This paper provides an analysis of how concepts pertinent to legal contracts can influence certain aspects of their digital implementation through smart contracts, as inspired by recent developments in distributed ledger technology. We discuss how properties of imperative and declarative languages including the underlying architectures to support contract management and lifecycle apply to various aspects of legal contracts. We then address these properties in the context of several blockchain architectures. While imperative languages are commonly used to implement smart contracts, we (...) find that declarative languages provide more natural ways to deal with certain aspects of legal contracts and their automated management. (shrink)

The paper offers a formalization of reasoning about distributed multi-agent systems. The presented propositional probabilistic temporal epistemic logic $\textbf {PTEL}$ is developed in full detail: syntax, semantics, soundness and strong completeness theorems. As an example, we prove consistency of the blockchain protocol with respect to the given set of axioms expressed in the formal language of the logic. We explain how to extend $\textbf {PTEL}$ to axiomatize the corresponding first-order logic.

The great variety of meditation techniques found in different contemplative traditions presents a challenge when attempting to create taxonomies based on the constructs of contemporary cognitive sciences. In the current issue of Consciousness and Cognition, Travis and Shear add ‘automatic self-transcending’ to the previously proposed categories of ‘focused attention’ and ‘open monitoring’, and suggest characteristic EEG bands as the defining criteria for each of the three categories. Accuracy of current taxonomies and potential limitations of EEG measurements as classifying criteria are (...) discussed. (shrink)

We study a propositional probabilistic temporal epistemic logic $\textbf {PTEL}$ with both future and past temporal operators, with non-rigid set of agents and the operators for agents’ knowledge and for common knowledge and with probabilities defined on the sets of runs and on the sets of possible worlds. A semantics is given by a class ${\scriptsize{\rm Mod}}$ of Kripke-like models with possible worlds. We prove decidability of $\textbf {PTEL}$ by showing that checking satisfiability of a formula in ${\scriptsize{\rm Mod}}$ is (...) equivalent to checking its satisfiability in a finite set of finitely representable structures. The same procedure can be applied to the class of all synchronous ${\scriptsize{\rm Mod}}$-models. We give an upper complexity bound for the satisfiability problem for ${\scriptsize{\rm Mod}}$. (shrink)

It is proved that MacLane''s coherence results for monoidal and symmetric monoidal categories can be extended to some other categories with multiplication; namely, to relevant, affine and cartesian categories. All results are formulated in terms of natural transformations equipped with graphs (g-natural transformations) and corresponding morphism theorems are given as consequences. Using these results, some basic relations between the free categories of these classes are obtained.

Corporate social responsibility research has burgeoned in the past several decades. Despite significant advances, our review of the literature reveals a problematic gap: We know little about how culture, practices, and interactions shape CSR. On further investigation, we discover that limited research utilizes ethnography to understand CSR, which may provide some explanation for this gap. Thus, the purpose of this article is to illustrate the utility of ethnography for advancing business and society research via a multistage framework that demonstrates how (...) three different types of ethnography may be applied to the exploration of CSR. We specifically focus on the alignment between stages in the research process, or methodological fit, as a key criterion of high-quality research. In doing so, we provide researchers embracing different worldviews a tool they may utilize to conduct and evaluate ethnographies in business and society research. (shrink)

Aristotle?s definition of humans determines his understanding of education in Politics as politikon zo?n. This definition should always be considered together with the other most important Aristotle?s statement about the human being, in which he claims that?man alone of the animals possesses speech?. The ability to speak becomes most important within the specific political partnership, which has at last attained the limit of virtually complete?self-sufficiency?. Contrary to?every household? where the eldest member?gives the law? to sons and spouses, in the city, (...) the?speech is designed to indicate the advantageous and harmful, and the right and wrong?. In sum, justice became political. It always appears like the outcome of an argument or dispute on what is just. We should understand education in the context of the previous statements. Dispute, the keyword of Aristotle?s understanding of education, appears in the first sentence of Politics VIII. Aristotle states that?they dispute? the question of what?constitutes education and what is the proper way to be educated?. There is not one complete, definitive, and standard answer to the question of what is the best way to be educated that we should implement in the educational activities. Based on Aristotle?s view, I claim that the first purpose of education is not to determine and constrain the activity of the youth and citizens in general, but to provoke and facilitate the dispute on the essence and aims of education. (shrink)

A transdisciplinary account of the polemical vocabularies of sovereignty, democracy, self-determination, constituent power, and constitutionalism, this book is a pioneering attempt to systematically envision these ideals and polemical concepts, not just as the objects of scholarly inquiry, but also as products of theoretical imaginations.

The paper is on the role of complex thought in the development of thought and scientific knowledge. According to Vigotsky, the complex thought is the first phase in the ontogenesis and phylogenesis of human thought. It is in this sense pre-conceptual. Also, according to Vigotsky, the complex thought has its internal genesis which begins with associative complexes and ends in pseudo-concepts. Complex also an explanatory role in scientific thought. Complex thought ppears on all levels and stages of the development of (...) scientific knowledge. Metaphors may appear in the complex thought as a dominant mode of thought or in the conceptual structure as the auxiliary in the explanation. Analogies present a certain structuration of the complex thought, which contributes to the creation of conceptual structure. The place of analogy is thus between a complex thought and conceptual thought. (shrink)

The author starts from the hypothesis that it is essential for the countries of the region to critically assess the synergy established between systemic, political corruption and a selectively weak,?devious? nature of the state. Moreover, the key dilemma is whether the expanded practice of political rent seeking supports the conclusion that the root of all corruption is in the very existence of the state - particularly in excessive, selective and deforming state interventions and benefits that create a fertile ground for (...) corruption? The author argues that the destructive combination of weak government and rampant political corruption is based on scattered state intervention, while also rule the parties cartel in the executive branch subordinate to parliament, the judiciary and the police. Corrupt exchange takes place with the absence of strong institutional framework and the precise rules of the political and electoral games, control of public finances and effective political and anti-monopoly legislation and practice included. Exit from the current situation can be seen in the realization of effective anti?corruption strategy that integrates preventive and repressive measures and activities and lead to the establishment of principles of good governance. (shrink)

This article critically examines the emergent phenomena of AI-generated and NFT art through the lens of Georg Lukács’ theory of reification and its existential implications. Lukács argued that under capitalism, social relations and human experiences are transformed into objective, quantifiable commodities, leading to a fragmented and alienated consciousness. Applying this framework to AI and NFT art, these technologies can be said to represent extreme examples of the reification of art and creativity in the digital age. AI art generators reduce artistic (...) production to abstract, computable properties divorced from lived experience, while NFTs transform digital art into speculative commodities, imposing the logic of private property and exchange value onto the previously open domain of online culture. The existential dimension of this reification is explored, raising questions about the nature of creativity, originality, and the value of art in an increasingly financialized and automated world. The article suggests that a Lukácsian critique must not only diagnose the reified character of these cultural forms but also identify their potential for resistance and transformation, pointing toward a re-humanized and emancipatory vision of art in the digital age. Contemporary theorists such as Tiziana Terranova, Nick Dyer-Witheford, and Benjamin Noys are invoked to further elucidate these issues. (shrink)

In this paper we consider the class of truth-functional modal many-valued logics with the complete lattice of truth-values. The conjunction and disjunction logic operators correspond to the meet and join operators of the lattices, while the negation is independently introduced as a hierarchy of antitonic operators which invert bottom and top elements. The non-constructive logic implication will be defined for a subclass of modular lattices, while the constructive implication for distributive lattices (Heyting algebras) is based on relative pseudo-complements as in (...) intuitionistic logic. We show that the complete lattices are intrinsically modal, with banal identity modal operator. We define the autoreferential set-based representation for the class of modal algebras, and show that the autoreferential Kripke-style semantics for this class of modal algebras is based on the set of possible worlds equal to the complete lattice of algebraic truth-values. The philosophical assumption is based on the consideration that each possible world represents a level of credibility, so that only propositions with the right logic value (i.e., level of credibility) can be accepted by this world, then we connect it with paraconsistent properties and LFI logics. The bottom truth value in this complete lattice corresponds to the trivial world in which each formula is satisfied, that is, to the world with explosive inconsistency. The top truth value corresponds to the world with classical logics, while all intermediate possible worlds represent the different levels of paraconsistent logics. (shrink)

This article investigates the tenet of Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) that art, like philosophy, is a form of cognition different from literal knowledge by applying key OOO concepts to the analysis of the Renaissance painting The Ambassadors (1533), a double portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger (1497/98–1543). The Ambassadors is found to exemplify the key principles of OOO in its treatment of objects and their relationships. Through an OOO lens, the painting becomes not merely a literal representation of the subjects and (...) their possessions, but a dynamic interplay of real and sensual qualities that exceeds any straightforward paraphrase. The figures and objects in the work are not simply passive symbols, but active agents that withdraw from direct access, preserving their autonomy and inviting the viewer’s participatory engagement. Holbein’s masterpiece comes alive precisely by troubling its own representational coherence, drawing the viewer into an uncanny encounter with the withdrawn depths of objects. By reading The Ambassadors through an object-oriented framework, the painting exemplifies art’s capacity to operate as a non-literal form of cognition, irreducible to mere symbolic codes or propositional knowledge. (shrink)

Publication date: 28 April 2021 Source: International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences Vol. 90 Author: Zoran Mastilo, Nenad Božović, Dejan Mastilo The paper addresses and evaluates the currency board policy and assesses whether the currency board, as a form of monetary policy, is in the function of development of Bosnia and Herzegovina's national economy. In this context, a hypothesis that the currency board provides the foundation for growth and development of a transition economy is being put to the (...) test. To test the hypothesis, the paper compares the movement of economic growth indicators among the countries of South Eastern Europe with the primary focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina. By comparing the obtained results, as well as by applying the correlation and regression analysis, by means of simple linear regression, it is proven that the currency board does not represent an obstacle to economic growth, but is the basis for establishing the stability of the economy and the basis for sustainable growth and development able to adequately respond to shocks. (shrink)

Publication date: 2 May 2019 Source: Author: Zoran Mastilo Aim of this paper is to, by means of comparative analysis, demonstrate that contemporary pension systems are limitation factors of development of the Republic of Srpska, and that they should be reformed and improved. Ultimately, pension systems should be the basis for development of the Republic of Srpska. They should significantly improve strengthening of financial markets, enhancement of capital markets, higher growth rates of the Republic of Srpska, idecrease of unemployment. (...) Private pension funds are to change the habits and ideas of every future insurance holder, aiming to make the pension rights a matter of concern of every individual, instead being the obligation and ballast of the society. Today, stabile financing of pension systems and their funds is becoming increasingly questionable. A gap is emerging between the area of rights gained by law and financial possibilities for their implementation. Pay-as-you-go systems, i.e. systems of inter-generation solidarityare particularly endangered. Adequate systematization of gathered data, i.e. evidence, should provide conclusions that pension systems are a limitation todevelopment of national economy. This claim is present in underdeveloped and developing countries, with developed economies also facing grave problems. (shrink)

Since in Heyting Arithmetic all atomic formulas are decidable, a Kripke model for HA may be regarded classically as a collection of classical structures for the language of arithmetic, partially ordered by the submodel relation. The obvious question is then: are these classical structures models of Peano Arithmetic ? And dually: if a collection of models of PA, partially ordered by the submodel relation, is regarded as a Kripke model, is it a model of HA? Some partial answers to these (...) questions were obtained in [6], [3], [1] and [2]. Here we present some results in the same direction, announced in [7]. In particular, it is proved that the classical structures at the nodes of a Kripke model of HA must be models of IΔ1 and that the relation between these classical structures must be that of a Δ1-elementary submodel. MSC: 03F30, 03F55. (shrink)

U nacrtu ovog projekta raspravlja se o izazovima pred kojim se nalazi nacionalna drzava u dinamicnim procesima globalizacije. Prvo se nastoji odrediti pojam globalizacije kao decentralizovani proces kondenzacije i homogenizacije prostora i vremena a zatim se ukazuje na ambivalentnu strukturu diskursa o globalizaciji - njegovu semanticku i pragmaticku dimenziju. Potom se izlaze neoliberalno glediste o eroziji i slabljenju nacionalne drzave usled premoci globalnog kapitalistickog pogona, kako u pogledu njenih tradicionalnih funkcija tako i u pogledu njenog internog i eksternog suvereniteta. Protiv (...) neoliberalne teze o eroziji nacionalne drzave izneseni su mnogi uglavnom empirijski argumenti. Neki od njih su prezentovani u ovom tekstu. Poenta ove argumentacije sastoji se u generalnom stavu da izmedju erozije nacionalne drzave i procesa globalizacije ne postoji jaka veza. U skladu sa prezentovanom kritickom argumentacijom tvrdi se da u uslovima globalizacionih procesa samo ona drustva iza kojih stoji jaka i stabilna drzava imaju izglede na uspeh. Politika a ne ekonomija i dalje dominira medjunarodnim odnosima. Naglasavanje momenta drzavne politike otvara novu perspektivu u razmatranju procesa globalizacije. Tekuci globalizacioni procesi ne mogu se razumeti nezavisno od geopolitickih interesa i promene balansa svetske moci. Tekst se zavrsava ukazivanjem na ideologicnost neoliberalnog diskursa o globalizaciji propitivanjem druge bazicne i nereflektovane pretpostavke ovog diskursa po kojoj su procesi globalizacije u isto vreme i procesi emancipacije. Osporavanjem nuzne veze izmedju globalizacije i emancipacije gradi se pozicija sa koje je moguca normativna kritika tekucih procesa. (shrink)

Razvoj biofarmaceutika predstavlja izazov u bioetici. Za razliku od uobicajenih lekova male molekulske mase, biofarmaceutici su proteini kompleksne trodimenzionalne strukture koji se dobijaju tehnologijom rekombinantne DNK i tehnikom hibridoma. Imunogenost biofarmaceutika treba uvek proveriti u klinickim studijama zbog male prediktivne prednosti pretklinickih animalnih modela. Medjutim, primati i transgeni sojevi miseva mogu se upotrebiti da bi se naznacili neki aspekti imunogenosti. Znacajni napori su ucinjeni u cilju smanjenja upotrebe primata u razvoju biofarmaceutika, npr. poboljsanja dizajna istrazivanja i promene u zakonskoj regulativi. (...) Osim toga, u ovoj oblasti su aktivne i pojedine ekspertske grupe. Uprkos tome, postoji rastuci trend upotrebe primata izuzev coveka u pretklinickom ispitivanju bezbednosti biofarmaceutika, posebno kada su u pitanju monoklonska antitela. Druga bioeticka pitanja koja se mogu dovesti u vezu sa razvojem biofarmaceutika su odnos njihove cene i efikasnosti, procena bezbednosti u klinickim uslovima, proizvodnja bioloski slicnih lekova i uporedjivanje njihove efikasnosti sa placebom u zemljama u kojima ne postoji namera o plasmanu. Upoznavanje humanog genoma otvorilo je mnoga bioeticka pitanja. Razvoj biofarmaceutika je vazno bioeticko pitanje iz vise razloga. Ono povezuje sve aspekte savremene bioetike: biomedicinu, dobrobit zivotinja i najnovija dostignuca u biotehnologiji. Posebno, razvoj biofarmaceutika je izazov kada je u pitanju lecenje retkih bolesti. (shrink)

Rafael Malach is currently a professor in the department of Neurobiology at the Weizmann Institute in Israel. His current research is aimed at understanding how the neuronal circuitry in the human brain translates a stream of sensory stimuli into meaningful perception. Rafael Malach received his PhD in physiological optics from UC Berkeley and did his post-doctorate research at MIT. Originally doing research on the organization of neuronal connections in the primate brain, his focus has recently shifted to the study of (...) the human cerebral cortex using fMRI. Professor Malach has begun this research at Massachusetts General Hospital, exploring a new object-related region called the lateral occipital complex. Since then he expanded this research, studying the human visual cortex using a variety of methods, including adaptation paradigms, backward masking, and more recently naturalistic stimuli--all aimed at deciphering the intriguing link between perceptual experience and brain activity. (shrink)

Na tragu novog citanja Kantove trece kritike, koje nam u svojim Predavanjima o Kantovoj politickoj filozofiji sudjenja predlaze Hana Arent, autor se u ovom radu bavi funkcijom umetnosti u uspostavljanju, uredjenju i profilisanju politicke zajednice, fokusirajuci se pritom pre svega na oblast muzike. Svoju analizu on zapocinje sa antickim misliocima, a nastavlja je problematizovanjem mesta koja se ticu umetnickog oblikovanja zivota gradjana u moderno doba. Njegov cilj je pritom da pokaze da se filozofija umetnosti, tj. filozofija muzike, jednako mogu shvatiti (...) i kao politicka filozofija, upravo stoga sto se u analizi pomenutih fenomena neprestano osvedocuju bliska isprepletenost politike i estetike, tj. umetnosti i moci, odnosno, muzike i moci. Njegov zakljucak je da, uslovno receno, estetsko opste culo mozemo shvatiti kao svojevrsni ljudski organ za javno esteticko zdruzivanje gradjana. Muzika, pesnistvo, likovna umetnost, itd. postaju orudje politickog oblikovanja gradjana, odnosno, orudje njihovog politickog zivota. (shrink)

Osnovno pitanje koje rad pokreće je na koji nam način istraživanje ideje univerziteta omogućuje da danas pred njom otvorimo nove horizonte? Fichteovo, Schleiermacherovo i Humboldtovo inzistiranje na obrani autonomije univerziteta stvorilo je novi problem – sudbinsko vezivanje univerziteta za državu pokazalo se kao preveliko breme. Pritisnut zahtjevima države za proizvođenjem profesionalne kompetencije, u svijetu koji je sve više insistirao na administrativnoj i privrednoj funkcionalnosti i efikasnosti, univerzitet se sve više udaljavao od svojih modernih prosvjetiteljsko-humanističkih okvira, odnosno, od proklamirane emancipatorske uloge (...) znanja. Međutim, on je jednako bio žrtvom visoko podignutog tona kojim je bio praćen govor filozofa njemačkog idealizma. Univerzitet tako biva razapet između znanosti, nacije i države. Ideja univerziteta se time pretvorila u ideologiju univerziteta. Dijagnoza je glasila da je univerzitet ostao bez svoje ideje. Tako se danas odgovor na pitanje ima li ideja univerziteta još uvijek snagu legitimizacije same institucije, kod Habermasa, Lyotarda i Derridaa, poklapa s pokušajem »buđenja« samih živih aktera univerziteta, profesora i studenata. Današnji put filozofije u nekakvo novo legitimiziranje univerziteta moguće je samo ako ova revidira svoj stav prema toj instituciji. Možemo li re-legitimiziranje univerziteta shvatiti kao jedan novi vic?!Die Grundfrage dieser Studie ist wie diese Forschung uns ermöglichen könnte, vor der Idee der Universität einen neuen Horizont zu öffnen. Fichtes, Schleiermachers und Humboldts Behharen auf der Verteidigung der Autonomie der Universität hat ein anderes Problem verursacht – schicksalhafte Beziehung der Universität mit dem Staat, die sich als zu schwierige Belastung erwiesen hat. Unter dem Einfluss des Staates eine professionelle Kompetenz zu produzieren, in der Welt, die an Verwaltungs- und Wirtschaftlichsfunktionalität und Leistungsfähigkeit zunehmend insistierte, entfernte die Universität weiter von ihren modernen aufklärerisch-humanistischen Rahmen, d.h. von der verkündigten emanzipatorischen Rolle des Wissens. Die Universität war, aber, gleichartig das Opfer des hoch gehobenen Tons, mit dem die Philosophen des deutschen Idealismus über sie gesprochen haben. Damit wird die Universität zwischen Wissenschaft, Nation und Staat verspannt. Die Idee der Universität verwandelte sich in die Ideologie der Universität. Die Universität ist ohne ihre Idee geblieben. So heute zustimmt, bei Habermas, Lyotard und Derrida, die Antwort auf die Frage ob die Idee der Universität immer noch die Institution selbst legitimieren könnte, mit dem Versuch des Erwachens der „lebendigen Akteure“ der Universität, Professoren und Studenten. Der heutige Weg der Philosophie in eine neue Legitimierung der Universität ist möglich nur wenn sie ihre Haltung zu der Institution revidiert. Können wir die Re-Legitimierung der Universität als einen neuen Witz verstehen?! (shrink)

The present research examines how children’s time spent online is associated with their perceived life satisfaction accounting for their age, gender, socio-economic status (SES), emotional problems, country, and family environmental factors. This article is based on the data of the large scale cross-sectionalEU Kids Onlinesurvey from 16 European countries with nationally representative samples of children aged 9–17 (N= 11,200,Mage= 13.3, SD = 2.36; 50.6% boys, 49.4% girls). The results indicated that the time children spent online appeared to have no considerable (...) negative effect on their self-reported life satisfaction (SRLS). Comparatively, the positive effects of children’s SES and family environment accounted for 43% of the overall 50% of the variance in children’s SRLS scores. Considering that children’s SES alone accounted for 42% of the variance, children’s emotional problems, country of residence, and enabling parental mediation accounted for the remaining 3, 4, and 1% of the variance, respectively. In line with previous studies that urge caution when discussing the negative influence of time spent online on children’s mental health and overall wellbeing, the current findings suggest that social-ecological characteristics and how children use the Internet, need to be examined further. (shrink)

An extension of the notion of dinatural transformation is introduced in order to give a criterion for preservation of dinaturality under composition. An example of an application is given by proving that all bicartesian closed canonical transformations are dinatural. An alternative sequent system for intuitionistic propositional logic is introduced as a device, and a cut-elimination procedure is established for this system.

U svetu arhajskog čoveka -- Kožev--"posthumni" mislilac -- Žan Delimo ili apologija pesimizma -- Pitanje tragedije.