J. L. Mackie famously argued that a commitment to non-existent objective values permeates ordinary moral thought and discourse. According to a standard interpretation, Mackie construed this commitment as a universal and indeed essential feature of moral judgments. In this paper I argue that we should rather ascribe to Mackie a form of semantic pluralism, according to which not all moral judgments involve the commitment to objective values. This interpretation not only makes better sense of what Mackie actually says, but also (...) renders his error theory immune to a powerful objection. (shrink)

In this paper, I discuss two different metaethical challenges based on population ethical impossibility results. According to the anti‐realist challenge, the results pose a serious threat to the existence of objective moral facts. According to the skeptical challenge, the results pose a serious threat to the reliability of our moral intuitions. My aim is to systematically explore and evaluate these challenges. In addition to clarifying the issues, I argue that population ethical impossibility results do not in fact support any anti‐realist (...) or skeptical conclusions. (shrink)

Inspired by “One Note Samba,” a standard jazz repertoire, we present an outline of Bose-Einstein Condensate Cosmology (BECC). Although this approach seems awkward and a bit off the wall at first glance, it is not impossible to connect altogether BEC, Scalar Field Cosmology and Feshbach Resonance with Ermakov-Pinney equation. We also discuss shortly possible link with our previous paper, where we describe Newtonian Universe with Vortex in terms of Ermakov equation.

A core tenet of metanormative non-naturalism is that genuine or robust normativity—i.e., the kind of normativity that is characteristic of moral requirements, and perhaps also of prudential, epistemic and even aesthetic requirements—is metaphysically special in a way that rules out naturalist analyses or reductions; on the non-naturalist view, the normative is sui generis and metaphysically discontinuous with the natural. Non-naturalists agree, however, that the normative is modally as well as explanatorily dependent on the natural. These two commitments—discontinuity and dependence—at least (...) initially pull in opposite directions, and one of the central challenges to non-naturalism is how to reconcile them. In this paper I spell out the most pressing version of this discontinuity problem, as I propose to call it, and I go on to offer a novel solution. Drawing on the ideology of reasons-firstism, I formulate an account of normative explanation which reconciles the two commitments, and I argue that competing accounts either do not solve the problem or are implausible on independent grounds. (shrink)

In this article I give a unified account of three phenomena: bullshit, pseudoscience and pseudophilosophy. My aims are partly conceptual, partly evaluative. Drawing on Harry Frankfurt's seminal analysis of bullshit, I give an account of the three phenomena and of how they are related, and I use this account to explain what is bad about all three. More specifically, I argue that what is defective about pseudoscience and pseudophilosophy is precisely that they are special cases of bullshit. Apart from raising (...) interesting philosophical issues, gaining a clearer understanding of these phenomena is also of practical importance, in that it bears on how best to tackle the threat that they pose. (shrink)

Since the publication of Clark and Chalmers' Extended Mind paper, the central claims of that paper, viz. the thesis that cognitive processes and cognitive or mental states extend beyond the brain and body, have been vigorously debated within philosophy of mind and philosophy of cognitive science. Both defenders and detractors of these claims have since marshalled an impressive battery of arguments for and against “active externalism.” However, despite the amount of philosophical energy expended, this debate remains far from settled. We (...) argue that this debate can be understood as answering two metaphysical questions. Yet prominent voices within the debate have assumed that there is a tight relationship between these two questions such that one question can be answered via the other. We defend an alternative ‘wide’ view, whereby mentality is understood as constituted by wide social and cultural factors. Our wide view entails that the two metaphysical questions are separate and should be kept distinct. This suggests that active externalism as understood by prominent voices within that debate requires dissolution, rather than solution. However, if the debate were instead understood as only focusing on the second of the two questions, then there could be a possible future for this debate. (shrink)

Non-naturalists about normativity hold that there are instantiable normative properties which are metaphysically discontinuous with natural properties. One of the central challenges to non-naturalism is how to reconcile this discontinuity with the supervenience of the normative on the natural. Drawing on J. L. Mackie’s seminal but highly compressed discussion in Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong, this paper argues that the supervenience challenge as usually conceived is merely a symptom of a more fundamental challenge in the vicinity.

This small book consists of discussion of several hard questions on God and problem of evil. This compilation is partly stimulated by discussions with several close friends in a number of occasions. A number of these questions can be called ontological in nature, while the others may touch on philosophical-theology. While surely this small compilation may not address all your questions, hopefully you will find several hard questions are answered, to the best of authors’ knowledge, along with assistance of a (...) large language model / AI. (shrink)

La presente publicación de Víctor Samuel Rivera reúne diez ensayos, escritos entre los años 2014 y 2017, cuyo foco son las democracias capitalistas liberales, según las llama el autor. Estamos, por consiguiente, ante un trabajo decididamente actual que nos coloca frente a dos evidencias. La primera es que el objeto de estudio ofrece retos singulares, pues se trata de reflexionar acerca del mismo flujo histórico que enmarca nuestras condiciones de saber y fija nuestros horizontes de sentido. La segunda sería que (...) Rivera, al acometer la indagación de un presente vivo, se ha lanzado a articular ideas de primera mano. Nos encontramos, así, ante una apuesta del pensar, justamente aquello que se le pide, en su grado máximo, a la filosofía. (shrink)

Tradução para o português do artigo "Pyrrhon et le scepticisme primitif”, de Victor Brochard. Artigo publicado na Revue philosophique de la France et de l’Étranger, Ano 6, 1885, p. 517-532.

Arguments attempting to debunk moral beliefs, by showing they are unjustified, have tended to be global, targeting all moral beliefs or a large set of them. Popular debunking arguments point to various factors purportedly influencing moral beliefs, from evolutionary pressures, to automatic and emotionally-driven processes, to framing effects. We show that these sweeping arguments face a debunker’s dilemma: either the relevant factor is not a main basis for belief or it does not render the relevant beliefs unjustified. Empirical debunking arguments (...) in ethics can avoid this predicament, but only if they are refocused on highly selective classes of moral belief. Experimental data can combine with familiar consistency reasoning to reveal that like cases are not being treated alike. Selective debunking arguments are unlikely to yield sweeping sceptical conclusions, but they can lead to rational moral change. (shrink)

This article analyzes the view of evolutionary theory as a theory of forces. The analogy with Newtonian mechanics has been challenged due to the alleged mismatch between drift and the other evolutionary forces. Since genetic drift has no direction several authors tried to protect its status as a force: denying its lack of directionality, extending the notion of force and looking for a force in physics which also lacks of direction. I analyse these approaches, and although this strategy finally succeeds, (...) this discussion overlooks the crucial point on the debate between causalists and statisticalists: the causal status of evolutionary theory. (shrink)

The distinction between the body schema and the body image has become the stock in trade of much recent work in cognitive neuroscience and philosophy. Yet little is known about the interactions between these two types of body representations. We need to account not only for their dissociations in rare cases, but also for their convergence most of the time. Indeed in our everyday life the body we perceive does not conflict with the body we act with. Are the body (...) image and the body schema then somehow reshaping each other or are they relatively independent and do they only happen to be congruent? On the basis of the study of bodily hallucinations, we consider which model can best account for the body schema/body image interactions. (shrink)

This paper explores the metaethical ramifications of a coarse-grained criterion of property identity, sometimes referred to as Hume's dictum. According to Hume's dictum, properties are identical if and only if they are necessarily co-extensive. Assuming the supervenience of the normative on the natural, this criterion threatens the non-naturalist view that there are instantiable normative properties which are distinct from natural properties. In response, non-naturalists typically point to various counterintuitive implications of Hume's dictum. The paper clarifies this strategy and defends it (...) against objections by Bart Streumer and Ralf Bader. In addition, it is argued that proponents of naturalist and supernaturalist views, along with proponents of a certain kind of nihilism, should also reject Hume's dictum. This shows that non-naturalists can also attack the criterion indirectly, by pointing to partners in guilt. Also, it shows that not just any opponent of non-naturalism can appeal to Hume's dictum. Only certain nihilists can. (shrink)

A student's self-efficacy—defined as their belief in their capacity to succeed in particular circumstances—is a critical factor in their food decisions. Also a university’s overall environment, including the presence of fast-food outlets and the nature of food marketing on campus, can shape undergraduate students' eating habits and self-efficacy. The primary purpose of this cross-sectional correlational study was to investigate eating self-efficacy in Nigerian public university students. A sample of 400 undergraduate students were surveyed at a Nigerian public university using validated (...) instruments to assess their level of eating self-efficacy and identify the relationships between their eating self-efficacy and eating habits. The Eating Self-Efficacy Brief Scale (ESEBS)–8 items was used to assess students' level of difficulty in resisting the desire to eat. The researcher utilized the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT)–16 items to evaluate the students’ eating habits. Statistical analysis was conducted at a significance level of p<.05. The results revealed that mean eating self-efficacy score (ESEBS-8) of 2.21 (SD=0.68). Regression analysis showed that gender, school environment, peer factor, and parental factor significantly predicted eating self-efficacy, F(4,398)=9.17, p<.001. Eating self-efficacy (ESEBS-8) was strongly positively correlated with eating habits (EAT-16), r=.861, p<. 001. Regression analysis showed that ESEBS-8 significantly predicted EAT-16 scores, B=1.399, β=.861, t=33.68, p<.001. The findings highlight significant correlations between various factors and eating self-efficacy through the lenses of gender, school environment, peer influence, and parental factors, as well as the relationship between eating self-efficacy and eating habits. (shrink)

correlação filosófico da escrita, linguagem e discurso, entre a prática, praxis, nos termos filosófico e antropológico, fazendo a ponte.

Can reasoning improve moral judgments and lead to moral progress? Pessimistic answers to this question are often based on caricatures of reasoning, weak scientific evidence, and flawed interpretations of solid evidence. In support of optimism, we discuss three forms of moral reasoning (principle reasoning, consistency reasoning, and social proof) that can spur progressive changes in attitudes and behavior on a variety of issues, such as charitable giving, gay rights, and meat consumption. We conclude that moral reasoning, particularly when embedded in (...) social networks with mutual trust and respect, is integral to moral progress. (shrink)

The major objective of this study was to investigate whether visual impairments (VI) impact mental health literacy among first-generation university students (FGUS). A descriptive survey research method was used to examine the mental health literacy of 132 purposive sample of FGUS with and without VI from three federal universities in Southern Nigeria. A 35-item MHL Scale (MHLS) for university students (Crobach’s α=0.83) with 5-point response was used for data collection. Questionnaire distribution was achieved through the help of two research assistants. (...) Means, standard deviations, analysis of variance and regression plot were employed to analyze the research data. Participants’ mean age was 24.96±3.86 years. Results showed a higher level of mental health literacy across seven domains of the MHL Scale among students with VI compared to those without this disability. The students identified mental health literacy they possess including the ability to recognize specific disorders, the ability to seek mental health information, the ability to identify risk factors and causes, the ability to understand self-treatment options, the ability to access professional assistance, and positive behaviors that promote awareness and help-seeking. VI did not significantly impact the mental health literacy of FGUS with VI. VI explained only 6.31% of the variation in MHL among FGUS with VI. Accordingly, mental health literacy is an essential skill that should be acquired by everyone, including those who suffer from specific disorders and professionals who care for them. Further effort is required in order to improve the mental literacy of FGUS without VI in Nigerian universities. (shrink)

A new approach to Nietzsche, so called Nietzeche sindrom.

Etnofiction essay, between anthropology and philosophy.

a romantic solution to the dilemma beteew obscenity and ascetism.

Violence is somehow equivalent to Be Right? How can I be fair and non-violent? It depends on the receptor, in terms of social comunication.

A troubled mind is a busy mind, whean happyness come frome mental emptyness.

To emphasize what we have outlined in a preceding paper, we consider the following: that human consciousness model should take into consideration “spirit” role, i.e. the mind-body-spirit as integral aspect, which view is neglected in the so-called Freudian mental model. In this paper, we consider two approaches to cancer treatment derived from such an integral triune view of human consciousness, including (a) healing frequency approach as advised by Royal Rife and David Hawkins, and also (b) relational therapy, based on recent (...) research on the healing role of love and compassion. (shrink)

The sunspot data seems to indicate that the Sun is likely to enter Maunder Minimum, then it will mean that low Sun activity may cause low temperature in Earth. If this happens then it will cause a phenomenon which is called by some climatology experts as “The Little Ice Age” for the next 20-30 years, starting from the next few years. Therefore, the Earth climate in the coming years tend to be cooler than before. This phenomenon then causes us to (...) ask: what can we do as human being in Earth to postpone or avoid the worsening situation in terms of Earth cooling temperature in the coming years? We think this is a more pressing problem for the real and present danger that we are facing in the Earth. What we are suggesting in this paper is that perhaps it is possible to model Sun-Earth interaction in terms of Shannon entropy. Since Shannon entropy can be expressed as bits of information, then it would mean that perhaps we can do something with Earth temperature by controlling the amount of information transfer and storage in the Earth. This proposal is somewhat in resemblance with message of a 2012 movie “A Thousand words” where we shall strive to love our neighbours and nature, instead of being absorbed in a culture of less-meaningful fast-talk (starred by Eddie Murphy). (shrink)

La théorie des optima de second rang est une contribution formelle au domaine de l’optimisation de l’utilité (ou du bien-être). Elle stipule que, dans certaines circonstances « imparfaites », l’approximation d’un idéal est sous-optimale. Dans cet article, nous tentons de déterminer si la théorie peut être utile aux conseillers œuvrant dans le secteur public. Nous présentons les conditions dans lesquelles la théorie pourrait s’avérer pertinente pour les conseillers du secteur public, et en particulier la condition d’inséparabilité entre différentes variables d’un (...) problème de politiques publiques. Nous tentons aussi de déterminer si ces conditions sont réunies dans différents documents produits par les conseillers en politiques publiques. Pour ce faire, nous analysons 40 publications récentes du secteur public québécois comprenant des recommandations. (shrink)

This paper will defend the claim that, under certain circumstances, the material vehicles responsible for an agent’s conscious experience can be partly constituted by processes outside the agent’s body. In other words, the consciousness of the agent can extend. This claim will be supported by the Extended Mind Thesis (EMT) example of the artist and their sketchpad (Clark 2001, 2003). It will be argued that if this example is one of EMT, then this example also supports an argument for consciousness (...) extension. Clark (2009) rejects claims of consciousness extension. This paper will challenge Clark and argue that he fails to show that the material vehicles responsible for consciousness must be internal to the agent. (shrink)

The social and personal utility of mental and physical suffering, exploration of the ideia that pain can be tolerated if we belive and so on euthanasia is not mandatory to several cases.

In a new paper in recent issue of this journal (PSTJ), Prof. M. Pitkanen describes a solar system model inspired by spiral galaxies. While we appreciate his new approach, we find it lacks substantial discussion on the nature of vortices and chirality in galaxy. Therefore we submit a viewpoint that Gross-Pitaevskii model can be a more complete description of both solar system and also spiral galaxies, especially taking into account the nature of chirality and vortices in galaxies. In this article, (...) we also hope to bring out some correspondence among existing models, so we discuss shortly: the topological vortice approach, Burgers equation in the light of KAM theory, and the Cantorian Navier-Stokes approach. Of course, this short article is far from being complete. We hope further investigation can be done around this line of approach. Aim of this paper: With this article, we hope to begin a healthy dialogue with Prof. M. Pitkanen, especially on his solar system model, since we also believe that he also support “evidence-based physics.” Limitation: In this paper we only discuss Pitkanen’s solar system model, we don’t discuss his other papers in a recent issue of PSTJ. (shrink)

Borges has a rare ability to put wild ideas into detective stories with reporting style. At least that is the impression that we got on his short stories. In particular, one of his short story is worthnoting: Tlon, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius. The story told us about a mysterious country called Uqbar, in apparently an unofficial reprint of Encyclopedia Britannica. It also tells about Tlon, a mysterious planet, created purely by imaginative minds. While this story clearly criticizes Berkeley view and may (...) be not related to our daily reality, a reinterpretation of this story leads us to a long standing discourse in the philosophy of science: to how extent the entire modern physics follow such a Berkeley-antirealism tendency? This paper is intended to bring this subject into our attention. We will also discuss shortly on antirealism in certain trends in theoretical physics and cosmology. (shrink)

sublime and sublimation, between ascetism en religious practice, social order and cultural feelings.

This article is an update of our previous article in this SGJ journal, titled: On Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem, Artificial Intelligence & Human Mind. We provide some commentary on the latest developments around AI, humanoid robotics, and future scenario. Basically, we argue that a more thoughtful approach to the future is "techno-realism.".

rails to total abstraction, to conjure a perfect social system, between fulfilment of individual and colective will.

In my thesis, I examined the theories of Extended Mind, Extended Conscious Mind and Enactivism. Briefly, Extended Mind (Clark and Chalmers, 1998) is the claim that objects in the environment can, on occasion, form part of your mental processing. Extended Conscious Mind (Clark, 2009; Ward, 2012) is the claim that environmental objects can, on occasion, also form part of your conscious experience. Enactivism (Varela, Thompson and Rosch, 1991) is the claim that mind and experience are constituted by bodily actions. I (...) argued that although all three theories challenge the idea that the mind is solely located inside the head, they nonetheless disagree as to what this entails for our views about human mentality. For example, Extended Mind and Enactivism have differing views on how to understand the role the body plays in realising mind and experience. I concluded that only a certain variety of Enactivism (e.g. Hutto and Myin, 2013) offers a fresh approach to issues current in philosophy of mind and cognitive science. (shrink)

Contents I Introduction II Subalternation and Theology III Theology and Dogmatic Declarations IV The Mixed Principles of Theology V Virtual Revelation: The Unity of Theology VI Theology as a Natural Science VII Theology’s Certitude VIII Conclusion Notes Bibliography All the contents are fully attributable to the author, Doctor Victor Salas. Should you wish to get this text republished, get in touch with the author or the editorial committee of the Studia Poinsotiana. Insofar as possible, we will be happy to (...) broker your contact. (shrink)

1. Over the last 50 years or so, and especially over the last few decades, the U.S. and many other societies have undergone a large, rapid, and broad decline in anti-gay attitudes. The magnitude, s...

Saturation, intoxication to the medias of realization and porsuit of happyness.

following Spinoza an, somewhat, Locke, trough a luminous path of a unique philosophical adventure.

fiction with a strong point of posistivity and optimism.

Sensorimotor theory claims that what you do and what you know how to do constitutes your visual experience. Central to the theory is the claim that such experience depends on a special kind of knowledge or understanding. I assess this commitment to knowledge in the light of three objections to the theory: the empirical implausibility objection, the learning/post-learning objection and the causal-constitutive objection. I argue that although the theory can respond to the first two objections, its commitment to know-how ultimately (...) renders it vulnerable to the third and arguably most serious objection. I then suggest that sensorimotor theory has two options: concede the causal-constitutive objection or challenge it. I shall argue for the latter. I will claim that a radical sensorimotor theory offers the best means of responding to this objection. (shrink)

In recent years, it becomes clear that ITER project in France, as one of the largest experimental fusion reactors underway, is far away from achieving net energy production. In this review article, we presented a short communication this week with Robert Neil Boyd, a senior physicist who happens to have his own working design of fusion reactor in the past. We hope that this transcript of our communication with him (as per 15-17th Nov. 2021) may be found useful for younger (...) scientists. (shrink)

A ideia de sublime é necessária à reflexão filosófica contemporânea?