n = 6) as the most suggested. Nearly half ( n = 26) of the core content items suggested were reported only once (e.g. ‘priority setting’) while overall several referred to ‘communication skills’ ( n = 17). A diverse richness across countries emerged, with some suggesting a few items, and others providing several. Similarly, professionals and patients in most countries agreed that some contents of individualized care, empathy and responsibility should be taught in nursing education, but several core contents were mentioned by only one group of participants and in one country. Conclusion The lack of convergence on core content to be taught suggests that different views are still present. Merging these perspectives may stimulate a reciprocal understanding between professionals and patients, as well as across countries, and support the identification of commonalities and differences to further harmonize undergraduate education in the field. (shrink)

Sexual Orientation as Symbolic Capital and as the "Object" of Symbolic Violence Sexual orientation is currently understood to be an innate disposition. Heterosexually oriented people are perceived to be in the majority and homosexually oriented people as the minority. Using Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of symbolic power, symbolic violence and symbolic capital, this paper aims to show how symbolic power and symbolic violence contribute to determining which sexual orientation is associated with the majority and minority populations, and establish what role is (...) played by the symbolic capital derived from sexual orientation. (shrink)

This paper proposes a political understanding of human rights which allows not to dissolve the contradiction between the positive and the normative aspect entailed in the idea and the institution of human rights, but rather to keep them together dialectically. I discuss the relationality of human rights through Hannah Arendt’s idea of the right to have rights and I develop it further through Jacques Rancière’s concept of subjectivity. This allows me to explain the dialectic of the human rights as a (...) conflict between existing positive rights, which assign specific subjects or groups to specific territories and legal spheres, and a universal claim of human equality and freedom, which is challenged from excluded, unclassified social groups and which is performed in situations of protests. I further explain the radical democratic potential of human rights on the paradigmatic case of struggles for a right to global movement and to political belonging. In order to grasp the complexity of those subjectivity practices, I distinguish four different dimensions of subjectivity: a legal and political one, an affective one, an epistemic one and finally an ethical transcultural one. (shrink)

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst to build a stronger European Health Union to protect the health of Europeans and to develop a new Global Health Strategy to contribute to global health security. In positioning itself as a key player in global health governance, the EU seeks to assert its responsibility as a global health actor and deepen its leadership in global health law.

BackgroundSeveral investigations have addressed the process of balance adaptation to external perturbations. The adaptation during unperturbed stance has received little attention. Further, whether the current sensory conditions affect the adaptation rate has not been established. We have addressed the role of vision and haptic feedback on adaptation while standing on foam.MethodsIn 22 young subjects, the analysis of geometric and spectral variables of the oscillation of the centre of feet pressure identified the effects of vision, light-touch or both in the anteroposterior (...) and mediolateral direction over 8 consecutive 90 s standing trials.ResultsAdaptation was obvious without vision and tenuous with vision. With trial repetition, path length and median frequency diminished with EC while sway area and mean level of the spectrum increased. The low- and high-frequency range of the spectrum increased and decreased in AP and ML directions, respectively. Touch compared to no-touch enhanced the rate of increase of the low-frequency power. Spectral differences in distinct sensory conditions persisted after adaptation.ConclusionBalance adaptation occurs during standing on foam. Adaptation leads to a progressive increase in the amplitude of the lowest frequencies of the spectrum and a concurrent decrease in the high-frequency range. Within this common behaviour, touch adds to its stabilising action a modest effect on the adaptation rate. Stabilisation is improved by favouring slow oscillations at the expense of sway minimisation. These findings are preliminary to investigations of balance problems in persons with sensory deficits, ageing, and peripheral or central nervous lesion. (shrink)

Depuis quelques années, face à la différenciation de la société en multiples institutions, associations, organisations, l'éthique trouve des applications dans des champs très diversifiées (éthique des affaires, bioéthique, éthique professionnelle, etc.) Ce scénario appelle tous les acteurs à la responsabilité d’intégrer leur identité et leurs actions sur des objectifs et des valeurs communs pour éviter la parcellisation et la fragmentation de l’éthique. De fait « l’éthique exige que l’intégration obéisse à certaines conditions d’intégrité, de complétude, de valeur humaine, d’idée de (...) bonne vie, d’orientation vers un objectif » (Villet, 2000, p. 238-9). Des formes communicatives d’intégration reposent sur une compréhension réciproque, et sur des accords vers des normes et une responsabilité commune, non l’addition des individualités. L'éthique est donc intrinsèque à l'entreprise éducative ; parler d'éthique de l'éducation et non d'éthique appliquée à l’éducation s’explique parce que l'éthique n’est pas un domaine extérieur mais sous-tend et anime l'éducation. Une éthique de l’éducation qui, à partir de la personne, se conçoit dans une relation d’échange incluant le ‘tiers’, fonde les relations éducatives sur une éthique de la conviction, sur des dynamiques personnelles et sociales pour constituer une éthique partagée. (shrink)

Two centuries ago Bernard Bolzano published his Contributions to a more well-founded presentation of mathematics which Goethe praised as “an opusculum of very high value”. Bolzano still seems to accept the traditional principle that that intension and extension of a concept stand in an inverse relation . In particular he claims that the concept of a genus proximum is always a component of the concept of the species which are subordinated to it. However, this does not harmonize with his simultaneous (...) assumption that there are simple species-concepts. In section 1 of this paper I shall try to bring to light this tension in Bolzanos Contributions. In section 2 I shall try to reconstruct Bolzano ’s arguments to the effect that the properties an object must have if it is to fall under a certain concept are not always components of that concept. In section 3 I shall try to reconstructs his arguments against the Canon in his Theory of Science .In seinen vor zwei Jahrhunderten erschienenen Beyträgen zu einer begründeteren Darstellung der Mathematik, die Goethe als „ein Werkchen von besonderem Werte“ pries, scheint Bernard Bolzano den traditionellen Lehrsatz der Reziprozität noch zu akzeptieren, demzufolge Inhalt und Umfang eines Begriffs in inversem Verhältnis stehen. Insbesondere akzeptiert er die traditionelle These, dass der Begriff eines genus proximum immer ein Bestandteil der Begriffe der Spezies dieses Genus ist. Diese Annahme schient aber im Gegensatz zu seiner gleichzeitigen Akzeptanz der These zu stehen, dass es einfache Spezies-Begriffe gibt. Im Paragraphen 1 bespreche ich diese Frage. Im Paragraphen 2 versuche ich, einige der Argumente zu rekonstruieren, die Bolzano in seiner Wissenschaftslehre zur Widerlegung der These verwendet, dass die Begriffe der Beschaffenheiten, die ein Gegenstand haben muss, um unter einen bestimmten Begriff zu fallen, immer Teile dieses Begriffs sind. Im Paragraphen 3 präsentiere ich die wichtigsten Argumente Bolzanos, die in der Wissenschaftslehre dafür verwendet werden, um den Kanon Allgemeingültigkeit abzusprechen. (shrink)

This volume will be of particular interest to researchers working in the history, and in the philosophy, of logic and mathematics, and more generally, to ...

Stefania Tutino shows that post-Reformation Catholic culture was a rich laboratory for our current moral and hermeneutical anxieties.

The present study examined whether cinematographic editing density affects viewers’ perception of time. As a second aim, based on embodied models that conceive time perception as strictly connected to the movement, we tested the hypothesis that the editing density of moving images also affects viewers’ eye movements and that these later mediate the effect of editing density on viewers’ temporal judgments. Seventy participants watched nine video clips edited by manipulating the number of cuts (slow‐ and fast‐paced editing against a master (...) shot, unedited condition). For each editing density, multiple video clips were created, representing three different kinds of routine actions. The participants’ eye movements were recorded while watching the video, and the participants were asked to report duration judgments and subjective passage of time judgments after watching each clip. The results showed that participants subjectively perceived that time flew more while watching fast‐paced edited videos than slow‐paced or unedited videos; by contrast, concerning duration judgments, participants overestimated the duration of fast‐paced videos compared to the master‐shot videos. Both the slow‐ and the fast‐paced editing generated shorter fixations than the master shot, and the fast‐paced editing led to shorter fixations than the slow‐paced editing. Finally, compared to the unedited condition, editing led to an overestimation of durations through increased eye mobility. These findings suggest that the editing density of moving images by increasing the number of cuts effectively altered viewers’ experience of time and add further evidence to prior research showing that performed eye movement is associated with temporal judgments. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the uniqueness of the aesthetic reading of children’s literature and child hermeneutics as foundations for reading education. The first section examines Louise Rosenblatt’s transactional model of aesthetic reading and Wolfgang Iser’s phenomenological approach, as well as their theoretical implications for reader-response criticism. The paper’s second section focuses on some more recent reader-response criticism research directions, which investigate postmodern picturebooks whose proposals within the educational scene have generated conflicting opinions. However, empirical studies (...) that have investigated the point of view from which real children authentically live the experience of reading have demonstrated the surprising ability of younger readers to fathom and interpret these ambitious narratives, which invite readers into an experience that enhances interpretive resourcefulness. The characteristics of this variety of books reveal an implicit trust in the hermeneutic potential of younger readers, which contradicts the deep-rooted idea that continues to paint them as incapable of artistic-aesthetic experiences and unable to express their own hermeneutics. (shrink)

In this paper we discuss a view of the Machine Learning technique called Explanation-Based Learning (EBL) or Explanation-Based Generalization (EBG) as a process for the interpretation of vague concepts in logic-based models of law.The open-textured nature of legal terms is a well-known open problem in the building of knowledge-based legal systems. EBG is a technique which creates generalizations of given examples on the basis of background domain knowledge. We relate these two topics by considering EBG''s domain knowledge as corresponding to (...) statute law rules, and EBG''s training example as corresponding to a precedent case. (shrink)

Cet article se focalise sur un aspect précis du concept de temps dans l’éducation, sur les priorités que les temps futurs de l’éducation doivent choisir comme les directions les plus pertinentes pour nos sociétés. Les temps structurent et accompagnent la vie de chacun, marquent le passage entre les générations et deviennent un indicateur du développement des sociétés. Le rôle de la réflexion sur l’éducation est de s’atteler aux problématiques qui se dessinent à chaque période, et lui sont liées en termes (...) d’époque spécifique. Ceci implique d’ouvrir les frontières de la recherche vers des objets toujours vus comme nouveaux, au moins en partie, et d’envisager des opportunités et des défis importants et urgents, en ce que par leur condition de nouveauté, ces éléments inattendus sont susceptibles de former un projet tourné vers l’avenir. Au cours de cette réflection, nous proposons d’imaginer des futurs dans lesquels la résilience aux changements profonds et aux mutations complexes est présente. Celle-ci implique d’engager une réflexion sur l’avenir des connaissances et des valeurs qui sont plus importantes et urgents pour les savoirs et pour les sociétés. (shrink)

Da alcuni anni si registra una crescita di interesse per Gorgia di Leontini e le sue opere, testimoniata dal buon numero di studi e pubblicazioni che con una certa continuità si offrono sia nell’ambito della filosofia che della cultura classica in generale; questo è senz’altro di buon auspicio per un avanzamento della compren­sione del pensiero di questo intellettuale siceliota. Il panorama italiano non è estraneo a questa tendenza, anzi si può dire che esso presenti un quadro ricchissimo di...