Scriven’s paradox of predictability arises from the combination of two ideas: first, that everything in a deterministic universe is, in principle, predictable; second, that it is possible to create a system that falsifies any prediction that is made of it. Recently, the paradox has been used by Rummens and Cuypers to argue that there is a fundamental difference between embedded and external predictors; and by Ismael to argue against a governing conception of laws. The present paper defends a new diagnosis (...) of the roots of the paradox. First, it is argued that the unpredictability has to be understood in the light of Turing’s famous results about computability, in particular his proof that there is no solution to the ‘halting problem.’ This allows us to see that previous analyses of the paradox were either mistaken or not fully adequate. Second, the sense of paradox that nevertheless remains is traced to the idea that rational behaviour is not dependent on contingent environmental circumstances: that it is always up to us to engage in activities such as rational prediction or rational belief. The paradox of predictability teaches us that this idea, natural though it may be, is mistaken. (shrink)

Reverse analyses of three proofs of the Sylvester-Gallai theorem lead to three different and incompatible axiom systems. In particular, we show that proofs respecting the purity of the method, using only notions considered to be part of the statement of the theorem to be proved, are not always the simplest, as they may require axioms which proofs using extraneous predicates do not rely upon.

Der Wiener Kreis war Ausgangspunkt fA1/4r eine internationale philosophische Bewegung, die eine Erneuerung und Reformierung der Philosophie des 20. Jahrhunderts zur Folge hatte. Der Neopositivismus dieser Gruppe ist die wohl wichtigste philosophische Erscheinung der Zwischenkriegszeit. Da gerade im deutschsprachigen Raum diese Philosophie Ablehnung erfahren hat, ihre ReprAsentanten von den faschistischen Machthabern verfolgt und vertrieben wurden, ist die Bedeutung dieser Gesamtdarstellung A1/4ber den Wiener Kreis von Victor Kraft, die erstmals 1946 publiziert wurde, kaum zu ermessen. Kraft, selbst GrA1/4ndungsmitglied des Zirkels, (...) geht nicht nur auf die Positionen seiner verschiedenen Vertreter ein, sondern erarbeitet ausfA1/4hrlich den metaphysikkritischen Ansatz des logischen Empirismus, die Wechselwirkungen und VerAnderungen, die dieses Denken durch den EinfluA Wittgensteins und spAter dann durch die Kritik Poppers erhalten hat. (shrink)

La philosophie pratique de Kant / par Victor Delbos,...Date de l'edition originale: 1905Sujet de l'ouvrage: Kant, Immanuel (1724-1804)Collection: Bibliotheque de philosophie contemporaineCe livre est la reproduction fidele d'une oeuvre publiee avant 1920 et fait partie d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande editee par Hachette Livre, dans le cadre d'un partenariat avec la Bibliotheque nationale de France, offrant l'opportunite d'acceder a des ouvrages anciens et souvent rares issus des fonds patrimoniaux de la BnF.Les oeuvres faisant partie de cette (...) collection ont ete numerisees par la BnF et sont presentes sur Gallica, sa bibliotheque numerique.En entreprenant de redonner vie a ces ouvrages au travers d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande, nous leur donnons la possibilite de rencontrer un public elargi et participons a la transmission de connaissances et de savoirs parfois difficilement accessibles.Nous avons cherche a concilier la reproduction fidele d'un livre ancien a partir de sa version numerisee avec le souci d'un confort de lecture optimal. Nous esperons que les ouvrages de cette nouvelle collection vous apporteront entiere satisfaction.Pour plus d'informations, rendez-vous sur www.hachettebnf.frhttp: //gallica.bnf.fr/ark: /12148/bpt6k255788x. (shrink)

THIS PAPER IS A DISCUSSION OF MACKIE’S HUMEAN ARGUMENT THAT MIRACLES CANNOT PLAY A ROLE IN A CASE FOR THEISM. I ARGUE THAT MACKIE IS MISTAKEN IN CONTENDING THAT MIRACLES CANNOT FORM PART OF A CASE FOR THEISM. IF THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT CERTAIN EVENTS DEVIATE FROM THE ORDINARY COURSE OF NATURE, AND IF AFFIRMING THE EXISTENCE OF GOD WOULD RENDER THAT EVIDENCE MORE COMPREHENSIBLE THAN OTHERWISE, THEN IT MUST BE ADMITTED THAT EVIDENCE THAT THESE EVENTS HAVE OCCURRED IS EVIDENCE (...) THAT GOD EXISTS. (shrink)

We prove that, in the framework of ordered geometry, the inner form of the Pasch axiom does not imply its outer form . We also show that OP can be properly split into IP and the weak Pasch axiom.

This paper provides a definitive answer, based on considerations derived from first-order logic, to the question regarding the status of elementary geometry, whether elementary geometry can be reduced to algebra. The answer we arrive at is negative, and is based on a series of structural questions that can be asked only inside the geometric formal theory, as well as the consideration of reverse geometry, which is the art of finding minimal axiom systems strong enough to prove certain geometrical theorems, given (...) that there are no algebraic structures that one could associate with those minimal axiom systems. (shrink)

Victor Delbos [1862-1916] était un philosophe et un historien de la philosophie et des philosophes. Nommé maître de conférence à la Sorbonne en 1902, il y fit toute sa carrière. Son essai sur la formation de la philosophie pratique de Kant reste une référence. Son texte sur Spinoza également. A sa mort, au milieu de la Grande Guerre, il laissait une rédaction complète de dix-sept leçons d'un cours consacré à la philosophie française qu'il souhaitait voit publier au plus tôt. (...) Ce fut sa façon de faire œuvre de patriotisme. Maurice Blondel, philosophe et ami de l'auteur se chargera de la publication de l'ouvrage qui voit le jour en 1919 chez Plon-Nourrit. Livre qui compte 14 chapitres consacrés aux grands noms de la philosophie française, de Descartes à Saint-Simon et Auguste Comte, sans oublier Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Maine de Biran et bien d'autres. Victor Delbos, selon ses propres mots, y compte "renouer notre tradition philosophique de façon plus étroite et rentrer dans la pensée française pour montrer qu'"elle a en elle assez de ressources pour se développer et se renouveler avec ses caractères propres [...] sans se laisser conduire". Texte clair et limpide, d'une grande pédagogie et acuité La philosophie française était absente des librairies depuis près d'un siècle. Après Descartes et Pascal, les éditions Manucius reprennent dans leur deuxième livraison de la réédition complète de l'ouvrage, les chapitres consacrés Voltaire, Montesquieu, Diderot et Rousseau. (shrink)

This response deals with seven of the major challenges the commentators have raised to the target article. First, I show that the historical-anecdotal method I have followed has its roots in sociology, and that there is a strong case for the development of a “psychology of history.” Next, the observational data suggesting that intentional cruelty cannot be restricted to humans is rebutted on the grounds that cruelty requires not only an intention to inflict pain, but to do so because that (...) pain would cause the victim to suffer – which requires a theory of mind. Third, in the light of the commentaries, I recognise that not only predation but also intraspecific aggression contributes to the development of cruelty. Fourth, I contrast nativists and environmentalists, the former regarding cruelty as a universal human capacity and the latter holding the view that cruelty is acquired through social learning, and argue that there is an otherworldly quality to the environmentalist view. I then show (the fifth challenge) that the target article does generate testable hypotheses. Sixth is a consideration of the implications of the target article for the re-admission of the concept of evil to the psychological lexicon; and seventh, a consideration of the commentaries which note that the cultivation of compassion is a tool for the prevention of cruelty. The last section of the response replies to questions of detail and rebuts some misrepresentations of my argument. Correspondence:c1 Correspondence to: West Hill House, 6 Swains Lane, Highgate, London N6 6QS, United Kingdom. (shrink)

Among them are essays by French philosophers Louis Bourdeau and Victor Espinas, which founded the ideas in the 1880s and 1890s.

In this paper we provide a quantifier-free constructive axiomatization for Euclidean planes in a first-order language with only ternary operation symbols and three constant symbols . We also determine the algorithmic theories of some ‘naturally occurring’ plane geometries.

Verdejo, Víctor_A Puzzle about Disagreement.

The pioneering analysis of synchronicity was given by Jung, yet despite the concept's momentous significance in Jung's work, and despite the widespread dissemination of the term 'synchronicity' even within pop culture, synchronicity is often badly misconstrued and remains "perhaps the least understood of Jung's theories". Synchronicity, Science, and Soul-Making has already been hailed as the most important analysis of synchronicity since Jung himself.

The question whether justice can be completely detached from morality seems to be relevant to the discussion of the issues that surround the execution of witches in Africa. In spite the widespread belief in witchcraft in African societies, it is apparent that part of the West as well as the Judeo-Christian traditions also support this view. However, this does not remove the fact that, there are thousands of individuals who are still sceptical about such belief. This paper agrees with the (...) view of those who believe the existence of witchcraft. Thus, despite the fact that many scholars have written on the existence of witchcraft in Africa, little or no attention has been paid to the question of moral implications of executing witches in Africa. An attempt to fill this gap facilitates an investigation into the nexus between morality and social justice. The fundamental problem now is, is it morally right to kill? Should witches be killed? If witches should be executed, are there moral and legal bases for such killing? How should we account for the question of sanctity of human life? In this paper, effort shall be made to answer these fundamental questions. The methods employed in this research are critical analysis, philosophical argumentation and conceptual clarification. Keywords : witchcraft, morality, law, society, justice, religion. (shrink)

An interdisciplinary theoretical framework is proposed for analysing justice in global working conditions. In addition to gender and race as popular criteria to identify disadvantaged groups in organizations, in multinational corporations (MNCs) local employees (i.e. host country nationals (HCNs) working in foreign subsidiaries) deserve special attention. Their working conditions are often substantially worse than those of expatriates (i.e. parent country nationals temporarily assigned to a foreign subsidiary). Although a number of reasons have been put forward to justify such inequalities—usually with (...) efficiency goals in mind—recent studies have used equity theory to question the extent to which they are perceived as fair by HCNs. However, since perceptual equity theory has limitations, this study develops an alternative and non-perceptual framework for analysing such inequalities. Employment discrimination theory and elements of Rawls’s ‘Theory of Justice’ are the theoretical pillars of this framework. This article discusses the advantages of this approach for MNCs and identifies some expatriation practices that are fair according to our non-perceptual justice standards, whilst also reasonably (if not highly) efficient. (shrink)

We provide the syntactic equivalent for the theorem stating that all epimorphisms of finite projective planes are isomorphisms. The definition of the inequality relation that we provide adds little to our understanding of the theorem, since its very validity can be discerned only from the validity of the model-theoretic theorem regarding epimorphisms.

Se presenta un estudio sobre la presencia de los organismos de Investigación y Desarrollo adscritos al sistema público de financiación, así como de las sociedades científicas. Se analiza además la situación de revistas electrónicas visibles en Internet editadas por estas instituciones. En ambos casos se ofrece también una valoración geográfica por Comunidades Autónomas, y en el caso de las revistas electrónicas una evaluación temática. Se suministra un directorio con los títulos y direcciones en Internet de las revistas electrónicas localizadas.

The latest astrophysical data on the Supernova luminosity-distance—redshift relations, primordial nucleosynthesis, value of Cosmic Microwave Background-temperature, and baryon asymmetry are considered as evidence for a relative measurement standard, field nature of time, and conformal symmetry of the physical world. We show how these principles of description of the universe help modern quantum field theory to explain the creation of the universe, time,and matter in the way compatible with the Biblical Scenario.

This paper argues that the foundation for Skovoroda’s philosophical evolution was laid by the elements of his existential experience: overcoming the fear of death; uncertainty of an individual’s existence in the world; friendship; a series of events in his social life, simultaneous to changes in his works. The most fundamental factor of this experience was Skovoroda’s Christian identity, particularly his continuous efforts to grasp the meaning of the most crucial dogma of Christian religion – the mystery of Resurrection. The totality (...) of these factors caused further development of Skovoroda’s doctrine. The article schematises the inner logic of this development as follows: (1) discovery of the perspective of love, interpreted as being struck by divine beauty; (2) interpretation of human condition as being on the edge of the created and the divine world; (3) proper assessment of the fact that a human being discovers in its own essence the incorruptible beauty of divine image; (4) comprehension of how love to this image arises; (5) interpretation of man as a being that is capable to grasp the eternity of divine charity, and understand itself as a meta-historical entity that has its continuation in eternity. The existential experience brings Skovoroda to a unique and extremely powerful existential experience of the mystery of Cross, which causes a cathartic effect: having undergone the sufferings of the Cross, the material fire of human ἔρως transforms into the living water of divine ἀγάπη, and the confusion of a living creature lost in the world gives way to a tranquil wisdom of a heir of divine gifts and a friend of God. (shrink)

In my master's thesis for physics and philosophy, I take a long and hard look at the debates surrounding Maxwell's Demon and the status of the second law of thermodynamics. I try to clarify the use of Maxwell's thought experiment in understanding the second law; to prove that the second law is contingent, given only classical mechanics and time asymmetry; to argue that the law only holds because of facts about the kinds of particles that exist in our universe; to (...) show that and why the attempts to banish the demon using fluctuations, measurements or information or erasure have been unsuccessful; and I conclude that Maxwell's Demon is alive and kicking. (shrink)

L'esprit philosophique de l'Allemagne et la pensee francaise / par Victor Delbos,...Date de l'edition originale: 1915Collection: Pages actuelles; 40Ce livre est la reproduction fidele d'une oeuvre publiee avant 1920 et fait partie d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande editee par Hachette Livre, dans le cadre d'un partenariat avec la Bibliotheque nationale de France, offrant l'opportunite d'acceder a des ouvrages anciens et souvent rares issus des fonds patrimoniaux de la BnF.Les oeuvres faisant partie de cette collection ont ete (...) numerisees par la BnF et sont presentes sur Gallica, sa bibliotheque numerique.En entreprenant de redonner vie a ces ouvrages au travers d'une collection de livres reimprimes a la demande, nous leur donnons la possibilite de rencontrer un public elargi et participons a la transmission de connaissances et de savoirs parfois difficilement accessibles.Nous avons cherche a concilier la reproduction fidele d'un livre ancien a partir de sa version numerisee avec le souci d'un confort de lecture optimal. Nous esperons que les ouvrages de cette nouvelle collection vous apporteront entiere satisfaction.Pour plus d'informations, rendez-vous sur www.hachettebnf.frhttp: //gallica.bnf.fr/ark: /12148/bpt6k5608386g. (shrink)