The article discusses the affinity of the ideas of two prominent Russian scholars N.N. Moiseev and V.S. Stepin. This affinity of their ideas is above all expressed in the global scale of their thinking, in their orientation toward the search for the ways of mankind development. Both thinkers sought a way out of the limitations and crisis of technological civilization through the promotion of basic values of harmony in the evolution of society and the biosphere. They made an enormous contribution (...) to the development of both humanitarian and natural sciences areas of knowledge related to social management and development, techonology, economics, law, medicine, ecology, education, etc. They worked in an interdisciplinary areas and were successful integrators of natural science and humanities. Simultaneously with the scientific work, Moiseev and Stepin were excellent teachers and mentors of both young and mature researchers. They have created successful scientific schools that include many dozens of outstanding scientists. They devoted much attention and much time to social work, primarily in various structures of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The affinity of Moiseev’s and Stepin’s ideas is shown in four areas of their activities: overcoming the crisis of technological civilization and the limitations of the concept of sustainable development, research into socio-humanitarian cybernetics, development of advanced education models, implementation of successful scientific diplomacy projects. The author of this article participated in joint research projects with Moiseev and Stepin, the personal communication with them and their ideas significantly influenced author’s life path, interests and research results. (shrink)

The article is devoted to the memory of Vyacheslav Semenovich Stepin and Nikita Nikolaevich Moiseev, whose multifaceted work was integrally focused on philosophical, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research of the key ideas and principles of universal human-dimensional evolutionism. Other remarkable Russian scientists V.I. Vernadsky, S.P. Kurdyumov, S.P. Kapitsa, D.S. Chernavsky worked in the same tradition of universal evolutionism. While V.I. Vernadsky and N.N. Moiseev had been the originators of that scientific approach, V.S. Stepin provided philosophical foundations for the ideas of those (...) remarkable scientists and thinkers. The scientific legacy of V.S. Stepin and N.N. Moiseev maintained the formation of a new quality of research into the philosophy of science and technology as well as into the philosophy of culture. This new quality is multidimensional and it is difficult to define unambiguously, but we presume the formation of those areas of philosophical knowledge as constructively oriented languages of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary co-participation of philosophy in the convergent-evolutionary development of scientific knowledge in general. In this regard, attention is paid to V.S. Stepin’s affirmations about non-classical nature of modern social and humanitarian knowledge. Quantum mechanics teaches us that the reality revealed through it is a hybrid construct, or symbiosis, of both mean and object of cognition. Therefore, the very act of cognitive observation constructs quantum reality. Thus, it is very close to the process of cognition in modern sociology and psychology. V.S. Stepin insisted that these principles are applicable to all complex selfdeveloping systems, and such are all “human-dimensional” objects of modern humanities. In all the phases of homeostasis changes, or crises, there is necessarily a share of chaos, instability, uncertainty in the selection process of future development scenarios, which is ineliminably affected by our observation. Therefore, a cognitive observer in the humanities should be considered as a concept of post-non-classical rationality, that is as an observer of complexity. (shrink)

The article analyzes the creativity of one of the most famous Russian neokantians Boris V. Yakovenko. Despite the fact that the work of Yakovenko becomes the subject of analysis of an increasing number of researchers both in Russia and abroad, it has not yet taken place in a systematic analysis. The article attempts to consider the philosophical creativity of the Russian philosopher systematically, revealing both the main directions of European thought that had the greatest influence on the position of Yakovenko (...) and the main areas of philosophy to which the efforts of the national thinker were directed. These, according to the author, include the history of philosophy and the system of so-called transcendental pluralism. It is pointed out that the history of philosophy for Yakovenko is a single holistic process and therefore is the history of the development of philosophical ideas, and not the history of life and work of individual philosophers. According to Yakovenko, the general philosophical scheme of historical development looks like this: from Greek cosmism to German epistemology and the beginning ontological turn in modern philosophy. There is also the belief of B.V. Yakovenko that there is no national philosophy. In his opinion, philosophy, as well as science in General, can only be international. His second main thesis concerning the development of philosophy is that philosophy should be independent from other branches of human knowledge and knowledge. She must not be a servant of theology or science. The article also presents various stages of the Russian philosopher's development of his version of the concept of pluralistic philosophy. According to Yakovenko, only pluralistic philosophy is able to know the essence as the main object of philosophy. (shrink)

Throughout Christianity, its activities are in one way or another connected to the historical reality of its time. Usually, for different epochs, the strength of these bonds was different, but during the Middle Ages, they were significantly stronger than before and after. It is here that perhaps the most important moment was the rise of Christianity, which spread over a relatively short period of time almost throughout Europe. It was then - and never again in all its history - that (...) the Church was able to participate in the formation of all aspects of its contemporary life, in accordance with its spirit. When solving this task, it inevitably came in close contact with the "world" and the various forms in which it was represented. (shrink)

A novel method for ECG signal outlier processing based on autoencoder neural networks is presented in the article. Typically, heartbeats with serious waveform distortions are treated as outliers and are skipped from the authentication pipeline. The main idea of the paper is to correct these waveform distortions rather them in order to provide the system with better statistical base. During the experiments, the optimum autoencoder architecture was selected. An open Physionet ECGID database was used to verify the proposed method. The (...) results of the studies were compared with previous studies that considered the correction of anomalies based on a statistical approach. On the one hand, the autoencoder shows slightly lower accuracy than the statistical method, but it greatly simplifies the construction of biometric identification systems, since it does not require precise tuning of hyperparameters. (shrink)

When it comes to injustice, especially racial injustice, rage isn't just an acceptable response-it's crucial in order to fuel the fight for change. Anger has a bad reputation. Many people think that it is counterproductive, distracting, and destructive. It is a negative emotion, many believe, because it can lead so quickly to violence or an overwhelming fury. And coming from people of color, it takes on connotations that are even more sinister, stirring up stereotypes, making white people fear what an (...) angry other might be capable of doing, when angry, and leading them to turn to hatred or violence in turn, to squelch an anger that might upset the racial status quo. According to philosopher Myisha Cherry, anger does not deserve its bad reputation. It is powerful, but its power can be a force for good. And not only is it something we don't have to discourage, it's something we ought to cultivate actively. People fear anger because they paint it in broad strokes, but we can't dismiss all anger, especially not now. There is a form of anger that in fact is crucial in the anti-racist struggle today. This anti-racist anger, what Cherry calls Lordean rage, can use its mighty force to challenge racism: it aims for change, motivates productive action, builds resistance, and is informed by an inclusive and liberating perspective. People can, and should, harness Lordean rage and tap into its unique anti-racist potential. We should not suppress it or seek to replace it with friendly emotions. If we want to effect change, and take down racist structures and systems, we must manage it in the sense of cultivating it, and keeping it focused and strong. Cherry makes her argument for anti-racist anger by putting Aristotle in conversation with Audre Lorde, and James Baldwin in conversation with Joseph Butler. The Case for Rage not only uses the tools of philosophy to articulate its arguments, but it sharpens them with the help of social psychology and history. The book is philosophically rich and yet highly accessible beyond philosophical spheres, issuing an urgent call to all politically and socially engaged readers looking for new, deeply effective tools for changing the world. Its message will resonate with the enraged and those witnessing such anger, wondering whether it can help or harm. Above all, this book is a resource for the activist coming to grips with a seemingly everyday emotion that she may feel rising up within her and not know what to do with. It shows how to make sure anger doesn't go to waste, but instead leads to lasting, long-awaited change. (shrink)

Let X be a separable Banach space and Q be a coanalytic subset of . We prove that the set of sequences in X which are weakly convergent to some eX and is a coanalytic subset of . The proof applies methods of effective descriptive set theory to Banach space theory. Using Silver’s Theorem [J. Silver, Every analytic set is Ramsey, J. Symbolic Logic 35 60–64], this result leads to the following dichotomy theorem: if X is a Banach space, is (...) a regular method of summability and is a bounded sequence in X, then there exists a subsequence iL such that either there exists eX such that every subsequence iH of iL is weakly summable w.r.t. to e and QiH,e); or for every subsequence iH of iL and every eX with QiH,e)the sequence iH is not weakly summable to e w.r.t. . This is a version for weak convergence of an Erdös–Magidor result, see [P. Erdös, M. Magidor, A note on Regular Methods of Summability, Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 59 232–234]. Both theorems obtain some considerable generalizations. (shrink)

Abstract In this chapter, we challenge the presupposed concept of innovation in the responsible innovation literature. As a first step, we raise several questions with regard to the possibility of ‘responsible’ innovation and point at several difficulties which undermine the supposedly responsible character of innovation processes, based on an analysis of the input, throughput and output of innovation processes. It becomes clear that the practical applicability of the concept of responsible innovation is highly problematic and that a more thorough inquiry (...) of the concept is required. As a second step, we analyze the concept of innovation which is self-evidently presupposed in current literature on responsible innovation. It becomes clear that innovation is self-evidently seen as (1) technological innovation, (2) is primarily perceived from an economic perspective, (3) is inherently good and (4) presupposes a symmetry between moral agents and moral addressees. By challenging this narrow and uncritical concept of innovation, we contribute to a second round of theorizing about the concept and provide a research agenda for future research in order to enhance a less naïve concept of responsible innovation. (shrink)

In the paper, a philosophical and methodological analysis of the evolution of cybernetics in the context of the development of scientific rationality is carried out. The evolution of cybernetics is represented as a movement from the methodology of “observable systems” and to the methodology of “observing systems” and to the methodology of self-developing reflexive-active environments. Special attention is paid to the formation of a new promising direction for post-non-classical cybernetics of self-developing poly-subject environments, which, given the correlation with previous stages (...) of cybernetics development, we define as thirdorder cybernetics. The analysis of the basics of the formation of third-order cybernetics was carried out with consideration of interrelated aspects: philosophical, methodological, theoretical, and methodical. We also provide model of self-developing poly-subject environments as well as a system of ontologies, defining the mechanisms of functioning of such self-organizing poly-subject environments and active elements that organize the communication space. The ontology system also makes it possible to integrate cybernetics of the first, second, and third order. Some sociohumanitarian trends in the development of cybernetics are considered: from an external observer to a distributed observer; from monodisciplinary to transdisciplinary approaches; from activity approach to subject-activity one, and further to subject-oriented approach; from information to active knowledge; from ethics of goals to ethics of strategic subjects. Potential opportunities for using third-order cybernetics are described, in order to improve the quality of solving a number of important scientific and practical problems of controlling social systems. Information is provided on the directions of approbation of a third-order cybernetics concept for improving state administration, based on a system of distributed situational centers, and there is its approbation at international scientific conferences. (shrink)

The discussing subject supposes that in a globalized society communication and information resources (the term of authors) not only provide for the needs of the subjects of relationships, but also become virtually uncontested basis of the progress of the human community. When creating information products, the main means of production of these intangible resources is the human intellect. Thus, the characteristic feature of the process of communication and information production is its subjectivity and lack of direct correlation between material costs (...) and estimate the final cost of production of new information and intangible resources. This approach suggests a new paradigm of the global information space research. (shrink)

The acceleration of the market globalisation process over the last three decades has internationalised clinical research and influenced both the way in which it is funded and the development and application of research practices. In addition, in recent years international multicentre randomised clinical trials have become the model par excellence for research on new medicines. The neoliberal model of globalisation has induced a decline in state power, both with regard to establishing national research for health priorities and to influencing the (...) development of adequate ethical guidelines to protect human beings that participate in multinational research. In this respect, poor and low-income countries, which lack sustainable control and review systems to deal with the ethical and methodological challenges of complex studies conducted by researchers from affluent countries and funded by large multinational pharmaceutical companies, are particularly vulnerable. The aim of the present paper is to explore critically some of the actual and possible ethical pitfalls of globalisation of clinical research and propose mechanisms for turning transnational clinical research into a more cooperative and fairer enterprise. (shrink)

Former research showed that up to 20–25 % of those who leave schools of type VIII are referred to nursery homes for chronic mental patients not due to medical problems but because of social ones. According to the authors’ opinion, such social practice has more positive than negative aspects. However, this issue requires extensive discussions. Organizing special post-diploma training courses of 16–24 hours on ethical-psychological aspects of referral various categories of patients to nursery homes for chronic mental patients also seems (...) to be reasonable. (shrink)

The high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases demands a reliable and sensitive risk assessment technique. In order to develop a fast and label-free immunosensor for C-reactive protein, a risk factor for this condition, anti-CRP antibodies were physically adsorbed to the hydrogen -terminated surface of nanocrystalline diamond. An Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay reference technique showed that this was a suitable substrate for antibody-antigen recognition reactions. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy was used to electronically detect CRP recognition. The specificity of the immunosensor was demonstrated by incubation (...) with CRP and plasminogen as reference molecule. A different impedance behavior was observed in real-time after CRP addition as compared to plasminogen addition: the impedance increased only during CRP incubation. Fitting the data showed that this corresponded with a decrease in capacitance of the molecular layer due to its increased thickness by specific CRP recognition. Sensitivity experiments in real-time showed a clear discrimination between 1 μM, 100 nM, and 10 nM of CRP after 10 min at 100 Hz. Since, 10 nM of CRP was still clearly distinguishable from buffer solution, our CRP-directed immunosensor prototype reaches a sensitivity that is within the physiologically relevant concentration range of this biomarker in healthy controls and CVD patients. Moreover, this prototype displayed real-time discriminating power between spiked and unspiked serum, and thus also shows its applicability in this biological matrix. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (shrink)

The First International Workshop brings together researchers from the theoretical ends of the logic programming and artificial intelligence communities to discuss their mutual interests. Logic programming deals with the use of models of mathematical logic as a way of programming computers, where theoretical AI deals with abstract issues in modeling and representing human knowledge and beliefs. One common ground is nonmonotonic reasoning, a family of logics that includes room for the kinds of variations that can be found in human reasoning. (...) Topics covered: Stable Semantics. Default Logic. AutoEpistemic Logic. Truth Maintenance Systems. Implementation Issues. Diagnosis. Applications. Inheritance Reasoning. Logics of Belief. Inconsistency and Non-Monotonicity. (shrink)

We define proof nets for cyclic multiplicative linear logic as edge bi-coloured graphs. Our characterization is purely graph theoretical and works without further complication for proof nets with cuts, which are usually harder to handle in the non-commutative case. This also provides a new characterization of the proof nets for the Lambek calculus (with the empty sequence) which simply are a restriction on the formulas to be considered (which are asked to be intuitionistic).

Excerpt: It's very easy I think to pick up the first ideas of constructivism, but then to apply them to your daily thinking that takes a long time. But they say it takes seven years to play golf, it takes longer to be a constructivist.

This work has two objectives. The first is to begin a mathematical formalism appropriate to treating particles which only interact with each otherindirectly due to hypothesized memory effects in a stochastic medium. More specifically we treat a situation in which a sequence of particles consecutively passes through a region (e.g., a measuring apparatus) in such a way that one particle leaves the region before the next one enters. We want to study a situation in which a particle may interact with (...) other particles that previously passed through the system via disturbances made in the region by these previous particles.Second, we apply the type of stochastic process appearing in this context to the stochastic interpretation of quantum mechanics to obtain a modified version of this interpretation. This version is free of many of the criticisms made against the stochastic interpretation of quantum mechanics. (shrink)

Biological mimicry is regarded by many as a textbook illustration of Darwin’s idea of evolution by random mutation followed by differential selection of reproductively fit specimens, resulting in gradual phenotypic change in a population. In this paper, I argue that some cases of so-called mimicry are probably merely look-a-likes and do not gain an advantage due to their similarity in appearance to something else. In cases where a similar appearance does provide a benefit, I argue that it is possible that (...) these forms of mimicry were created in a single generation. An interpretive response to an appearance as a sign can make a new structure perform drastically differently in an environment. In such cases, Darwin’s natural selection mechanism only helps to explain gradual the spread of these new forms, not the creation of them. I argue that biosemiosis should be regarded as a much more powerful mechanism for affecting evolutionary trajectories than the gradualist view allows. I focus on two cases of butterfly mimicry: the Viceroy (Nymphalidae: Limenitis archippus) and Monarch (Nymphalidae: Danaus plexippus) butterflies, supposed Müllerian mimics, and deadleaf mimic butterflies (Kallima). (shrink)

A number of nonmonotonic reasoning formalisms have been introduced to model the set of beliefs of an agent. These include the extensions of a default logic, the stable models of a general logic program, and the extensions of a truth maintenance system among others. In [13] and [16], the authors introduced nonmonotomic rule systems as a nonlogical generalization of all essential features of such formulisms so that theorems applying to all could be proven once and for all. In this paper, (...) we extend Rieter's normal default theories, which have a number of the nice properties which make them a desirable context for belief revision, to the setting of nonmonotonic rule systems. Reiter defined a default theory to be normal if all the rules of the default theory satisfied a simple syntatic condition. However, this simple syntatic condition has no obvious analogue in the setting of nonmonotonic rule systems. Nevertheless, an analysis of the proofs of the main results on normal default theories reveals that the proofs do not rely on the particular syntactic form of the rules but rather on the fact that all rules have a certain consistency property. This led us to extend the notion of normal default theories with respect to a general consistency property. This extended notion of normal default theories, which we call Forward Chaining normal , is easily lifted to nonmonotomic rule systems and hence applies to general logic programs and truth maintenance. (shrink)

Efforts to address child trafficking require intensive collaboration among professionals of varied disciplines. Healthcare professionals have a major role in this multidisciplinary approach. Training is essential for all professionals, and policies and protocols may assist in fostering an effective, comprehensive response to victimization.

In the wake of scandals about the unauthorised retention of organs following postmortem examination, the issue of valid consent has returned to the forefront. Emphasis is put on obtaining explicit authorisation from the patient or family prior to any medical intervention, including those involving the dead. Although the controversies in the UK arose from the retention of human material for education or research rather than therapy, concern has been expressed that public mistrust could also adversely affect organ donation for transplantation. (...) At the same time, however, the British Medical Association continues to call for a shift to a system of presumed consent for organ transplantation. This apparent inconsistency can be justified because valid distinctions exist between the reasons requiring explicit consent for retention and the acceptability of presumed consent for transplantation. This paper argues for introducing a system of presumed consent for organ donation, given the overwhelming expressions of public support for transplantation. Ongoing legislative review in the UK provides an ideal chance to alter the default position to one where potential donors can simply acquiesce or opt out of donation. Combined with consultation with their relatives, this could be a much better method of realising individuals’ wishes. It would also achieve a better balance between the duties owed to the deceased and those owed to people awaiting a transplant. (shrink)

Reports in the popular press suggest that smart drugs or “nootropics” such as methylphenidate, modafinil and piracetam are increasingly being used by the healthy to augment cognitive ability. Although current nootropics offer only modest improvements in cognitive performance, it appears likely that more effective compounds will be developed in the future and that their off-label use will increase. One sphere in which the use of these drugs may be commonplace is by healthy students within academia. This article reviews the ethical (...) and pragmatic implications of nootropic use in academia by drawing parallels with issues relevant to the drugs in sport debate. It is often argued that performance-enhancing drugs should be prohibited because they create an uneven playing field. However, this appears dubious given that “unfair” advantages are already ubiquitous and generally tolerated by society. There are concerns that widespread use will indirectly coerce non-users also to employ nootropics in order to remain competitive. However, to restrict the autonomy of all people for fear that it may influence the actions of some is untenable. The use of potentially harmful drugs for the purposes of enhancement rather than treatment is often seen as unjustified, and libertarian approaches generally champion the rights of the individual in deciding if these risks are acceptable. Finally, whether the prohibition of nootropics can be effectively enforced is doubtful. As nootropics use becomes widespread among students in the future, discussion of this issue will become more pressing in the years to come. (shrink)

The article considers the problem of navigating mobile robots and finding the best way to the goal in real-time in a space surrounded by unknown objects. The motor actions of the robot must be defined and adapted to changes in the environment. When using only laser scanners on mobile work, objects above or below the lasers' level will remain obstacles to the robot. Current algorithms and principles of navigation are considered. Extended the existing real-time interference detection system using lasers by (...) adding a camera that calculates the length of objects. The new system has been successfully implemented and tested in a mobile robot, ensuring the passage of the road providing collision-free paths. The obtained simulation results are presented in the article. The existing problems of navigation of mobile robots, which are moving in the particular area from their position to the specified destination on the map, were investigated. The current problem is the inability to spot objects that are not on the same level as the mobile robot's lasers. Moreover, the task is complicated when you need to recognize such objects while the robot is moving in real time. The current algorithms and principles of navigation given by previous research and publications are analyzed. As a result of the work, the existing system of recognition and avoidance of obstacles was expanded. Prior to that, the system used only odometry and information obtained from laser scanners, without obtaining data from other sources of environmental information. The idea of development was to use a camera, which was already part of the components of the researched mobile robot. It has become possible to generate a pointcloud relative to the environment, using a depth sensing camera to calculate the distance to objects. Because the density of the received data in the form of a pointcloud is too high for further processing, a downsample VoxelGrid filter was used, which reduces the density of the point cloud. VoxelGrid belongs to the PCL library. Another problem was the removal of information about unnecessary objects in the camera's field of view. These include the floor, ceiling, parts of the robot. The PassThrough filter from the PCL library was used to solve this problem. The next step is to process the filtered data using OctoMap. As a result, an octree is generated. A top-down projection is created from the octree generated in the previous step. The resulting projection must be processed and converted into polygonal obstacles. Only then they will be marked by teb_local_planner as obstacles. The developed system was successfully implemented and tested both in the Gazebo simulation and in the researche mobile robot. The path with obstacles will be completed without collisions. The paper presents the obtained test results. (shrink)

_ Source: _Volume 40, Issue 1, pp 104 - 115 It is intended in this study to present initial reliability and validity data for the Russian adaptation of the Multidimensional Inventory of Religious/Spiritual Well-being, as being related to personality factors and psychopathology. Therefore, the first version of the MI-RSWB-R was applied to a sample of 192 non-clinical subjects, together with the NEO Five Factor Inventory and the Symptom-Check-List. The original six-factor structure of the scale could be replicated for the MI-RSWB-R, (...) which also provides satisfying psychometric properties. In accordance with previous research the RSWB total score was linked to more favorable personality traits such as Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness, which was paralleled by substantial negative correlations with increased psychopathology. Our findings support the reliability and structural validity of the MI-RSWB-R as a standardized instrument for addressing the spiritual dimension in Russian populations. Further research in clinical surroundings is now recommended. (shrink)

When Introduction à la méthode de Léonard de Vinci was published, Valéry was not yet twenty-four. The period during which he wrote this work, as well as Soirée avec M. Teste, which appeared a year later, was extremely important in his biography, for it defined the principal trends of his thought for decades to come. After a twenty-year period of silence and retirement, there appeared his small volume La Jeune Parque, the collection Charmes, Album de vers anciens, and his Socratic (...) dialogues, all of which won him fame. The reader became aware of a brilliant stylist producing essays most abundant in number and themes, an acute analyst of culture in crisis, of the human community, mind, and morals, and the author of notebooks kept for many years in which he appears, as, among other things, a forerunner of the most diverse ideas in the realm of linguistics, psychology, information theory, aesthetic theory, and the like. Finally, there was to be the posthumous publication of Mon Faust, which, in the mind of the more perceptive reader, markedly emphasizes and sharpens the tragic aspects of Valéry's personality and consciousness of the world, for he is still today sometimes presented as a kind of causeur of high society, a cold master of "manufactured" poetry, an overly brilliant dilettante blinded by science or, at the very best, an utterly academic classicist in the category of those who are as dead as Bossuet or Boileau. All that was still in the future. However, it was precisely in these early works that, with all the fire of youth and maximalism of thought, he formulated ideas that must be central to the attention of those who wish to discover the system of Paul Valéry. (shrink)

Purpose. The article is aimed to reveal the essence of the eternal problem, comprehended by Augustine Aurelius in the culture of the early Middle Ages – the focus of the value orientations of the anthropological search. Theoretical basis. Only in the twentieth century, various aspects of Augustine’s creative legacy became the subject of scientific research by many authors. As the direction of their scientific research, the problem of the relationship of reason, faith, knowledge, which has risen sharply in medieval Christian (...) culture, has been considered. The logical outcome of these studies was the assertion that for Augustine Platonism was the main of the philosophical teachings of antiquity; that Augustine, being in line with Christian philosophy, considered the understanding of the aesthetic perfection of the Divine creation of the world as the sense of human life. The analysis of their works gives reason to argue that the definition of the human essence – the Augustine’s anthropological problems, was practically not addressed by representatives of domestic and foreign philosophical thought, and therefore remained undiscovered. Originality. The authors have proved that the definition of the human essence by Augustine is in the correlation with his answers to questions about the nature of the origin of man, about the secrets of being, etc. The ethical ideal of the thinker has been revealed, which is systematically formed in his works. Conclusions. The thesis has been substantiated that the anthropological views of Augustine Aurelius are in correlation with his epistemological judgments. Only by knowing the order of things in the universe, determined by the will of the Lord, we will know also the order of our value orientations. The basis of the philosophical comprehension of the human essence by Augustine Aurelius is a series of questions that constantly arise before mankind – about the nature of its appearance, about the secrets of human existence, the sense of life, death and immortality, etc. The ethical ideal of the thinker is an eternal city that is not based on human nature, it is too volatile, therefore it is only to a small extent subject to research, but on a Divine basis – the Christian idea. (shrink)

Thomas Pogge has included responsibilities for global health at the core of his liberal agenda and has urged corresponding, efficient reforms in practice. The current article focuses on his proposal for establishing a global fund for the development and delivery of essential medicines for the poor. It is argued that while Pogge interestingly attempts to harness both moral and non-moral human resources to serve global health, the efficiency of his proposed fund is not evident. First, its internal logic implies that (...) part of valuable development aid would end up as profit for drug corporations. Hence, the corporations should be able to utilise the other part of the public funding remarkably efficiently. Second, several existing programmes for global health (such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis) have achieved significant results. This provides them with a firm basis for applying for additional funding. In accordance with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the plea for additional funding for global health seems overwhelmingly justified; in order to coordinate its use efficiently, a significant degree of public management is needed. (shrink)

One of the main problems in effective model theory is to find an appropriate information complexity measure of the algebraic structures in the sense of computability. Unlike the commonly used degrees of structures, the structure degree measure is total. We introduce and study the jump operation for structure degrees. We prove that it has all natural jump properties (including jump inversion theorem, theorem of Ash), which show that our definition is relevant. We study the relation between the structure degree jump (...) (in the sense of Soskov) and the jump degrees of a structure (in the sense of Jockusch) and give necessary and sufficient conditions for their existence in the terms of structure degrees. We show some properties, distinguishing the structure degrees from the enumeration degrees. (shrink)

Case-based, multidisciplinary seminars provided a vehicle for clinicians, philosophers and students to debate current problems in medical ethics in a manner which ensured maximum learning and interest for all participants. Prior training in philosophical medical ethics was an essential prerequisite, giving students the knowledge and skills to take part in the discussions at an appropriate level of sophistication.

The ternary, not binary, Kripke-type relation on a set of possible worlds is an essential part of the semantics of entailment by Routley-Meyer [2]. The unpopularity of such approach among many logicians is due to its intuitive vague content and complexity. An attempt is made to use not one ternary relation but two binary relations and necessity of bibinarness is demonstrated. It is shown that both semantics are equal hence the soundness and completeness of the system R of entailment can (...) be established with the respect to the bibinary semantics. Furthermore, the ternary semantic with discrete matrix for Lukasiewicz system Lℵ0 , which was proposed in [3], could be transformed into the bibinary one and it leads to the conclusion of the completeness and soundness of Lℵ0 with the respect to the bibinary semantic. The brief consideration of the bibinary semantic intuitive content is added, which further logical study could be based on. (shrink)

The problem of the electromagnetic coupling for spin-3/2 particles is discussed. Following supergravity and some previous researches in the field of classical supersymmetric particles, we found that the electromagnetic coupling must not obey a minimal coupling in the sense of coupling the electromagnetic potential, but some kind of an electromagnetic field strength.

The latest advances in quantum computing forced the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to launch an initiative for selecting quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms. One of the best-known proposals is NewHope, an algorithm that was initially designed as a key exchange algorithm. In its original design, NewHope presented a reconciliation mechanism that is complex and represents an entry barrier for potential implementers. This contribution presents equivalent schemes in one, two and three dimensions, which allow anyone to make the transition to (...) the 4D NewHope algorithm easier to undertake. In addition to that, the effect of modifying some of the parameters associated to NewHope’s reconciliation mechanism is studied, which has allowed us to propose different sets of parameters that could increase the security of NewHope implementations. (shrink)

The article proposes an approach to monitoring the efficiency of consumption of energy resources in technological systems, which is based on observing the precedents of stationary energy consumption. This approach allows us to adapt to the local conditions of the technological system and to detect in a timely manner any disturbances of the technological process that lead to unexpected energy losses. The peculiarity of energy monitoring based on observing and fixing the precedents of stationary conditions of energy consumption consists of (...) the formation of precedent images in the form of stochastic estimates of factors of influence on energy consumption and subsequent processing by methods of artificial intelligence. (shrink)