The aim of the paper is to shed light on some of the most original elements of Fichte’s conception of morality as expressed in his account of specific obligations. After some remarks on Fichte’s original classification of ethical duties, the paper focuses on the prohibition of lying, the duty to communicate our true knowledge, and the duty to set a good example. Fichte’s account of those duties not only goes beyond the mere justification of universally acknowledged demands, but also deploys (...) different arguments than his contemporaries, most notably Kant. Fichte thereby sketches a conception of morality in which the agent is crucially required to contribute to the morality of others. The chapter explores the contrast between Fichte’s view and Kant’s thought of an end in itself and suggests that Fichte’s view of morality amounts to a form of normative perfectionism that is qualified by the underlying claim of the agent-neutral character of moral demands. (shrink)

English summary: How Niccolo Machiavelli is to be understood is still passionately argued today. The many facets of his political thought correspond to the diversity of perspectives among his interpreters. The authors of this interdisciplinary volume analyze Machiavelli's works in connection with transformations of thought on policy, rule and morality from the beginning of the early modern period through to the present. In addition to the interpretation of Machiavelli through the lens of his time, effects of his writings and thought (...) in contemporary discourse are focused upon. Topics not only include Machiavelli's relationship to the modern concept of the state and his experimental morality, but also his demonological style of reading and his presence amongst contemporary republicans and liberals, amongst thinkers such as Max Horkheimer and Michel Foucault, as well as in the empire debate. Additionally, the volume takes into account thus far little-explored aspects, such as Machiavelli's thinking style and methodology, as well as the literary-rhetorical dimension of his writings. German text. German description: Bis heute wird leidenschaftlich darueber gestritten, wie Niccolo Machiavelli verstanden werden muss. Dem Facettenreichtum seines politischen Denkens entspricht die Vielfalt der Perspektiven und Urteile seiner Interpreten. Die Autoren des interdisziplinar angelegten Bandes analysieren Machiavellis Werke im Zusammenhang mit den spiegelbildlichen Wandlungen des Denkens ueber Ordnung, Herrschaft und Moral zu Beginn der Neuzeit und in der Gegenwart. Ausser der Interpretation Machiavellis aus dem Horizont seiner Zeit stehen auch seine Wirkungen in zeitgenossischen Diskursen im Mittelpunkt. Themen sind nicht bloss Machiavellis Verhaltnis zum modernen Staatsbegriff und seine experimentelle Moral, sondern auch seine damonologische Leseweise und seine Prasenz bei zeitgenossischen Republikanern und Liberalisten, bei Denkern wie Max Horkheimer und Michel Foucault sowie in der Empire-Debatte. Zudem beruecksichtigt der Band bislang wenig erforschte Aspekte wie Machiavellis Denkstil und Methode sowie die literarisch-rhetorische Dimension seiner Schriften. (shrink)

In this contribution, I defend a robust model of political idealism, making the case for such an approach to both the theory and practice of politics. On this view, not only in framing a political philosophy but also in putting forward policy proposals and institutional designs, we need not think about feasibility as an overriding, make-or-break criterion for evaluating the soundness of that theory or proposal, neither of which loses its point simply because it is deemed to be unlikely to (...) be implemented. Feasibility, in other terms, cannot be taken as the only standard, or even as the main standard, on which basis to assess the practical worth of a political strategy. (shrink)

The idea of autonomy, presented as Kant’s main achievement in the Groundwork and the second Critique, is hardly present in the ethics of the “Doctrine of Virtue”. Against Pauline Kleingeld’s recent interpretation, I argue that this does not amount to a disappearance of the Principle of Autonomy, but to an important development of the notion of autonomy. I first show that Kant still advocated the Principle of Autonomy in the 1790s along with the thought of lawgiving through one’s maxims. I (...) then argue that the role of autonomy in Kant’s later ethics has a different focus than in the previous works, which requires to connect autonomy with autocracy. Conversely, in the “Doctrine of Virtue”, autocracy, which Kant had employed before as an independent notion, is construed as a new layer of autonomy. What Kant there calls subjective autonomy is thereby considered as reason’s self-government in the maxims of each rational agent. -/- . (shrink)

In her recent much-debated manifesto for Socratic education, Martha Nussbaum (2010) makes two statements seemingly dissonant with each other: on the one hand, she recognizes in Dewey "a thinker who brought Socrates into virtually every American classroom" (p. 64); on the other hand, she points out that "Dewey, however, never addressed systematically the question of how Socratic critical reasoning might be taught to children of various ages" (p. 73). The latter remark works as a sort of springboard to the introduction (...) of Matthew Lipman's curriculum as a "source of practical guidance" for teachers "who want to teach Socratically" (p. 73).We could rephrase such a double position in the evaluation of Dewey's .. (shrink)

‘Philosophical dialogue’ indicates both a form of philosophical inquiry and its corresponding literary genre. In its written form, it typically features two or more characters who engage in a discussion concerning morals, knowledge, as well as a variety of topics that can be widely labelled as ‘philosophical’. Our philosophical dialogue takes place in Krakow, Poland. It is a rainy morning and two strangers are waiting at a tram stop. One of them is dressed neatly, and cannot stop fidgeting with his (...) closed umbrella. The other was caught unprepared by the morning downpour and water is dripping from his worn, soaked jacket. (shrink)

In this article we want to rethink the educational significance of the novel from the perspective of a ‘metanovelistic’ reading of Don Quixote, often acclaimed as the ‘first modern novel’. Our point of departure is two-fold: on the one hand, there is the controversial contemporary phenomenon of de-reading, and all the educational discussions it entails; on the other hand, there is the existing tradition of literary education, which has already extensively reflected upon the (moral, epistemological, ontological) relations between novel reading, (...) education, and subjectification, but which perhaps also has exhausted its means for doing so. To problematize this double starting point in a new way, we propose to revisit the ‘origins’ of the (Western) novel and novel reading, at the dawn of modernity. Exploring the differences between the narratives of subjectification represented by the Cartesian cogito and Cervantes’ Don Quixote—which were near-contemporaries—we strongly argue for an educational–philosophical rehabilitation of the latter. In a first movement, and in dialogue with novelists Milan Kundera and Carlos Fuentes, we do so by focusing on the novel as a particular form or configuration of knowledge—one that is by nature experimental and pluralist. In a second movement, we link this to Jean Baudrillard’s famous distinction between ‘simulation’ and ‘illusion’, claiming that novel reading qua educational subjectification always involves a quixotic practice of adventurous, ‘playful’, and public negotiation between reality and its more or less illusory alternatives. (shrink)

In this essay, I will engage with the controversy that has sprung up between the proponents of the sharp separation thesis and those of the entanglement thesis. What I will be defending is a variant of the entanglement thesis. By drawing on contemporary action theory and on epistemic conceptualism, I will argue that, while objective facts and practical norms are indeed distinct categories of thought, that distinction does not amount to a conceptual gap—a dichotomy or unbridgeable divide. Their relation, in (...) other words, is not one of logical dualism but one of mere (analytical) distinction between interdependent categories of thinking. Hence the entanglement view on which distinction does not entail dichotomy. (shrink)

This is the first book to explore the epistemology and ethics of advanced imaging tests, in order to improve the critical understanding of the nature of knowledge they provide and the practical consequences of their utilization in healthcare. Advanced medical imaging tests, such as PET and MRI, have gained center stage in medical research and in patients’ care. They also increasingly raise questions that pertain to philosophy: What is required to be an expert in reading images? How are standards for (...) interpretation to be fixed? Is there a problem of overutilization of such tests? How should uncertainty be communicated to patients? How to cope with incidental findings? This book is of interest and importance to scholars of philosophy of medicine at all levels, from undergraduates to researchers, to medical researchers and practitioners (radiologists and nuclear physicians) interested in a critical appraisal of the methodology of their discipline and in the ethical principles and consequences of their work. -/- . (shrink)

Although Kant is one of the very few classical writers referred to in the current literature on lying, hardly any attention is paid to how his views relate to the contemporary discussion on the definition of lying. I argue that, in Kant’s account, deception is not the defining feature of lying. Furthermore, his view is able to acknowledge non-deceptive lies. Kant thus holds, I suggest, a version of Intrinsic Anti-Deceptionism. In his specific version of such a view, furthermore, dishonesty is (...) the distinctive feature of lying. Finally, I highlight the important methodological differences between Kant’s normatively minded account and the primarily descriptive contemporary discussion, with regard to the role of intuitions and definitions in building a moral theory: In contrast to the current debate, Kant does not rely on intuitions, but defines lying in terms of the obligation it violates. (shrink)

In this paper, I will endeavour to revisit a central theme of Dewey’s Experience and Education and show its continuing relevance by contextualizing it within a momentous issue in education today. More specifically, I will attempt to proceed along the path of Dewey’s engagement with progressive education by marshalling some of his arguments in discussing what I will call—with a touch of irony—a techno-revolutionary tone recently adopted in education. It is appropriate to specify in advance what I mean by this (...) expression. Nobody can gainsay that we are facing major developments in technology and in the human ways of producing, organizing, and disseminating knowledge, and that we must draw important.. (shrink)

The Question of Truth in Kant’s Transcendental Logic [English] In the third section of the “Introduction” to transcendental logic, Kant dedicates a couple of paragraphs to the subject of truth (KrV B82-83). Based on this passage, Kant’s com¬mentators have justified various and sometimes contradictory interpretations of the Kantian notion of truth. However, few have analyzed the passage in its own context, that is, as part of the strategy to introduce the idea of transcendental logic. In this work, I intend to (...) take a position in this regard. I will try to show that this passage does not subscribe to the distinction between general and transcendental logic, but between analytic and dialectic logic. [Español] En la tercera sección de la “Introducción” a la lógica trascendental, Kant dedica un par de párrafos al tema de la verdad (KrV B82-83). Basándose en este pasaje, los comentaristas de Kant han justificado diversas y a veces contradictorias interpretaciones de la noción kantiana de verdad. Sin embargo, pocos han analizado el pasaje en su propio contexto, es decir, como parte de la estrategia para introducir la idea de una lógica trascendental. En este trabajo se pretende tomar postura a este respecto. Se intentará mostrar que este pasaje no abona a la distinción entre lógica general y lógica trascendental, sino entre analítica y dialéctica. (shrink)

For arbitrary finite group $G$ and countable Dedekind domain $R$ such that the residue field $R/P$ is finite for every maximal $R$ -ideal $P$ , we show that the localizations at every maximal ideal of two $RG$ -lattices are isomorphic if and only if the two lattices satisfy the same first order sentences. Then we investigate generalizations of the above results to arbitrary $R$ -torsion-free $RG$ -modules and we apply the previous results to show the decidability of the theory of (...) ${\vec Z}C(2)^2$ -lattices. Eventually, we show that ${\vec Z} [i] C(2)^2$ -lattices have undecidable theory. (shrink)

A basic result in intuitionism is Π02-conservativity. Take any proof p in classical arithmetic of some Π02-statement , with P decidable). Then we may effectively turn p in some intuitionistic proof of the same statement. In a previous paper [1], we generalized this result: any classical proof p of an arithmetical statement ∀x.∃y.P, with P of degree k, may be effectively turned into some proof of the same statement, using Excluded Middle only over degree k formulas. When k = 0, (...) we get the original conservativity result as particular case. This result was a by-product of a semantical construction. J. Avigad of Carnegie Mellon University, found a short, direct syntactical derivation of the same result, using H. Friedman's A-translation. His proof is included here with his permission. (shrink)

We conjecture that the text of § 9 in Kant's "Doctrine of Virtue" might have been assembled in a wrong order, because of issues in the preparation of the manuscript for publication. We show that textual clues suggest to consider the possibility of reordering two passages in the section, which might yield a more coherent argumentative structure.

This paper engages with Italo Calvino’s lecture on Visibility, included in his last—and testamentary—volume Six Memos, by understanding it in an educational and pedagogical key. While the question of pedagogy is expressly addressed by Calvino himself in his lecture, the interpretation here provided is not merely an application of his tenets but an elaboration on and an autonomous development of them. In particular, in the spotlight there is the intimate bond image-cum-writing which seems to preside over Calvino’s insights and is (...) here suggested as key to tackling the challenges of the contemporary mediascape and the “tautological vision” dominating therein. While a part of the educational discourse invokes “homeostatic” pedagogical solutions, namely the (ultimately confrontational) deployment of writing to compensate for the iconic ruling regime, this paper explores the possibility of a specific kind of visual education (instantiated by comics and Otto Neurath’s Isotype), which combines the role of the image with some features traditionally attributed to the pedagogy of writing (e.g. the cultivation of abilities of abstraction, of reflection etc.). A pedagogy of figuration is, accordingly, proposed as an interruption of the tautological vision of the new media and as conducive to educating readers of the unwritten world and of the world of digital images, Mr. Palomar—the hero of Calvino’s last novel—possibly being the archetype of this kind of (new?) readership. By referring to two influential notions in the contemporary debate in educational philosophy and theory, this pedagogy is finally interpreted in term of (visual) thing-centredness rather than (visual) subjectification. (shrink)

Could a person ever transcend what it is like to be in the world as a human being? Could we ever know what it is like to be other creatures? Questions about the overcoming of a human perspective are not uncommon in the history of philosophy. In the last century, those very interrogatives were notably raised by American philosopher Thomas Nagel in the context of philosophy of mind. In his 1974 essay What is it Like to Be a Bat?, Nagel (...) offered reflections on human subjectivity and its constraints. Nagel’s insights were elaborated before the social diffusion of computers and could not anticipate the cultural impact of technological artefacts capable of materializing interactive simulated worlds as well as disclosing virtual alternatives to the “self.” In this sense, this article proposes an understanding of computers as epistemological and ontological instruments. The embracing of a phenomenological standpoint entails that philosophical issues are engaged and understood from a fundamentally practical perspective. In terms of philosophical praxis, or “applied philosophy,” I explored the relationship between human phenomenologies and digital mediation through the design and the development of experimental video games. For instance, I have conceptualized the first-person action-adventure video game Haerfest (Technically Finished 2009) as a digital re-formulation of the questions posed in Nagel’s famous essay. Experiencing a bat’s perceptual equipment in Haerfest practically corroborates Nagel’s conclusions: there is no way for humans to map, reproduce, or even experience the consciousness of an actual bat. Although unverifiable in its correspondence to that of bats, Haerfest still grants access to experiences and perceptions that, albeit still inescapably within the boundaries of human kinds of phenomenologies, were inaccessible to humans prior to the advent of computers. Phenomenological alterations and virtual experiences disclosed by interactive digital media cannot take place without a shift in human kinds of ontologies, a shift which this study recognizes as the fundamental ground for the development of a new humanism (I deem it necessary to specify that I am not utilizing the term “humanism” in its common connotation, that is to say the one that emerged from the encounter between the Roman civilization and the late Hellenistic culture. According to this conventional acceptation, humanism indicates the realization of the human essence through “scholarship and training in good conduct” (Heidegger 1998, p. 244). However, Heidegger observed that this understanding of humanism does not truly cater to the original essence of human beings, but rather “is determined with regard to an already established interpretation of nature, history, world, and […] beings as a whole.” (Heidegger 1998, p. 245) The German thinker found this way of embracing humanism reductive: a by-product of Western metaphysics. As Heidegger himself specified in his 1949 essay Letter on Humanism, his opposition to the traditional acceptation of the term humanism does not advocate for the “inhuman” or a return to the “barbaric” but stems instead from the belief that the humanism can only be properly understood and restored in culture as more original way of meditating and caring for humanity and understanding its relationship with Being.). Additionally, this study explicitly proposes and exemplifies the use of interactive digital technology as a medium for testing, developing and disseminating philosophical notions, problems and hypotheses in ways which are alternative to the traditional textual one. Presented as virtual experiences, philosophical concepts can be accessed without the filter of subjective imagination. In a persistent, interactive, simulated environment, I claim that the crafting and the mediation of thought takes a novel, projective (In Martin Heidegger’s 1927 Being and Time, the term “projectivity” indicates the way a Being opens to the world in terms of its possibilities of being (Heidegger 1962, pp. 184–185, BT 145). Inspired by Heidegger’s and Vilem Flusser’s work in the field of philosophy of technology as well as Helmuth Plessner’s anthropological position presented in his 1928 book Die Stufen des Organischen und der Mensch. Einleitung in die philosophische Anthropologie, this study understands the concept of projectivity as the innate openness of human beings to construct themselves and their world by means of technical artefacts. In this sense, this study proposes a fundamental understanding of technology as the materialization of mankind’s tendency to overcome its physical, perceptual and communicative limitations.) dimension which I propose to call “augmented ontology.”. (shrink)

The New Realism Manifesto by Maurizio Ferraris criticises hermeneutics and postmodernism for their passive and conservative positions, claiming that they are responsible for having delegitimised all philosophical reflection on reality and ontology and favoured the affirmation of a “show-biz” society and a proprietary personalisation of politics. Gianni Vattimo answers this thesis, accusing realism of colluding both with the hierarchy of the powers-that-be and with technocracy and claiming the left-wing orientation of hermeneutics. But to be fair, Vattimo has noticeably changed his (...) own position with respect to the years of “weak Thought”, when every hypothesis of political intervention on reality and every project of transformation were excluded. Hermeneutics today merits being considered a sort of new and revolutionary “philosophy of praxis” in which a weakened Marxism joins up (improbably) with Nietzsche and Heidegger’s thought. Although bitter, the conflict between these positions, which openly claim an emancipationist orientation, is an indication of a process of radicalization of Italian philosophy that is also confirmed by the recent theses of other authors. However, in the absence of a rediscovery of that reality which more than any other has been obscured by postmodernism – the reality of work and the material processes of production and social reproduction – and in the absence of a real subject interested in an overall transformation of the contemporary world, the risk is that such radicalisation of the intellectual classes will stay incomplete and remain within a theoretical debate that is incapable of changing the imbalances and relations of subordination and dominion present in society. (shrink)

A decade ago the German sociologist Ulrich Beck seemed to consign democracy to the past and, significantly, drew upon an ironically religion-inspired vocabulary:Democracy becomes the religion of the past epoch. One still practises it—on Sunday or on Christmas under the ‘Christmas tree’ of polls. But no one really still believes in it. It is the dead God of the first modernity.1When Ulrich Beck dismisses democracy as “the dead god” of a past era or as a liturgy drained of any substantial (...) meaning, he misses the target principally in reference to modernity: indeed, from a Deweyan perspective, if democracy is really going to expire it may be not because of the end of modernity but precisely because modernity is “as .. (shrink)

In the light of some tenets of philosophy of childhood, this paper proposes an ‘updating’ interpretation of the educational notion of repuerescentia , offered by the Renaissance humanist Desiderius Erasmus. In particular, Erasmus’ argumentation about the need for an early liberal education is reconstellated into the domain of a reading of culture as a form of play, that is, as a transitional space and his concept of repuerescentia is read in reference to Deleuzian ‘becoming child.’ It is shown, on the (...) one hand, that there is no complete overlapping between the Deleuzian construct and the notion here investigated; on the other, that a dialogue between these two ideas could result in a more articulated way of looking at the position of the teacher within the educational relationship. It is argued, moreover, that a re-appropriation of the notion of repuerescentia could allow us to reconstruct school as a site in which the classical heritage is made alive and not simply passed on. If the idea of repuerescentia implies that the classical heritage is structured as a pedagogy, thanks to philosophy of childhood we could broaden and elaborate on this view and recognize that the classical heritage is not something closed but always in the making. Indeed, it is due to children’s voices that it revives and can continue to speak to us. In this sense, a repuerescentia-oriented teaching could also act as a strategy to resolve some of the deadlocks associated with the Deweyan controversy between the child and the curriculum. A different inflection of the latter relationship and a fresher way of experiencing ‘tradition’ seem more urgent than ever in contemporary educational scenarios, which are marked by what has been defined the “endgame of the loss of historical continuity.” In addition to that, the idea of the teacher’s re-turn to childhood allows us to overcome some of the setbacks of the constructivist approaches in education, as they have been denounced in more recent literature in educational theory. (shrink)

Bas van Fraassen advocates a “Copenhagen variant” of the modal interpretation of quantum mechanics. However, he believes that the Copenhagen approach to measurement is not fully satisfactory, since it seems to rule out the possibility of providing a physical account of the observation process. This was also what John Wheeler had in mind when, in the mid-1950’s, he sponsored the “relative state” formulation proposed by his student Hugh Everett. Wheeler, who considered himself an orthodox Bohrian, tried to convince Bohr to (...) accept the improvement of the Copenhagen approach represented in his eyes by Everett’s proposal. This attempt gave rise to a lively debate, which has been only recently documented, and which provides an interesting framework for the appraisal of van Fraassen’s own programme. (shrink)

We study a real valued propositional logic with unbounded positive and negative truth values that we call ‐valued logic. Such a logic is semantically equivalent to continuous propositional logic, with a different choice of connectives. After presenting the deduction machinery and the semantics of ‐valued logic, we prove a completeness theorem for finite theories. Then we define unital and Archimedean theories, in accordance with the theory of Riesz spaces. In the unital setting, we prove the equivalence of consistency and satisfiability (...) and an approximated completeness theorem similar to the one that holds for continuous propositional logic. Eventually, among unital theories, we characterize Archimedean theories as those for which strong completeness holds. We also point out that ‐valued logic provides alternative calculi for Łukasiewicz logic and for propositional continuous logic. (shrink)

The paper aims to argue that, despite his imposing elaboration of the question of Being, Heidegger’s major contribution to ontology is a critical one. The restatement of the Seinsfrage rests on presuppositions that are radically non-ontological i.e. phenomenological. Notwithstanding his suspicion of transcendental reduction, Heidegger subscribes to the Husserlian idea of a priority of the sense over the being. This thesis is supported by both the evolution of Heidegger comprehension of ontology and by the pivotal role of the Dasein in (...) the Seinsfrage. (shrink)

Cosmology is usually understood as an observational science, where experimentation plays no role. It is interesting, nevertheless, to change this perspective addressing the following question: what should we do to create a universe, in a laboratory? It appears, in fact, that this is, in principle, possible according to at least two different paradigms; both allow to circumvent singularity theorems, i.e. the necessity of singularities in the past of inflating domains which have the required properties to generate a universe similar to (...) ours. The first of them is substantially classical, and is built up considering solitons which collide with surrounding topological defects, generating an inflationary domain of space–time. The second is, instead, partly quantum and considers the possibility of tunnelling of past-non-singular regions of spacetime into an inflating universe, following a well-known instanton proposal. We are, here, going to review some of these models, as well as highlight possible extensions, generalizations and the open issues (as for instance the detectability of child universes and the properties of quantum tunnelling processes) that still affect the description of their dynamics. In doing so we will remark how the works on this subject can represent virtual laboratories to test the role that fundamental principles of physics (particularly, the interplay of quantum and general relativistic realms) played in the formation of our universe. (shrink)

Transhumanism and Gnosis: A Parallelism The aim of this paper is to draw a parallel between the phenomenon of gnosis and transhumanism together with its ultimate version, posthumanism. After some methodological clarifications, the paper focuses on four confrontational axes: self-recognition, cosmic and anthropological dualism, the meaning of morality, death and suffering, and finally the promise of salvation. Finally, the two doctrines are framed within the context of the Gnostic revolution, emphasizing the sense of uprootedness and post-modernity to explain the resurgence (...) of these phenomena. (shrink)

Bringing together world-class scholars who have devoted themselves to the study of legal obligation, this book addresses key dimensions of the current debate: providing novel insights and perspectives, as well as critically discussing the leading theories of legal obligation. The notion of legal obligation is widely regarded as fundamental by both legal practitioners and legal theorists. For the language that explicitly refers to obligation is pervasive insofar as paradigmatic legal materials make reference to obligation either directly, by specifying what a (...) subject is obligated to do, or indirectly, by attributing rights, privileges, powers, permissions, and other normative statuses to both single individuals and groups. There is, then, broad agreement that obligation constitutes a central element in legal studies. At the same time, however, there is considerable disagreement among contemporary legal theorists about how legal obligation can or should be elucidated. This book accounts for both the significance of obligation in law and the variety of views of legal obligation championed in legal philosophy today. With contributions from renowned theorists, this book will be invaluable for scholars and students of legal theory, legal philosophy and jurisprudence. (shrink)

Mit diesem Text möchte ich zu der Debatte über den Status und die Legitimität prinzipientreuen Ungehorsams in einer demokratischen Gesellschaft beitragen. Nach der Einführung dieses Begriffs argumentiere ich dafür, dass sich prinzipientreuer Ungehorsam nicht nur als moralische und politische Haltung, sondern auch als rechtliche Verpflichtung darstellen lässt. Im Ergebnis vertrete ich, dass wir nicht nur prinzipientreu gegen das Gesetz verstoßen können, ohne notwendigerweise unsere rechtlichen Verpflichtungen zu verletzen, sondern dass rechtliche Verpflichtungen prinzipientreuen Ungehorsam sogar vorschreiben können. Mit dieser Rahmung des (...) Problems prinzipientreuen Gesetzesbruchs wird die Diskussion um eine neue Position erweitert, nach der wir nicht nur eine moralische Rechtfertigung haben können, das Gesetz zu missachten, sondern auch eine rechtliche Verpflichtung dazu, nämlich eine Verpflichtung, das Gesetz aus prinzipiellen rechtlichen Gründen zu brechen. (shrink)

L’articolo discute intorno alle lezioni di Michel Foucault tenute al Collége de France nel 1981-1982, pubblicate in Francia recentemente e tradotte in italiano nel 2003 col titolo L’ermeneutica del soggetto. Foucault analizza la filosofia antica greca e romana in particolare quella stoica. Egli vuole mostrare come tale filosofia, al contrario della filosofia cristiana, non si preoccupa tanto della conoscenza di sé quanto di prendersi cura del sé. Infatti la filosofia cristiana pensava di cercare la verità all’interno del soggetto proponendo di (...) trovarla con tecniche quali l’inchiesta, lo svelamento, la fede. Invece la filosofia greca e romana dava più importanza alla creatività del soggetto nello sforzo di migliorarsi e di rafforzare il proprio sé e il proprio corpo.This article is focused on Michel Foucault’s lectures held at the Collège de France in 1981-1982, entitled, The Hermeneutic of the Subject. Foucault analyses the Greek and Roman philosophy, especially the stoicism. In opposition to the Christianity, the Stoics, instead of trying to achieve the knowledge of the self, took care of the self. According to Foucault, Christians believed to be able to find the absolute truth into the subject: their purpose was to make inquiries, discoveries in order to find the truth. On the contrary, the Greek and Roman philosophy gives more importance to the creativity, the improvement, the reinforcement of the self and the body. (shrink)

One of the most challenging tasks when adopting Bayesian networks is the one of learning their structure from data. This task is complicated by the huge search space of possible solutions and by the fact that the problem isNP-hard. Hence, a full enumeration of all the possible solutions is not always feasible and approximations are often required. However, to the best of our knowledge, a quantitative analysis of the performance and characteristics of the different heuristics to solve this problem has (...) never been done before. For this reason, in this work, we provide a detailed comparison of many different state-of-the-art methods for structural learning on simulated data considering both BNs with discrete and continuous variables and with different rates of noise in the data. In particular, we investigate the performance of different widespread scores and algorithmic approaches proposed for the inference and the statistical pitfalls within them. (shrink)