Cognitively engaging physical activity has been suggested to have superior effects on cognition compared to PA with low cognitive demands; however, there have been few studies directly comparing these different types of activities. The aim of this study is to compare the cognitive effects of a combined physically and cognitively engaging bout of PA to a physical or cognitive activity alone in children. Children were randomized in pairs to one of three 20-min conditions: a cognitive sedentary activity; a non-cognitively engaging (...) PA; and a cognitively engaging PA. Executive function was assessed using a modified Eriksen flanker task immediately before and 10–15 min following the experimental condition. Children ages 6–8 years were included in the study. A repeated measures ANOVA found no significant difference between groups with respect to scores on the flanker task. The results do not support the hypotheses that a cognitively engaging bout of PA enhances cognitive performance over non-cognitively engaging PA or sedentary activities. Possible explanations for our findings include overexertion during the acute bout of PA and depletion of positive affect prior to performing the post-intervention EF tasks. (shrink)

Graham Priest proposed an argument for the conclusion that ‘nothing’ occurs as a singular term and not as a quantifier in a sentence like (1) ‘The cosmos came into existence out of nothing’. Priest's point is that, intuitively, (1) entails (C) ‘The cosmos came into existence at some time’, but this entailment relation is left unexplained if ‘nothing’ is treated as a quantifier. If Priest is right, the paradoxical notion of an object that is nothing plays a role in our (...) very understanding of reality. In this note, we argue that Priest's argument is unsound: the intuitive entailment relation between (1) and (C) does not offer convincing evidence that ‘nothing’ occurs as a term in (1). Moreover, we provide an explanation of why (1) is naturally taken to entail (C), which is both plausible and consistent with the standard, quantificational treatment of ‘nothing’. (shrink)

Whistleblowing is the act of disclosing information from a public or private organization in order to reveal cases of corruption that are of immediate or potential danger to the public. Blowing the whistle involves personal risk, especially when legal protection is absent, and charges of betrayal, which often come in the form of legal prosecution under treason laws. In this article we argue that whistleblowing is justified when disclosures are made with the proper intent and fulfill specific communicative constraints in (...) addressing issues of public interest. Three communicative constraints of informativeness, truthfulness and evidence are discussed in this regard. We develop a ‘harm test’ to assess the intent for disclosures, concluding that it is not sufficient for justification. Along with the proper intent, a successful act of whistleblowing should provide information that serves the public interest. Taking cognizance of the varied conceptions of public interest, we present an account of public interest that fits the framework of whistleblowing disclosures. In particular, we argue that whistleblowing is justified inter alia when the information it conveys is of a presumptive interest for a public insofar as it reveals an instance of injustice or violation of a civil or political right done against and unbeknown to some members of a polity. (shrink)

For the first time in print, this article reports passages from John Rawls’s graduate papers and annotations on books and manuscripts from his personal library. The analysis of this material shows the historical inaccuracy of the widespread assumption that Rawls’s philosophy owes very little to American pragmatism. Peirce’s notion of truth, as well as the holistic critique of pragmatism thatMortonWhite began in the late 1940s, prove significant at the very beginning of Rawls’s philosophical enterprise. In the light of this material, (...) it might be argued that Rawls’s elaboration of ‘reflective equilibrium’ started at least in part as an attempt to overcome the pending problems of pragmatism. (shrink)

De Finetti gave a natural definition of “coherent probability assessment” β:E→[0,1] of a set E={X1,…,Xm} of “events” occurring in an arbitrary set of “possible worlds”. In the particular case of yes–no events, , Kolmogorov axioms can be derived from his criterion. While De Finetti’s approach to probability was logic-free, we construct a theory Θ in infinite-valued Łukasiewicz propositional logic, and show: a possible world of is a valuation satisfying Θ, β is coherent iff it is a convex combination of valuations (...) satisfying Θ, iff β agrees on E with a state of the Lindenbaum MV-algebra of Θ, iff for some Borel probability measure μ on . Thus Łukasiewicz semantics, MV-algebraic states, and Borel probability measures provide a universal representation of coherent assessments of events occurring in any conceivable set of possible worlds. (shrink)

Among the different interpretations of the philosophy of Schelling, there is no doubt that the ones developed by Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers played a prominent role within the most recent Schelling scholarship. Both Heidegger and Jaspers focused on Schelling’s discourse on freedom, pointing out the fundamental incompatibility of its key elements, i.e. ‘ground’ and ‘existence’, as well as the fallacious conception of Seynsfuge that emerges from it. Moreover, Heidegger argues that Schelling’s ontology ultimately falls back into traditional metaphysical subjectivism, (...) ignoring the question of Being as such and in fact paving the way to nihilism. Similarly, Jaspers criticizes Schelling’s arbitrary account of the relation between freedom and existential being and his misleading conception of transcendence. However, I argue against Jaspers that Schelling’s discourse on freedom must be read as a philosophy of immanence, which aims at maintaining the concreteness of the concepts and at avoiding any form of transcendence. Consequently, I also argue against Heidegger that not only does Schelling’s discourse successfully show the compatibility of ground and existence, but that Schelling’s understanding of the ‘subject’ does not comply with Heidegger’s notion of ‘metaphysical subjectivism’ and is immune to Heidegger’s criticism. (shrink)

This paper presents an enrichment of the Gabbay–Woods schema of Peirce’s 1903 logical form of abduction with illocutionary acts, drawing from logic for pragmatics and its resources to model justified assertions. It analyses the enriched schema and puts it into the perspective of Peirce’s logic and philosophy.

In this paper, we present a number of problems for intellectualism about knowledge-how, and in particular for the version of the view developed by Stanley & Williamson 2001. Their argument draws on the alleged uniformity of 'know how'-and 'know wh'-ascriptions. We offer a series of considerations to the effect that this assimilation is problematic. Firstly, in contrast to 'know wh'-ascriptions, 'know how'-ascriptions with known negative answers are false. Secondly, knowledge-how obeys closure principles whose counterparts fail for knowledge-wh and knowledge-that. Thirdly, (...) as opposed to knowledge-wh and knowledge-that, knowledge-how is inferentially isolated from further knowledge-that. We close by providing some evidence against the further reduction of knowledge-wh to knowledge-that, which is presupposed by the intellectualist theory under discussion. (shrink)

Previous research has identified several factors (such as remuneration, workload, negative perceptions of criminal defendants) which may lead to a barrister not acting in the defendant's best interests, when advising on plea or engaging in plea bargaining. This article applies aspects of the principal – agent problem to the relationship between defence barristers and defendants in England and Wales in order to analyse the extent to which incentives can align the interests of the agent (the barrister) with those of the (...) principal (the defendant) in order to prevent moral hazard caused by the agent's competing interests. Coercive, material and moral incentives are considered, and the role of the solicitor and the significance of the barrister's reputation are also discussed. It is argued that none of the forms of incentive which would traditionally reduce the risk of moral hazard do so to any great extent in the barrister – defendant relationship, and that this is due in part to the complexity of the overlapping principal – agent dynamics within which the barrister – defendant relationship lies. (shrink)

L’articolo si propone di analizzare il pragmatismo di Giovanni Papini, riferendolo in particolar modo al rapporto con il pensiero di William James; nello specifico, si vuole mettere in luce come il rapporto tra Papini e James sia stato tanto di gradevole collaborazione quanto di reciproche influenza ed ammirazione. Per fare ciò, verranno ripercorse le tappe dello sviluppo della teoria pragmatista di Papini, evidenziandone sia il legame con la speculazione jamesiana sia l’originalità e rilevanza teoretica, in grado di affermarsi anche oltre (...) i confini nazionali. (shrink)

In this paper, I focus on Luigi Pareyson’s interpretation of Schelling, arguing that it must be read in continuity with Pareyson’s early engagement with the philosophies of Heidegger and Jaspers. Firstly, I argue that Pareyson shapes his existentialism on Jaspers’s and Heidegger’s thoughts, and particularly in relation to that which he considers the fundamental question of philosophy, namely ‘why is there Being rather than nothingness?’ Secondly, I demonstrate how Pareyson reads Schelling’s philosophy in light of his interpretations of Jaspers and (...) Heidegger, i.e., in relation to the ‘fundamental question of philosophy’. Finally, I show how Pareyson’s reading of Schelling is centered on the notion of ‘awe of reason’, and how he defines Schelling as a ‘post-Heideggerian thinker’, since Heidegger’s philosophy allows us to innovatively reinterpret Schelling’s philosophy in an existentialist way. (shrink)

Il _ Commento al Libro di Giobbe _ di Mosè Nachmanide rappresenta un ideale corollario antropologico ed escatologico al suo imponente _ Commento alla Torah _. Esponente di spicco della comunità ebraica di Gerona e della locale scuola cabalistica, dove agli insegnamenti del provenzale Isacco il Cieco si associano elementi provenienti dalla tradizione talmudica, ellenistica e araba, Nachmanide propone una lettura esoterico-cabalistica di _ Giobbe _ volta a confutare l’apparente inconciliabilità ontologica tra l’esperienza del dolore individuale e l’ordine di un (...) cosmo plasmato nella caligine demiurgica delle origini. Dopo aver spiegato, con linguaggio allusivo e in stile midrashico, la natura dell’anima e l’origine del male, Nachmanide mostra come la protesta di Giobbe, il giusto che apparentemente soffre ingiustamente, rappresenti una dissonanza destinata a risolversi nella superiore armonia del tutto: è questo il grande mistero dell’esistenza individuale, un mistero che riecheggia nel silenzio di Giobbe ammonito da Dio e che si svela unicamente a quegli iniziati che, come Elihu, critico di Giobbe e dei suoi tre amici, miopi consolatori, sono stati scelti quali depositari della più antica saggezza. _ Nahmanides’ _ Commentary on the Book of Job _ constitutes an ideal anthropological and eschatological corollary of his monumental _ Commentary on the Torah _. A leading figure of the Girona’s Jewish community and of its kabbalistic school, where the teachings of the Provençal master Isaac the Blind were enriched with elements of the Talmudic, Hellenistic and Arabic traditions, Nahmanides outlines a kabbalistic esoteric interpretation of _ Job _ designed to reject the seeming ontological irreconcilability between the individual experience of suffering and the ordered system of a universe forged in the demiurgic night of the origins. After explaining, in allusive language and midrashic style, the nature of human soul and the origin of evil, Nahmanides proves that Job’s protest, the protest of a just man suffering unjustly, is nothing but a dissonance destined to resolve itself into the superior harmony of the creation. This is the great mystery of individual existence, a mystery that echoes in the silence of Job, warned by God, and that unveils itself only to those initiates who, like Elihu critic of Job and of his three friends, who are merely short-sighted consolers, have been chosen as depositaries of the most ancient wisdom. _. (shrink)

Accompagnée d’une aspiration générale à une plus grande égalité entre les sexes et d’une remise en cause de l’autorité paternelle, le dernier tiers du xxe siècle a été une période de transformation profonde et rapide des organisations familiales traditionnelles. Alors que les familles étaient en partie structurées autour des pratiques séculaires de dénomination, neuf contributions franco-québécoises explorent les modalités d’un système en mutation. Il faut d’abord souligner la triple original...

Après l’école, les campagnes et les vacances, les éditions Aubanel publient un nouvel album qui, de la Belle Époque à 1945, expose les traces photographiques des femmes d’hier. Dans cette magnifique galerie de portraits féminins de tous âges et de toutes conditions, on retiendra d’abord les victimes : émouvantes photos de jeunes veuves de la Première guerre ou d’une grande sœur précocement mûrie par les soins donnés à sa tribu de jeunes frères et sœurs ; puis les icônes et les (...) images convenue... (shrink)

Danièle Henky | : L’hypotexte biblique, lorsqu’il est utilisé par les écrivains, notamment dans des ouvrages destinés à la jeunesse, est susceptible d’agir comme un ferment dans la pâte de l’écriture. Cet article se propose d’observer les effets de cette « fermentation » dans un certain nombre d’albums et de romans destinés à la jeunesse en limitant son analyse à l’un des passages de la Genèse auquel il est le plus souvent fait référence dans la littérature pour la jeunesse qu’il (...) s’agisse d’albums pour jeunes enfants ou de romans pour adolescents, celui du Déluge. | : The biblical hypotext, when used by writers, especially in works for the youth, is likely to act as “a ferment in the dough of writing”. This article aims to observe the effects of this “fermentation” in a number of books and novels for youth by limiting its analysis to one of the passages of Genesis to which it is most often referred in literature for young people, be it albums for young children or novels for teenagers, that of the Flood. (shrink)

This paper challenges a standard interpretation according to which Frege’s conception of logic (early and late) is at odds with the contemporary one, because on the latter’s view logic is formal, while on Frege’s view it is not, given that logic’s subject matter is reality’s most general features. I argue that Frege – in Begriffsschrift – retained the idea that logic is formal; Frege sees logic as providing the ‘logical cement’ that ties up together the contentful concepts of specific sciences, (...) not the most general truths. Finally, I discuss how Frege conceives of the application of Begriffsschrift, and of its status as a ‘lingua characteristica’. (shrink)

A groundbreaking examination of Michel Foucault's history of truth. Many blame Michel Foucault for our post-truth and conspiracy-laden society. In this provocative work, Daniele Lorenzini argues that such criticism fundamentally misunderstands the philosopher’s project. Foucault did not question truth itself but what Lorenzini calls “the force of truth,” or how some truth claims are given the power to govern our conduct while others are not. This interest, Lorenzini shows, drove Foucault to articulate a new ethics and politics of truth-telling (...) precisely in order to evade the threat of relativism. The Force of Truth explores this neglected dimension of Foucault’s project by putting his writings on regimes of truth and parrhesia in conversation with early analytic philosophy and by drawing out the “possibilizing” elements of Foucault’s genealogies that remain vital for practicing critique today. (shrink)

Among the various experiments in ‘new governance’, the model of Responsible Research and Innovation is emerging in the European landscape as quite promising. Up to now, there have been two versions of RRI: a socio-empirical version which tends to underline the role of democratic processes aimed at identifying values on which governance needs to be anchored and a normative version which stresses the role of EU goals as ‘normative anchor points’ of both governance strategies and policy making. Both versions are (...) unsatisfactory. The first since it suggests movable anchorage which could clash with prefixed values, such as individual rights. The second since it does not safeguard fundamental rights in the process of balancing ‘anchor points’. This result is counterintuitive because it exposes governance to the risk of facing adverse court decisions in the defense of individual rights, thus losing its anticipative attitude. In order to avoid this outcome, the paper argues that it is only through better integration between the system of human rights and that of EU fundamental rights that the anticipative feature of RRI can be preserved. (shrink)

Notwithstanding the EU endorsement, so far Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is discussed as regards its definition, its features and its conceptual core: innovation and responsibility. This conceptual indeterminacy is a source of disagreements at the political level, giving rise to a plurality of outcomes and versions upheld within the same model of governance. Following a Charles Taylor’s suggestion, this conceptual opening of the RRI model can be explained by the existence of plural, clashing moral frameworks: discourse ethics, Aristotelian ethics, (...) care ethics, dignitarian ethics, rights-based moralities etc. Given the diffusion in the RRI literature of references to care ethics and its justification of participation and responsibility, I will compare the conceptual premises of this philosophical line with those of ethics of rights, which have been criticised by advocates of care ethics. I will argue that public engagement based on only needs cannot lead to responsible outcomes since it produces however the exclusion of some needs, covered instead by rights. In order for participation to be effective, rights or an alliance between the two perspectives is required. (shrink)

This paper explores the intertwining of uncertainty and values. We consider an important but underexplored field of fundamental uncertainty and values in decision-making. Some proposed methodologies to deal with fundamental uncertainty have included potential surprise theory, scenario planning and hypothetical retrospection. We focus on the principle of uncertainty transduction in hypothetical retrospection as an illustrative case of how values interact with fundamental uncertainty. We show that while uncertainty transduction appears intuitive in decision contexts it nevertheless fails in important ranges of (...) strategic game-theoretic cases. The methodological reasons behind the failure are then examined. (shrink)

This article aims to characterise the visions of ecologisation found within scientific approaches embraced by different epistemic communities, and which have inspired empirical work and public action on agrifood system transitions. Based on comparative readings of works anchored in our two disciplinary fields (ecology and sociology), we identified six large ensembles of epistemic communities as well as their points of convergence and divergence. We identify six ideotypical visions of ecologisation based on the types of ‘relationships to nature’ embedded in these (...) large sets of epistemic communities: protectionism, functionalism, structuralism, post-structuralism, relational and pragmatist-experience-based. We suggest that pragmatist-experience-based approaches allow us to transcend two classical oppositions: between realism and constructivism, and between a conception of nature as passive and external as opposed to active and relational. Without claiming to offer a detailed analysis of these approaches, we hope that our work can be used as a tool to support reflection among scientists and other actors involved in agrifood system transitions. (shrink)

Cet article est une réponse directe à certains critiques du projet de démocratie cosmopolitique, qui insistent sur l’absence de détails sur les acteurs politiques, économiques et sociaux susceptibles d’avoir un intérêt à soutenir ce programme. Nous montrons qu’il existe différentes manières de développer la gouvernance démocratique au niveau mondial, qui sont associées à divers acteurs politiques, économiques et sociaux trouvant leur intérêt dans un projet de ce genre. La démocratie cosmopolitique est donc un projet ouvert dont le but est de (...) rendre la gouvernance mondiale plus responsable, plus transparente et plus légitime. La palette des acteurs et des mesures présentée ici met en avant l’orientation et les choix politiques nécessaires pour faire de ce projet une réalité. (shrink)

This paper shows the role of ὀνοματοποιεῖν in Neoplatonism and how this practice is ruled by an onto-logical canon. While ὀνοματοποιεῖν itself means the making of a brand new name, its usage is manifold. As Aristotle explains in Rh. III 2, poets take advantage of ὀνοματοποιεῖν to catch the undefined and give it a recognisable image, by means of a metaphorical name. In science, this practice, codified by Aristotle, is twofold: ὀνοματοποιεῖν meant both to re-semanticize words wellknown and to create (...) names ex novo for things not discovered or studied yet. After analysing ὀνοματοποιεῖν’s recurrence in Aristotle, I illustrate that, according to Neoplatonic Commentators, impositio can be, both natural and technical, only of things in actuality, having a solid consistency. Intermediates between contraries, presumed relatives and powers as qualities are nameless – as Philoponus notices in his In Categorias – since they haven’t an independent status and aren’t definable. This bond between the original rhetorical practice and the ontological perspective, sketched in Int. 1, was strengthened by Alexander, who filled Aristotle’s gaps, stating that names signify things’ being, i.e. the form acquired in actuality. (shrink)

In an earlier paper the present author proved that de Finetti coherence is preserved under taking products of coherent books on two finite sets of independent events. Conversely, in this note it is proved that product is the only coherence preserving operation on coherent books. Our proof shows that the traditional definition of stochastically independent classes of events actually follows from the combination of two more basic notions: boolean algebraic independence and de Finetti coherent betting system.

We study the performance of holonomic quantum gates, driven by lasers, under the effect of a dissipative environment modeled as a thermal bath of oscillators. We show how to enhance the performance of the gates by suitable choice of the loop in the manifold of the controllable parameters of the laser. For a simplified, albeit realistic model, we find the surprising result that for a long time evolution the performance of the gate (properly estimated in terms of average fidelity) increases. (...) On the basis of this result, we compare holonomic gates with the so-called Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) gates. (shrink)

Fondée en 1984, portée par l'affirmation de la nécessité de faire une « histoire du temps présent » démarquée de la science politique et de la sociologie, Vingtième siècle. Revue d'histoire se voulait « une revue du contemporain », généraliste, dont les questions du présent justifieraient les choix rédactionnels. Ses créateurs affirmaient ainsi leur croyance dans l'efficacité du regard historique pour déchiffrer les faits de leur temps. Or, la « question des femmes », celle de leur place et d...

In this article I reconstruct the philosophical conditions for the emergence of the notion of counter-conduct within the framework of Michel Foucault’s study of governmentality, and I explore the reasons for its disappearance after 1978. In particular, I argue that the concept of conduct becomes crucial for Foucault in order to redefine governmental power relations as specific ways to conduct the conduct of individuals: it is initially within this context that, in Security, Territory, Population, he rethinks the problem of resistance (...) in terms of counter-conduct. However, a few months later, in What is Critique?, Foucault replaces the notion of counter-conduct with that of critical attitude, defined as the particular form that counter-conduct takes in modern times. This notion allows him to highlight the role played by the will in resistance to governmental strategies. But since the notion of counter-conduct is conceptually wider than that of critical attitude, I suggest in conclusion that it could be worth reactivating it as a “historical category which, in various forms and with diverse objectives, runs through the whole of Western history.”. (shrink)

If S ⊆{0,1}; * and S ′ = {0,1} * \sb S are both recognized within a certain nondeterministic time bound T then, in not much more time, one can write down tautologies A n → A′ n with unique interpolants I n that define S ∩{0,1} n ; hence, if one can rapidly find unique interpolants, then one can recognize S within deterministic time T p for some fixed p \s>0. In general, complexity measures for the problem of finding (...) unique interpolants in sentential logic yield new relations between circuit depth and nondeterministic Turing time, as well as between proof length and the complexity of decision procedures of logical theories. (shrink)

In this paper, I take issue with the idea that Michel Foucault might be considered a theorist of epistemic injustice, and argue that his philosophical premises are incompatible with Miranda Fricker’s. Their main disagreement rests upon their divergent ways of conceiving the relationship between reason and power, giving rise to the contrasting forms of normativity that characterize their critical projects. This disagreement can be helpfully clarified by addressing the different use they make of the genealogical method. While Fricker’s genealogy of (...) Testimonial Justice aims to ground her claim that reason and power can be neatly pulled apart, thus avoiding the reductionist and relativist conclusions entailed by Foucault’s genealogies, I argue that Foucault’s mature, overlooked definition of genealogy is based on a sophisticated distinction between games and regimes of truth, and is thus not vulnerable to these criticisms. Consequently, Foucault’s genealogical inquiries prove helpful for understanding issues that normally fall under the umbrella of epistemic injustice in a new light, while also allowing us to avoid some of the main objections that threaten Fricker’s project. (shrink)

In this paper, I discuss the analysis of logic in the pragmatic approach recently proposed by Brandom. I consider different consequence relations, formalized by classical, intuitionistic and linear logic, and I will argue that the formal theory developed by Brandom, even if provides powerful foundational insights on the relationship between logic and discursive practices, cannot account for important reasoning patterns represented by non-monotonic or resource-sensitive inferences. Then, I will present an incompatibility semantics in the framework of linear logic which allow (...) to refine Brandom’s concept of defeasible inference and to account for those non-monotonic and relevant inferences that are expressible in linear logic. Moreover, I will suggest an interpretation of discursive practices based on an abstract notion of agreement on what counts as a reason which is deeply connected with linear logic semantics. (shrink)

In view of the concern with the insertion of critical environmental education in school, we seek theoretical-methodological contributions in critical historical pedagogy. In this sense, this article will address theoretical reflections that are born within the “Grupo de Pesquisa em Educação Ambiental” - Unesp-Bauru and that were issued during the 1st Symposium on Dialectical Historical Materialism and Research on Science Education and Environmental Education. Thus, we approach the question of the content of critical environmental education from the curriculum design of (...) critical historical pedagogy. Despite the question of the content and form of Environmental Education being present since its origins, we understand that the indepth debate on what should be its content in the school context is still absent. In this sense, assuming the school insertion of critical Environmental Education as the core of the curriculum is a way to overcome its limitations in theory and practice for the human formation necessary for social transformation. (shrink)