The purpose of the article is to analyze the relational theory of personal autonomy proposed by Catriona Mackenzie. First, the theoretical context of the theory is shown, including key features and examples of relational theories of personal autonomy. Then Mackenzie's theory is presented, according to which seven conditions of autonomy should be distinguished. The conditions are grouped into three separate axes: self-determination, self-governance, and self-authorization. According to the theory, none of the conditions is necessary, and the assessment of the level (...) of an individual's autonomy is to be contextual. Finally, an attempt is made to assess the value of the conception proposed by the Australian scholar. It is argued that the condition of authenticity of practical identity should be replaced with the condition of coherence of practical identity. It is also suggested that for the theory to be useful in assessing the autonomy of decisions it should be supplemented with two further conditions: the coherence of a decision made by a person with her practical identity, and the absence of controlling influence such as coercion, persuasion, and manipulation. (shrink)

Celem artykułu jest analiza i dyskusja definicji opresji społecznej zaproponowanej przez Ann E. Cudd. Na początku zostaną krótko scharakteryzowane wybrane sposoby rozumienia tego zjawiska w filozofii współczesnej. Następnie przedmiotem zainteresowania będą kluczowe elementy definicji opresji przedstawionej przez amerykańską autorkę. W dalszej kolejności scharakteryzowany zostanie społeczny i normatywny wymiar opresji oraz materialne i psychologiczne siły opresji. Do tych ostatnich zaliczają się takie czynniki jak przemoc i wiarygodna groźba przemocy, nierówności ekonomiczne, racjonalne wybory ofiar opresji, bezpośrednie psychologiczne szkody opresji oraz pośrednie siły (...) opresji psychologicznej, na przykład fałszywa świadomość czy zniekształcone pragnienia. Następnie zarysowane zostaną także najważniejsze interakcje między poszczególnymi rodzajami sił opresji. Na koniec wskazane zostaną zalety i ograniczenia omawianego ujęcia opresji. (shrink)

Ze słynnego passusu w Metafizyce Arystotelesa (984 a8-16) wynika jasno, że Anaksagoras urodził się wprawdzie wcześniej niż Empedokles, lecz to myśliciel z Akragas opublikował dzieła swe szybciej. Zaskakuje to, iż niemal jednogłośnie się przyjmuje, że fakt ów decyduje o hierarchii między Anaksagorasem i Empedoklesem: niemal wszyscy badacze zakładają, że starszy myśliciel był mocno zależny od młodszego. W artykule swoim staram się pokazać, iż aby utrzymać taki obraz historii filozofii starożytnej niektórzy słynni uczeni współcześni czynią zły użytek ze świadectw i wyrządzają (...) krzywdę nie tylko Stagirycie i Klazomeńczykowi, lecz również owej przyzwoitej mniejszości badaczy, którzy nie czują się zdolni przeoczyć faktu, że – według Alkidamasa – to Empedokles wysłuchał wykładów Anaksagorasa i mu zazdrościł, a nie – vice versa. *** A famous passage in Aristotle’s Metaphysics (984 a8-16) clearly implies that although the Clazomenian sage was born earlier than the philosopher from Acragas, it was Empedocles who was faster in publishing his own works. Surprisingly, it is almost unanimously assumed that this fact is decisive in establishing the hierarchy between Anaxagoras and Empedocles: almost all scholars presume that the older thinker depended heavily upon the younger. In my article I try to show that in order to maintain such image of the history of ancient philosophy some famous modern scholars misuse the testimonia and abuse not only Aristotle and Anaxagoras, but also that decent minority of researchers who feel unable to overlook the fact that – according to Alcidamas – it was Empedocles who had heard Anaxagoras and was jealous of him, not vice versa. (shrink)

Consciousness attracts the attention of researchers representing various disciplines. Hence, there is a demand for a theoretical tool that could integrate data and theoretical concepts originating from distinct fields. The paper proposes to use the framework of the theory of integrative levels. The development and the definitions of the concept of levels are briefly discussed. The final part of the paper presents a proposal for incorporating the levels of consciousness into the framework of the integrative levels theory.

There is much to indicate that the German scholars began a real, global revolution. I have become convinced that, apart from a very few exceptions, everyone in the last century, including world-renowned academics, put their trust in them. How is this possible? I am far from repeating the words: credo, quia absurdum, but it turns out that, up to the present, Diels’ and Kranz’s proposal has never been verified by anyone. This is clearly reflected as well in LSJ. It seems, (...) then, that Zeller, Diels and Kranz aliique permulti bear full responsibility for – ut ita dicam – the “ambiguities” that have since accumulated and piled up, layer on layer, all around B67. -/- I cannot connect ὀνομάζεται with <πῦρ> because of three clamant facts: (1) the absence of the relative pronoun ὅ between <πῦρ> and ὁκόταν (ut supra, passim); (2) the audacious attempt to give the phrase καθ’ ἡδονήν a sense that it never possessed; (3) the context in which fragment B67 was quoted. These are, in my opinion, real impediments to the road chosen by Zeller, Diels, Kranz, Kirk, Marcovich, Conche and countless others. I cannot circumvent them or pass them by in silence. Why was this so difficult for me, while for others it was so easy…? -/- Yes, I understood that, in order to somehow justify associating ὀνομάζεται with <πῦρ>, one must: (1) insert <ὅ> between <πῦρ> and ὁκόταν, and then (2) fit the word ἡδονή to <πῦρ>. But at the same time I realised that, unfortunately, the matter is not so simple, especially when one seeks at all cost to give the rather uncertain, and not the only, conjecture <πῦρ> some kind of name – whatever name, in fact – not according to someone’s pleasure, but according to the scent of those roots with which πῦρ was supposed to be mixed during sacrificial offerings. The whole enterprise is really perilous when we consider that for fire mixed with roots we have no name whatsoever attested by tradition, and that the context in which Hippolytus quoted B67 in no way indicates either the making of sacrifices or the smells associated therewith. -/- Wojciech Wrotkowski: Pleasure. New Research on Fragment B67 of Heraclitus of Ephesus, pp. 143-145. (shrink)

ABSTRAKT: Centralnym tematem artykułu jest pojęcie wolności, które – wespół z odpowiedzialnością – było dla Szasza pojęciem najważniejszym, „cywilizującym”. W części pierwszej przedstawiam i analizuję definicję i uwarunkowania wolności w ujęciu Szasza, w części zaś drugiej przypominam odpowiedź Szasza na fundamentalne, zawsze aktualne pytanie: „jak ocalić nie tylko religijną, lecz i medyczną wolność”? Na zakończenie staram się uwidocznić sens tytułu książki Szasza na tle jego własnych poglądów. -/- *** -/- ABSTRACT: The central topic of the article is the concept of (...) freedom, which – together with responsibility – was the most important, “civilizing” concept for Szasz. In the first part, I present and analyse the definition and conditions of freedom according to Szasz, and in the second part I recall Szasz’s answer to the fundamental, always relevant question: “how to save not only religious, but also medical freedom”? Finally, I try to highlight the meaning of the title of Szasz’s book against the background of his own views. (shrink)

Through an analysis of Kierkegaard’s and Dostoevsky’s approaches to the theme of the death of Christ – one of the major leitmotifs in the debate of their contemporaries conveyed through theological and philosophical considerations, but also expressed in novels and in art – I show how the thinkers comprehended and articulated in their works the religious challenges awaiting the modern man.

This paper addresses a certain objection to the quantificational theory of definite descriptions. According to this objection, the quantificational account cannot provide correct interpretations of definite descriptions embedded in the non-doxastic attitude ascriptions and therefore ought to be rejected. In brief, the objection says that the quantificational theory is committed to the view that a sentence of the form “The F is G” is equivalent to the claim that there is a unique F and it is G, while the ascription (...) such as, e.g., “S wants the F to be G” is not equivalent to the statement that S wants there to be a F and for it to be G. I argue that this objection is invalid as it rests on a false assumption concerning the substitutivity of the relative clauses in the non-doxastic attitude ascriptions. (shrink)

In this paper, a formal theory is presented that describes syntactic and semantic mechanisms of philosophical discourses. They are treated as peculiar language systems possessing deep derivational structures called architectonic forms of philosophical systems, encoded in philosophical mind. Architectonic forms are constituents of more complex structures called architectonic spaces of philosophy. They are understood as formal and algorithmic representations of various philosophical traditions. The formal derivational machinery of a given space determines its class of all possible architectonic forms. Some of (...) them stand under factual historical philosophical systems and they organize processes of doing philosophy within these systems. Many architectonic forms have never been realized in the history of philosophy. The presented theory may be interpreted as falling under Hegel’s paradigm of comprehending cultural texts. This paradigm is enriched and inspired with Propp’s formal, morphological view on texts. The peculiarity of this modification of the Hegel-Propp paradigm consists of the use of algebraic and algorithmic tools of modeling processes of cultural development. To speak metaphorically, the theory is an attempt at the mathematical and logical history of philosophy inspired by the Internet metaphor. And that is why it belongs to the tradition of doing metaphilosophy in The Lvov-Warsaw School, which is continued today mainly by Woleński, Pelc, Perzanowski, and Jadacki. (shrink)

Artykuł zawiera filologiczno-filozoficzną weryfikację „szkicu przekładu” fragmentów księgi Heraklita z Efezu, jakiego przed rokiem 1921 dokonał Henryk Elzenberg. Własnej próby tłumaczenia maksym Efezyjczyka nie oparł Elzenberg na ich źródłach, lecz na trzeciej edycji zbioru Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (1912) Hermanna Dielsa, który wyimki z oryginalnych passusów redagował czterokrotnie i rozmaicie przekładał. By jak najlepiej ocenić i zweryfikować Elzenbergowy „szkic przekładu”, autor przytoczył – kolejno – (1) źródła greckie, (2) własne ich tłumaczenia, (3) teksty greckie analizowanych „fragmentów” Efezyjczyka w redakcji Dielsa, (...) (4) ich niemieckie przekłady autorstwa Dielsa i – na tle ich wszystkich – (5) translatorskie próby Elzenberga. Zastosowana metodologia ułatwiła sformułowanie wniosku, że wierny był wprawdzie młody Elzenberg własnej zasadzie, by niczego – przekładów niemieckiego filologa nie pomijając – nie czytać „potulnie”, na niwie jednak stricte filologicznej bezwiednie padł ofiarą „bezradności” Dielsa, gdyż w jego „szkicu przekładu” aforyzmów Heraklita nic doprawdy nie świadczy o tym, aby (1) odkrył – albo przynajmniej przeczuwał – jakąkolwiek między nimi „współzależność” (Zusammenhang), i by (2) na jej podstawie sformułował jakiekolwiek własne wnioski filozoficzne, odzwierciedlające myśl Efezyjczyka. Najlepiej tego dowiodło porównanie fragmentu B67 z maksymą B53 na tle ich źródeł oraz ich przekładów. *** HERACLITUS IN ELZENBERG’S INTERPRETATION PART I: WHAT MISTAKES COULD THE AUTHOR OF THE TROUBLE WITH EXISTENCE HAVE EASILY AVOIDED, IF ONLY HE HAD VALUED THE SOURCES MORE THAN DIELS’ COLLECTION AND TRUSTED THEM AND HIMSELF MORE? SUMMARY The article contains a philological and philosophical verification of a “sketch of a translation” of the fragments of the book of Heraclitus of Ephesus, which Henryk Elzenberg made before the year 1921. Elzenberg did not base his own attempt to translate maxims of the Ephesian sage on their sources, but on the third edition of the collection Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (1912) compiled by Hermann Diels, who had four times edited and variously translated excerpts from the original passages. In order to best evaluate and verify Elzenberg’s “sketch of a translation”, the author has quoted – in succession – (1) the Greek sources, (2) his own translations of them, (3) Diels’ versions of the Greek texts of the Ephesian’s fragments analyzed here, (4) Diels’ German translations of them and – against all of these – (5) Elzenberg’s attempts at translation. The methodology used in the article has facilitated the formulation of a conclusion that although the young Elzenberg was faithful to his own principle of reading nothing whatsoever “meekly” – without overlooking the translations of the German philologist – nevertheless, on strictly philological grounds, he unwittingly fell victim to Diels’ “helplessness”, because in fact nothing in his “sketch of a translation” of Heraclitus’ aphorisms provides evidence that (1) he discovered – or at least presaged – any “connection” (Zusammenhang) between them, or that (2) he formulated on the basis thereof any philosophical conclusions, reflecting the Ephesian’s thought. The best proof of this emerges from a comparison of fragment B67 with maxim B53 based on the sources and the translations. (shrink)

Platońskie inspiracje w sugestiach Oslera dotyczących edukacji lekarzy i wyboru autorytetów Celem tego artykułu jest przebadanie i objaśnienie platońskiego wpływu na rady Williama Oslera dla wszystkich lekarzy, które dotyczą ich zawodowej edukacji, literackiej kultury, moralnego postępu, duchowego rozwoju oraz – last but not least – wyboru autorytetów. Całkowicie świadomy siły i znaczenia przewodnictwa, „Ojciec współczesnej medycyny” bierze pełną za nie odpowiedzialność i zwięźle charakteryzuje – w czysto platoński sposób – cechy naukowca, właściwości spraw międzyludzkich, cnoty wyrosłe z nawyków oraz usposobienie (...) umysłu, które jest konieczne i oczekiwane w postawie i osobowości lekarza. -/- *** -/- Platonic Inspirations in Osler’s Suggestions about the Education of Physicians and the Choice of Authorities The aim of this article is to examine and expound the Platonic influence on William Osler’s advices for all physicians about their professional education, literary culture, moral progress, spiritual growth and – last but not least – the choice of authorities. Entirely aware of the force and meaning of guidance, "the Father of Modern Medicine" takes full responsibility thereof, and concisely characterizes - in a purely Platonic way - traits of the scientist, peculiarities of inter-human affairs, habitual virtues and the mindset, which are all necessary and required in a physician’s attitude and personality. (shrink)

Celem tego artykułu jest przebadanie i objaśnienie platońskiego wpływu na rady Williama Oslera dla wszystkich lekarzy, które dotyczą ich autonomii, charakteru i stosunku do prawdy i fałszu w medycynie. W sugestiach „Ojca współczesnej medycyny” wprawne ucho może dosłyszeć echo niektórych opinii ucznia Sokratesa. Jego ideały i wartości powinny kształtować nie tylko lekarski etos, lecz i wiedzę o zasadach zdrowego życia i zwalczania choroby. Zwłaszcza dzisiaj to jest niesłychanie istotne w obliczu zagrożeń i nieszczęść, jakie stwarza farmakracja. -/- *** -/- Platonic (...) reminiscences in Osler’s advice about physicians’ autonomy, character and relation to truth and falsehood in medicine The aim of this article is to examine and explain Plato’s influence on William Osler’s advice to all physicians about their autonomy, character and relation to truth and falsehood in medicine. In the suggestions of “the Father of Modern Medicine” an experienced ear can detect an echo of certain opinions propagated by the pupil of Socrates. His ideals and values should shape not only the medical ethos, but also knowledge on the principles of a healthy life and overcoming disease. This is extremely important especially today, in the face of the threats represented – and the misfortunes caused – by pharmacracy. (shrink)

Jakiej filozofii warto być wiernym, zwłaszcza w sofistopolis? Prolegomena do książki Seweryna Blandziego Między aletejologią Parmenidesa a ontoteologią Filona *** Artykuł unaocznia potrzebę wierności kilku ponadczasowym postulatom filozofii, które pobrzmiewają głośnym echem w książce Seweryna Blandziego Między aletejologią Parmenidesa a ontoteologią Filona. Służąc bezinteresownie prawdzie, rzetelny historyk filozofii musi – zarówno w samym sobie, jak i w kręgu osób sobie najbliższych – pielęgnować nie tylko dar uważnej obserwacji, bez którego nie nabywa nikt mądrości, lecz i cnotę męstwa, bez którego ani (...) w czynie, ani w słowie nie znajduje mądrość odzwierciedlenia. Słynne pytanie Leopolda von Rankego: Wie es eigentlich gewesen? powinien każdy współczesny badacz historii filozofii rozszerzyć: (1) jako filolog – do postaci: Wie es eigentlich geschrieben ist?; (2) jako filozof – do problemu: Wie es eigentlich gemeint ist? Jak długo historia filozofii będzie się wyrzekać ambicji ustalania jasnych i jednoznacznych odpowiedzi na pytania tego rodzaju, tak długo nie wydźwignie się z kryzysu, w jaki popadła zakwestionowawszy wartość i status prawdy. *** What kind of philosophy is deserving of our loyalty – especially in the sophistopolis? Prolegomena to Seweryn Blandzi’s book Between Parmenides’ Aletheiology and Philo’s of Alexandria Ontotheology The article reveals that one must be faithful to several timeless demands of philosophy, demands that resound loudly in Seweryn Blandzi’s book Between Parmenides’ Aletheiology and Philo’s of Alexandria Ontotheology. Serving the truth selflessly, a reliable historian of philosophy ought – both in himself and in the circle of his intimates – cultivate not only the gift of careful observation, without which nobody acquires wisdom, but also the virtue of courage, without which wisdom will not be expressed in deed or in word. Every modern researcher of the history of philosophy should broaden the famous question of Leopold von Ranke: Wie es eigentlich gewesen?: (1) as a philologist – to the form: Wie es eigentlich geschrieben ist?; (2) as a philosopher – to the problem: Wie es eigentlich gemeint ist? As long as the history of philosophy abdicates from providing clear and unambiguous answers to questions of this kind, it will not overcome the crisis it suffered after questioning the value and status of truth. (shrink)

This little tract from Corpus Hippocraticum, the authorship of which is usually denied to Hippocrates by hipercritical modern editors and commentators, alas, without giving any convincing and compelling arguments, contains the spiritual testament of the “Father of Medicine” for all future generations of adepts of “the most eminent of all arts”. The new Polish rendition of the original text is equipped with translator’s notes, which include: (1) philological analysis of some Greek words and idioms and their Latin, English, German and (...) French counterparts; (2) extracts from other ancient works, in which the reminiscences of Law are recognizable; (3) commentaries about selected philosophical questions. (shrink)

English title: The Problem of the Synthetic a priori Judgements According to Hermann Lotze. The present article compares Kant’s and Lotze’s concepts of synthetic judgements. Lotze’s aim is a renewing of the Kant’s solutions, what he achieves thanks to introduction of the distinction between analytic (identical) content and synthetic form of these judgements which Kant recognised as synthetic. This distinction makes possible to lay down the concept of intentional sense which has influence over Frege and Husserl.

Lawrence Nelson (2018) criticizes conscientious objection (CO) to abortion statutes as far as they permit health care providers to escape criminal liability for what would otherwise be the legally wrongful taking of a pregnant woman’s life by refusing treatment (i.e. abortion). His key argument refers to the U.S. Supreme Court judgment (Roe v. Wade 1973) that does not treat the unborn as constitutional persons under the Fourteenth Amendment. Therefore, Nelson claims that within the U.S. legal system any vital interests of (...) pregnant women must always take precedence over fetuses’ interests. While agreeing with the main thesis of the article, we believe that the author’s argument neither vindicates his claim, nor explains why those who believe that fetuses are equally protectable human beings do not have the right to refuse to perform an abortion in lifethreatening emergency circumstances (AE). Therefore, the main aim of our commentary is to outline, by referring to our earlier works on conscientious objection in health care (Z_ uradzki 2016) and cultural exemptions (Ciszewski 2016), a better and universalizable argumentative path that would lead to the same conclusion. (shrink)

... ἐκ πολλῆς συνουσίας ... καὶ τοῦ συζῆν ... (Pl., Ep. VII, 341 b7 – 342 a1). Platonic Models and Summits of Philosophical Knowledge in Giovanni Reale's Conception -/- The article presents a succinct, and yet meticulous analysis of several audacious statements made by one very influential historian of ancient philosophy, with regard to a certain passage, newly translated into Polish, from Plato's Seventh Epistle. The author tries to show, how disquieting may be the consequences of preferring the doctrine voiced (...) in one of the modern Schools over original Greek texts. (shrink)

Dogłębna wiwisekcja zdań ocalałych z arcydzieła Heraklita oraz korespondujących z nimi świadectw ułatwia sformułowanie tezy, że „dobro” i „prawda” oraz ich konsekwentnie odróżniane, z całą pewnością nieutożsamiane ze sobą przeciwieństwa, są centralnymi pojęciami heraklitejskiej (1) „etyki” (zob. DK B: 78, 119; DL, IX,12,8) – na poziomie zarówno (1a) prymarnym, tj. prywatnym, indywidualnym, jak i (1b) sekundarnym, tj. wspólnotowym, politycznym – oraz na wskroś od niej uzależnionej (2) „epistemologii”.

Aἰών. Eternity in the Theology of Heraclitus of Ephesus -/- This article presents an attempt to establish the Heraclitean meaning of the word αἰών in the fragment B52 (Diels-Kranz). In the author’s view the very starting-point and only sound basis for that kind of endeavor should be meticulous, unbiased analysis of relevant aphorisms of the Ephesian sage and corresponding testimonies. Synoptic scrutiny of them substantiates the understandable conclusion that proud Heraclitus had an unambiguous and independent opinion about eternity. His God (...) – identified with the one and common world – is eternal not only in his „material” aspect as πῦρ ἀείζωον (‘an ever-living fire’, B30), but also in „rational” one as Λόγος ἐὼν ἀεί (‘Logos existing always’, B1). Consequently, one of his various names is Aἰών (‘He Who Always Is’). (shrink)

The paper provides an analysis of the relationship between the concepts of justice and solidarity. The point of departure of the analysis is Ruud ter Meulen’s claim that these concepts are different but mutually complementary, i.e. are two sides of the same coin. In the paper two alternative accounts of the relationship are proposed. According to the first one, solidarity can be defined in terms of justice, i.e. is a special variety of liberal justice, viz. social liberal justice, which, apart (...) from the value of liberty, also stresses the importance of the value of equality. An example of such a theory is Rawls’s theory of justice, within which the value of equality is ‘encoded’ in the principle of fair equality of opportunity and in the difference principle. According to the second account, solidarity is an expression of a special type of social relationships – the so-called ‘thick relationships’, which are non-superficial, positive, their paradigmatic examples being family and friendship; in other words, the rules of solidarity are rules that are built into ‘thick relationships’. On the first account, justice and solidarity are not different, while on the second account they are different but mutually exclusive rather than mutually complementary. In the last part of the paper some remarks on the social causes of solidarity are made. (shrink)

Amongst the entities making up social reality, are there necessary relations whose necessity is not a mere reflection of the logical connections between corresponding concepts? We distinguish three main groups of answers to this question, associated with Hume and Adolf Reinach at opposite extremes, and with Searle who occupies a position somewhere in the middle. We first set forth Reinach’s views on what he calls ‘material necessities’ in the realm of social entities. We then attempt to show that Searle has (...) not identified a sustainable position somewhere between the Humean and the Reinachian extremes. This is because Searle’s position is threatened by circularity, and to steer clear of that danger it must incorporate at least some elements of Reinach’s essentialism. (shrink)

As systems based on opaque Artificial Intelligence (AI) continue to flourish in diverse real-world applications, understanding these black box models has become paramount. In response, Explainable AI (XAI) has emerged as a field of research with practical and ethical benefits across various domains. This paper not only highlights the advancements in XAI and its application in real-world scenarios but also addresses the ongoing challenges within XAI, emphasizing the need for broader perspectives and collaborative efforts. We bring together experts from diverse (...) fields to identify open problems, striving to synchronize research agendas and accelerate XAI in practical applications. By fostering collaborative discussion and interdisciplinary cooperation, we aim to propel XAI forward, contributing to its continued success. Our goal is to put forward a comprehensive proposal for advancing XAI. To achieve this goal, we present a manifesto of 27 open problems categorized into nine categories. These challenges encapsulate the complexities and nuances of XAI and offer a road map for future research. For each problem, we provide promising research directions in the hope of harnessing the collective intelligence of interested stakeholders. (shrink)

In this paper we analyze how the semantics of the Alternating-time Temporal Logic ATL$^*$ deals with agents' commitments to strategies in the process of formula evaluation. In (\acro{atl}$^*$), one can express statements about the strategic ability of an agent (or a coalition of agents) to achieve a goal $\phi$ such as: ``agent $i$ can choose a strategy such that, if $i$ follows this strategy then, no matter what other agents do, $\phi$ will always be true''. However, strategies in \acro{atl} are (...) \emph{revocable} in the sense that in the evaluation of the goal $\phi$ the agent $i$ is no longer restricted by the strategy she has chosen in order to reach the state where the goal is evaluated. -/- Here we discuss some alternatives leading to amendments of that semantics. In particular, we consider variants of \acro{atl}$^*$ where strategies, on the contrary, are \emph{irrevocable}. Unlike in the standard semantics of \acro{atl}, memory plays an essential role in the semantics based on irrevocable strategies. -/- Further, we propose and discuss various syntactic and semantics mechanisms for handling commitments to strategies and release from such commitments in the semantics of ATL$^*$, leading to more expressive and semantically refined versions of that logic. (shrink)

With the limited initial availability of COVID-19 vaccines in the first months of 2021, decision-makers had to determine the order in which different groups were prioritized. Our aim was to find out what normative approaches to the allocation of scarce preventive resources were embedded in the national COVID-19 vaccination schedules. We systematically reviewed and compared prioritization regulations in 27 members of the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Israel. We differentiated between two types of priority categories: groups that have increased (...) infection fatality rate (IFR) compared to the average for the general population and groups chosen because their members experience increased risk of being infected (ROI). Our findings show a clear trend: all researched schedules prioritized criteria referring to IFR (being over 65 years old and coexisting health conditions) over the ROI criteria (eg occupation and housing conditions). This is surprising since, in the context of treatment, it is common and justifiable to adopt different allocation principles (eg introducing a saving more life-year approach or prioritizing younger patients). We discuss how utilitarian, prioritarian, and egalitarian principles can be applied to interpret normative differences between the allocation of curative and preventive interventions. (shrink)

At the invitation of the Commission for World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in collaboration with different associations involved in mission and ecumenical studies, the Regional Center for Central and Eastern Europe convened at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, through its Center for Mission and Nomocanonical Studies (CMNS, in collaboration with the Central and Eastern European Association for Mission Studies (CEEAMS). Its aim was to reflect on how the (...) International Missionary Council (IMC) has influenced mission theology and practice in Central and Eastern Europe, taking into account different contextual realities. (shrink)

The phenomenological tradition is commonly understood as the domain of “philosophy of the subject”, and in this regard it is often criticized in contemporary thought. In respect to it, the originality of Michel Henry is to enter into this tradition by formulating to it an inverse objection: a mistake of the “historic” phenomenology is that it has not been able to conceive the subject in its own being or better, in its “interiority”. The aim of this paper is to determine (...) the meaning and scope of such criticism, the development of its consequences, not only regarding the positive concept of subjectivity but also in the sense of opening its possibilities to renew the understanding of artistic phenomenon. (shrink)

For some contemporary liberal philosophers, a huge concern is liberal neutrality, which is the idea that the state should be neutral among competing conceptions of the moral good pursued by the people. In The Morality of Freedom, Joseph Raz argues that we can neither achieve nor even approximate such neutrality. He shows that neutrality and fairness are different ideas. His notion of neutrality is stricter than John Rawls's and Ronald Dworkin's. Raz shows that both helping and not helping can be (...) neutral or non-neutral, thus neutrality is chimerical. Wojciech Sadurski's appeal to rational expectations does not necessarily tell us which action is neutral. Distinguishing between comprehensive and narrow neutrality, Raz also claims that only the former is a proper response to conflicts. Sadurski criticizes it, claiming that conflicts are comprehensive in a sense which does not deny the adequacy of the narrow neutrality. In reality, however, it is almost impossible to achieve even the narrow neutrality. A theory is presented to explain why political neutrality is almost impossible to achieve. Philosophically, there is no neutral ground for neutral politics. (shrink)

This paper defends the case against (sparse) disjunctive properties by means of four Armstrongian arguments. The first of these is a logical atomist argument from truthmaking, which is, broadly speaking, ‘Armstrongian’ (Armstrong 1997). This argument is strong – although it stands or falls with the relevant notion of truthmaking, as it were. However, three arguments, which are prima facie independent of truthmaking, can be found explicitly early in Armstrong’s middle period. Two of these early arguments face a serious objection put (...) forward forcefully by Louise Antony (2003) and Alan Penczek (1997), respectively. I consider these objections and argue that they fail. Thus, even if the argument from truthmaking is indecisive, disjunctive properties should be rejected. (shrink)

The standard Lewis–Stalnaker semantics of counterfactuals, given the Strong Centering Thesis, implies that all true–true counterfactuals are trivially true. McGlynn developed a theory, based on Penczek, to rehabilitate the non-triviality of true–true counterfactuals. I show here that counterfactuals with true but irrelevant components are counterexamples to McGlynn’s account. I argue that an extended version of the connection hypothesis is sustainable, and grounds a full theory of counterfactuals explicable in a broadly standard way, if an indispensable asymmetry between semifacuals and (...) other counterfactuals is acknowledged. (shrink)

The article is an attempt to pinpoint the areas of Ludwig Wittgenstein aesthetic thought, in which he is crossing the borders principally imposed upon the method and the language of his philosophy. I am directing my attention to metaphysical and mystical motifs of his reflection devoted to aesthetics, the essence of art and the essence of reality. I wish to discuss this issue based on the texts of Arthur C. Danto containing analysis of chosen notions of Wittgenstein’s aesthetic investigations. Additionally (...) in this matter I am appealing to appropriate theses of Leszek Sosnowski and Wojciech Sady, concerning above issues. (shrink)

Festschrift in Honor of Barry Smith on the occasion of his 65th Birthday. Published as issue 4:4 of the journal Cosmos + Taxis: Studies in Emergent Order and Organization. Includes contributions by Wolfgang Grassl, Nicola Guarino, John T. Kearns, Rudolf Lüthe, Luc Schneider, Peter Simons, Wojciech Żełaniec, and Jan Woleński.

A collection of papers presented at the First International Summer Institute in Cognitive Science, University at Buffalo, July 1994, including the following papers: ** Topological Foundations of Cognitive Science, Barry Smith ** The Bounds of Axiomatisation, Graham White ** Rethinking Boundaries, Wojciech Zelaniec ** Sheaf Mereology and Space Cognition, Jean Petitot ** A Mereotopological Definition of 'Point', Carola Eschenbach ** Discreteness, Finiteness, and the Structure of Topological Spaces, Christopher Habel ** Mass Reference and the Geometry of Solids, Almerindo E. (...) Ojeda ** Defining a 'Doughnut' Made Difficult, N .M. Gotts ** A Theory of Spatial Regions with Indeterminate Boundaries, A.G. Cohn and N.M. Gotts ** Mereotopological Construction of Time from Events, Fabio Pianesi and Achille C. Varzi ** Computational Mereology: A Study of Part-of Relations for Multi-media Indexing, Wlodek Zadrozny and Michelle Kim. (shrink)