For centuries, inconsistencies were seen as a hindrance to good reasoning, and their role in the sciences was ignored. In recent years, however, logicians as well as philosophers and historians have showed a growing interest in the matter. Central to this change were the advent of paraconsistent logics, the shift in attention from finished theories to construction processes, and the recognition that most scientific theories were at some point either internally inconsistent or incompatible with other accepted findings. The new interest (...) gave rise to important questions. How is `logical anarchy' avoided? Is it ever rational to accept an inconsistent theory? In what sense, if any, can inconsistent theories be considered as true? The present collection of papers is the first to deal with this kind of questions. It contains case studies as well as philosophical analyses, and presents an excellent overview of the different approaches in the domain. (shrink)

_A timely and provocative essay about the parallel lives of Rosa Luxemburg and Hannah Arendt and their mission for a more humane society__ “[A] short but moving book... Even better, the volume’s advice is not only pragmatically political—necessary during a time of threats to democracy and mounting failures to deal with the climate crisis—but modestly uplifting.”—Bill Marx, _Arts Fuse___ “An intimate and timely meditation on dark times, Hermsen’s illuminating essay offers readers a way to think with Hannah Arendt and Rosa (...) Luxemburg about how to build a more humane world in common.”—Samantha Rose Hill, author of ___Hannah Arendt__ Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) and Hannah Arendt (1906–1975) were critical Jewish mavericks who both suffered under violent political regimes and sought to reform systems of power. Although temporally separated by the Second World War and the rise of totalitarianism, they held in common strikingly similar convictions about freedom, human dignity, capitalism, democracy, and political commitment. In this powerful book, Joke J. Hermsen explores the lives and works of these two remarkable thinkers and the essential hope that emboldened them in the political struggle. Luxemburg and Arendt were spurred on by a restless love for the world and an unwavering belief in the possibility of new beginnings; for them, hope was an absolute prerequisite of resistance and a counterpoint to melancholy—a defense against despair that kept them attuned to what could be. Exploring the intertwined nature of philosophy and the active pursuit of justice, this is an urgent, courageous reminder to remain alert to the glimmers of hope in dark times. (shrink)

Johannes Duns Scotus is begonnen met het onderzoek naar de werkelijkheid als ‘het volstrekt mogelijke’. In Kant zien we een radicale voortzetting van deze beweging, die echter tot een nieuw noodzakelijkheidsdenken heeft geleid. In de theorievorming over het menselijk individu, een onderwerp dat Duns Scotus zeer aan het hart ging, is dat determinisme nog niet overwonnen.

This volume contains the first critical edition of a Spanish textbook on logic, found in the libraries of Sevilla and Zaragoza. It has tentatively been given the title Logica Morelli, taken from the title found in the Zaragoza copy. The author of this work, who perhaps went by the name Morellus, is as yet unknown. It seems likely that the work originates from the second half of the fifteenth century. It is structured in accordance with academic practice in Spain of (...) that period, and bears a close relationship to Pedro de Castrovol's Logica. The handbook is a compilation of the material used for introductory courses on logic, comprising the study on terms, propositions, argumentation, universals and categories, and obligations. The text neatly testifies to the way in which logic was taught and practiced at Spanish universities during the late Middle Ages, and shows us how material from diverse mediaeval authors and traditions managed to survive in the curricula of late mediaeval academic programmes. The volume contains a broad introduction, as well as extensive indexes of names, sources, subjects, and sophisma-sentences and examples. (shrink)

Detection of genetic aberrations in prenatal samples, obtained through amniocentesis or chorion villus biopsy, is increasingly performed using chromosomal microarray (CMA), a technique that can uncover both aneuploidies and copy number variants throughout the genome. Despite the obvious benefits of CMA, the decision on implementing the technology is complicated by ethical issues concerning variant interpretation and reporting. In Belgium, uniform guidelines were composed and a shared database for prenatal CMA findings was established. This Belgian approach sparks discussion: it is evidence-based, (...) prevents inconsistencies and avoids parental anxiety, but can be considered paternalistic. Here, we reflect on the cultural and moral bases of the Belgian reporting system of prenatally detected variants. (shrink)

In a small tract by Master Gerardus Odonis, found in the MSS Madrid, Bibl. Nac. 4229, ff. 204ra-207vb and Madrid, Bibl. Univ. 65, ff. 113ra-117va, which has the provisional title De natura universalis, attention is paid to the definition, the origin and the ontological status of the universal. Odonis is totally against the moderns' view that universals have a mental existence only. Instead he holds a view similar to that of Henry of Ghent : universals have the being of an (...) essence and are the basis of all intellectual operations. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is twofold. First, I want to argue that the distinction between induction and deduction is less clear-cut than traditionally assumed, and that, moreover, most reasoning processes in the sciences involve an integration of inductive and deductive steps. Next, I want to show how so-called adaptive logics may lead to a better understanding of this integrated use of induction and deduction.

This paper presents and illustrates a formal logic for the abduction of singular hypotheses. The logic has a semantics and a dynamic proof theory that is sound and complete with respect to the semantics. The logic presupposes that, with respect to a specific application, the set of explananda and the set of possible explanantia are disjoint . Where an explanandum can be explained by different explanantia, the logic allows only for the abduction of their disjunction.

In this paper, I argue that logic hasan important role to play in the methodological studyof creativity. I also argue, however, that onlyspecial kinds of logic enable one to understand thereasoning involved in creative processes. I show thatdeductive and ampliative adaptive logics areappropriate tools in this respect.

While thinking remains a solitary activity, it does not cut itself off from all others. in this book address the philosophical and moral questions raised by ...

This critical edition of Matthew of Orléans' Sophistaria contains valuable information about the author's views on matters of ontology, modality, natural philosophy, and theology, and gives us a clear outline of the way in which thirteenth-century authors approached these subjects in works of logic.

In this paper, we present the outline for a goal-directed proof procedure for abductive reasoning and compare this procedure with Aliseda’s approach.

In this paper, I present the modal adaptive logic $AJ^{r}$ (based on S5) as well as the discussive logic $D_{2}^{r}$ that is defined from it. $D_{2}^{r}$ is a (nonmonotonic) alternative for Jaśkowski's paraconsistent system D₂. Like D₂, $D_{2}^{r}$ validates all single-premise rules of Classical Logic. However, for formulas that behave consistently, $D_{2}^{r}$ moreover validates all multiple-premise rules of Classical Logic. Importantly, and unlike in the case of D₂, this does not require the introduction of discussive connectives. It is argued that (...) this has clear advantages with respect to one of the main application contexts of discussive logics, namely the interpretation of discussions. (shrink)

The first critical edition of the Syncategoreumata by the thirteenth-century philosopher Peter of Spain , accompanied by a facing-page English translation to make its contents accessible to modern readers. The introduction gives an account of all the manuscripts used for the edition. Extensive indexes have been added to facilitate the reader's orientation in the book.

In this paper, I present two ampliative adaptive logics: LA and LAk. LA is an adaptive logic for abduction that enables one to generate explanatory hypotheses from a set of observational statements and a set of background assumptions. LAk is based on LA and has the peculiar property that it selects those explanatory hypotheses that are empirically most successful. The aim of LAk is to capture the notion of empirical progress as studied by Theo Kuipers.

As euthanasia has become a widely debated issue in many Western countries, hospitals and nursing homes especially are increasingly being confronted with this ethically sensitive societal issue. The focus of this paper is how healthcare institutions can deal with euthanasia requests on an organizational level by means of a written institutional ethics policy. The general aim is to make a critical analysis whether these policies can be considered as organizational-ethical instruments that support healthcare institutions to take their institutional responsibility for (...) dealing with euthanasia requests. By means of an interpretative analysis, we conducted a process of reinterpretation of results of former Belgian empirical studies on written institutional ethics policies on euthanasia in dialogue with the existing international literature. The study findings revealed that legal regulations, ethical and care-oriented aspects strongly affected the development, the content, and the impact of written institutional ethics policies on euthanasia. Hence, these three cornerstones—law, care and ethics—constituted the basis for the empirical-based organizational-ethical framework for written institutional ethics policies on euthanasia that is presented in this paper. However, having a euthanasia policy does not automatically lead to more legal transparency, or to a more professional and ethical care practice. The study findings suggest that the development and implementation of an ethics policy on euthanasia as an organizational-ethical instrument should be considered as a dynamic process. Administrators and ethics committees must take responsibility to actively create an ethical climate supporting care providers who have to deal with ethical dilemmas in their practice. (shrink)

This volume widens the scope of research into the relation between religion and Enlightenment. The contributions demonstrate the impact of changing worldviews in a variety of intellectual disciplines and cultural milieus.

_ Source: _Volume 56, Issue 3-4, pp 320 - 339 Thirteenth-century views on consequences have not yet received much attention. Authors of this period deserve closer scrutiny, because of their profound interest in the nature of consequence. The fundamental feature of a consequence was captured in the claim that its antecedent is the cause of its consequent. At the same time authors systematically discussed consequences in terms of truth-preservation. This paper considers the requirements of syllogistic argument and consequences in general, (...) including the role of ‘cause’ in the identification of syllogisms proper, looks at different descriptions of consequence, moves on to discussions of the syncategorema ‘_si_’ – in _syncategoremata_ treatises by Peter of Spain, Henry of Ghent, Nicholas of Paris and William of Sherwood, as well as some _sophismata_ tracts – and explores what thirteenth-century authors make of the truth-functional characterisation of consequence, showing how it clashes with the authors’ insistence on a causal connection between antecedent and consequent. (shrink)

Gerald Odonis' logic is generous in its acceptance of ontological counterparts of linguistic expressions. He claims that universals have an objective status and are independent of our mental operations. This article takes a closer look at his views on the meaning of what he calls esse tertio adiacens, i.e., the type of being expressed in propositions of the form 'S is P'. To a certain extent Odonis' analysis resembles Peter of Spain's account of compositio. Unlike his predecessor, however, Odonis thinks (...) that the 'being' used in any true statement, regardless of whether the subject exists or not, is univocal. It turns out that Odonis' account is more in line with John Duns Scotus' intensionalist theory of propositional composition. (shrink)

Logica modernorum. A critical note on Habermas’s portrait of medieval philosophy In his monumental history of philosophy, the eminent scholar Jürgen Habermas has managed to provide us with a thorough and very nuanced overview of thousands of years of western thought. The famous philosopher paints an impressive picture of the vicissitudes of the modernisation processes featuring in the history of western philosophy. The Leitmotiv of Habermas’s narrative is the way in which throughout history philosophy dealt with the question concerning the (...) relationship between faith and reason. When it comes to the Middle Ages, it is not surprising that Habermas should focus on the opposition between Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham. However, by confining himself to the concepts of fides and ratio, he completely overlooks thirteenth-century developments in the domain of logic. To take note of these developments is fundamental to understand the process of modernisation in philosophy. The aim of this paper is to fill in the gap, by concentrating on thirteenth-century discussions of necessity and (logical) consequences. (shrink)

This contribution discusses the views of the medieval theologian Henry of Ghent on the role of the teacher in the acquisition of knowledge. According to Henry, teaching is basically aimed at assisting a pupil in his acquisition of truth. In teaching, the role of language as the vehicle of truth is crucial: in order to acquire knowledge one needs to think correctly, and the only way to learn how to think correctly is through a correct use of language. After presenting (...) an analysis of Henry’s ideas on the essence of learning and teaching, the paper will deal with their implications for the practice of teaching. Next a review of contemporary views on education will be presented. The contribution will conclude with a few remarks on how Henry of Ghent’s views could still be relevant for assessing contemporary ideas on education. (shrink)

Objectives To describe the form and content of ethics policies on euthanasia in Flemish nursing homes and to determine the possible influence of religious affiliation on policy content. Methods Content analysis of euthanasia policy documents. Results Of the 737 nursing homes we contacted, 612 (83%) completed and returned the questionnaire. Of 92 (15%) nursing homes that reported to have a euthanasia policy, 85 (92%) provided a copy of their policy. Nursing homes applied the euthanasia law with additional palliative procedures and (...) interdisciplinary deliberations. More Catholic nursing homes compared to non-Catholic nursing homes did not permit euthanasia. Policies described several phases of the euthanasia care process as well as involvement of caregivers, patients, and relatives; ethical issues; support for caregivers; reporting; and procedures for handling advance directives. Conclusion Our study revealed that euthanasia requests from patients are seriously considered in euthanasia policies of nursing homes, with great attention for palliative care and interdisciplinary cooperation. (shrink)

_ Source: _Volume 53, Issue 2-4, pp 249 - 268 The tract on logic that has now become known as the _Introductiones Montanae maiores_ provides us with useful evidence of the kind of education that was on offer in the Parisian schools of the 12th century. In this contribution, I will go through a number of arguments brought up in connection with the definitions of basic logical concepts. By doing so I aim to provide more details about some of the (...) most important theoretical positions of the tract. (shrink)

In recent years, the relation between studying and learning has been a topic of debate. This article is mainly interested in a concept of study practices, conceived of as practices that are strongly engaged with issues of living together in a superdiverse city. Such practices firstly require to think the relation between studying and learning in other-than-oppositional terms, and secondly, to raise questions concerning the political role of education. The aim of the article is double in that it wants to (...) further elaborate the concept of study practices in relation to a concrete practice on the one hand, and, on the other, that it has the objective to rethink in educational terms the notion of solidarity—deeply entwined with matters of living together in superdiversity. These aims are pursued based on an analysis of the study practice of System_D, a film festival in the disadvantaged neighborhoods of Brussels, drawing on the work of Isabelle Stengers and Donna Haraway. (shrink)