Embodied cognition: assumptions, theses and challenges: The paper aims at providing a concise presentation of the concept of embodied cognition that emerged in the cognitive sciences a few decades ago and has gained great popularity among empirically and philosophically informed researchers. The term “embodied cognition” is used by the author in two senses. The narrow sense implies that the body plays an important role in the process of cognition. In the broad sense “embodied cognition” is to characterize the general tendency (...) within cognitive science which finds its articulation in the 4E perspective on cognition. The working hypothesis of the 4E perspective is that cognition depends on the characteristics of the agent’s body and its interaction with the physical and social environment. It emphasizes that cognition is: embodied, embedded, enacted, extended. After reconstructing the key concepts and basic assumptions the author offers a brief appraisal of the views under discussion. He claims that the characteristics of such a trend are incomplete and not homogeneity since the perspective encompasses at least a few related and partly overlapping views on cognition. The author concludes that “embodied cognition” serves as a label for a variety of research programs within cognitive science rather than a strictly defined and well-established research tradition or a new paradigm. (shrink)

John Gray argues that the modern conception of man is common for all variants of the liberal tradition. The version of liberalism which is defended in this paper cannot be called ‘classical’ because it refuses the conception in question (it refuses such elements of it as, for example, claims of universality, idea of neutral Reason, idea of human nature). That is why the best label which can be given to it is ‘postmodern’ or ‘communitarian’ liberalism. Moreover, postmodern liberalism does not (...) express any reluctance toward community as such. It only requires a community which respects the rights of individuals to autonomous, moral and comprehensive choices. In this sense one can say that postmodern liberalism renounces anti-social biases while remaining faithful to individualism, which - starting with the social and the common - arrives at the truly individual. In this way it can revitalize the sense and meaning of humanism understood as the idea of life of human beings who can create their own lives independently and freely in the political and social milieu, promoting justice and solidarity. (shrink)

During the global financial crisis of 2007–2009 and the currentCovid-19 debacle, central banks acted quickly, boldly, and effectively. The paper argues that they did so thanks to the lessons learned from the past financial crises, which provided them with opportunities to reconsider their previous beliefs. A case in point is the banking crisis in the United States during the Great Depression of the 1930s that taught central banks to act rapidly and decisively in order to prevent an initial liquidity crisis (...) from escalating into a solvency crisis leading to bankruptcies of banks with potentially disastrous consequences for the entire economy. The paper revisits the consequences of the currency crises of the 1990s, which transformed exchange rate regimes across the world: the EMS one of 1992–1993 that accelerated the launch of the euro, and the Asian one of 1997–1998 resulted in the proliferation of floating exchange rates in emerging economies. (shrink)

In 1934 Jaśkowski and Gentzen independently published their groundbreaking works on Natural Deduction. The aim of this paper is to provide some criteria for division of the diversity of existing systems on some natural subcategories and to show that despite the differences all these systems are descendants of original systems of Jaśkowski and Gentzen. Three criteria are discussed:The kind of items which are building-blocks of the proof.The format of proof.The kind of rules.The first leads to the division of ND into (...) two main classes: F-systems working on formulas and S-systems working on sequents. The second distinguishes between T-systems with tree-proofs and L-systems with linear proofs. Finally, the third leads to several minor divisions in the main categories. (shrink)

In this paper, I take as a starting point an exchange between Henryk Elzenberg and Roman Ingarden concerning the mode of existence of values. Based on their correspondence, I attempt to trace the missed and lost opportunities for dialogue between the two great Polish axiologists. I demonstrate that while sharing an intense interest in the issue of the existence of values, they addressed them independently and in divergent ways. Following that, I also look at the posthu- mous fate of their (...) unfinished dialogue and argue that their work opens a space for further exploration of the ontology of values. (shrink)

Tekst dotyczy procesu konwersji semantycznej, w wyniku którego sens tradycyjnej koncepcja tolerancji (negatywnej) jest zastępowany przez tak zwaną tolerancje pozytywną. W artykule analizowany jest podmiotowy i przedmiotowy aspekt tolerancji, trudności w pogodzeniu obu koncepcji tolerancji oraz problemy jakie generuje idea tolerancji pozytywnej. Wyróżnione zostały również proste i złożone przedmioty tolerancji.

Celem artykułu jest omówienie koncepcji praktyki i psychiatrii opartej na wartościach Billa Fulforda. Autor przedstawia założenia VBP w świetle koncepcji bioetycznych, kodeksów medycznych oraz medycyny opartej na dowodach. Koncepcja VBP ukazana jest jako rodzaj praktyki mającej przyczynić się do poprawy decyzji terapeutycznych skoncentrowanych na osobie pacjenta. W tekście pojawiają się pytania o teoretyczne założenia VBP oraz jej rzeczywistą efektywność w podejmowaniu decyzji klinicznych. Autor wyjaśnia również dlaczego Fulford nie widzi w swojej koncepcji potrzeby budowania własnej teorii metafizycznej czy antropologicznej, lecz (...) dostrzega konieczność wsłuchiwania się w złożoność i konfliktowość decyzji klinicznych oraz wartość namysłu nad doskonaleniem codziennej praktyki. (shrink)

The article presents the philosophical thought of Rudolf Zocher, Wolfgang Cramer and Hans Wagner, whose theoretical stance can be dubbed Neoneo-Kantianism. The article investigates their philosophical output and argues that they developed a transcendental reflection of a different kind than that of Baden Neo-Kantianism. The transcendental reflection of Neoneo-Kantianism, especially in the work of Hans Wagner, takes on the topic of phenomenological inquiry and treats consciousness as a source of subject- object distinction, unlike Rickert and Windelband, who were developing transcendental (...) reflection focused on aprioristic forms of cognition, much in the post-Fichtean vein, thus giving primacy to the subjective conditions of possible experience. (shrink)

Quantum mechanics implies many paradoxes (e.g. Schrödinger's cat, double-slit experiment, non-locality) which are in contradiction to our ordinary experience. To comprehend quantum theory we must revise our understanding of such matters as the objective nature of reality, the nature of causality, and the nature of a complex system and its relation to its components. Finally, common sense seems to be an epistemo-logical obstacle in our understanding of the quantum picture of the world.

Ein Grundbedürfnis der Menschheitsgeschichte ist die Suche nach gemeinsamen ethischen Massstäben. Das Naturrecht hat sich besonders in der christlichen Interpretation zu einem universalen "Wegweiser" in der abendländischen Geistesgeschichte herausgestellt. Es bietet allgemein gültige Handlungsorientierungen. Die gegenwärtige Pluralisierung durch verschiedene normative anthropologische Entwürfe bewirkt eine allgemeine Verunsicherung. Diese globalen Entwicklungen sind der Anlass, das Naturrecht neu zur Geltung zu bringen, um den heutigen ethischen Herausforderungen gerecht zu werden.

Les règlements de compte en Pologne après la chute du communisme ont pris un tour particulier. Entre les désirs d'une réconciliation nationale et d'une justice publique, les Polonais ont oscillé. A partir de 1997, s'est finalement mis en place un processus dit de « lustration » qui consiste à demander aux diffé­rents titulaires de responsabilité publique de déclarer leurs activités sous le communisme. Un débat s'est instauré à ce propos, dans lequel les médias, s'appuyant sur les sondages ont joué un (...) rôle important. Autre signe du désir de la Pologne de changer de mémoire, la modification des noms des villes et des rues : où l'on voit que l'on n'efface pas facilement le passé.The settling of accounts in Poland after the fall of Communism took a specific turn as the Polish popu­lation hesitated between its desire for national reconciliation and for public justice. Eventually, from 1997, the process known as "lustration" was introduced, whereby the various holders of public office were required to state their activities under Communism. This gave rise to a debate in which the media, drawing on opinion polls, played an important part. Another sign of Poland' s desire to alter its memory was the changing of street and city names, which shows that it is not so easy to erase the past. (shrink)

The Author is of the opinion that cultural impact of modern theoretical physics is entirely negative. This is so because modern theoretical physics does not have a consistent view of the world. This is to be compared with the blessing of having a consistent and understandable view of the world, as given, for example, by the mediaeval astronomy and theology.