The paper analyzes the development of medical ethics in the USSR, and its socio-psychological, scientific-technological, and organizational factors. Special attention is given to the interdependence of moral-ethical problems with organizational issues. Keywords: professional ethics, medical ethics, moral relations, perestroika , socialism, Marxism-Leninism, USSR, bioethics CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this?

This article provides an overview of current research in the field of STS on neoliberalism. The paper discusses the major changes in science associated with the spread of neoliberalism. The following key aspects of neoliberalism influence on the development of science are discussed: the increasing commercialization of science (on the examples of commercialization of meteorology and privatization of stream restoration); an increasing influence of scientism in regulation of technology; and an increasing role of social activism in this regulation.

This article provides an overview of current research in the field of STS on neoliberalism. The paper discusses the major changes in science associated with the spread of neoliberalism. The following key aspects of neoliberalism influence on the development of science are discussed: the increasing commercialization of science (on the examples of commercialization of meteorology and privatization of stream restoration); an increasing influence of scientism in regulation of technology; and an increasing role of social activism in this regulation.

The paper explores the contextualist approach towards the semantics of knowledge ascriptions. The authors discuss the relevance of these studies in semantics for the major issues in virtue epistemology. It is argued that despite the advantages that contextualism has over its alternatives (in particular, relativism and subject sensitive invariablisism), it still requires a more elaborated compositional semantics that it currently has. We review several concrete contextualsit proposals to the semantics of the verb know in light of their applicability to the (...) well-known type of examples known as the fake barn example, point out some of their particular shortcomings, and propose a revision, which represents a variant of D. Lewis’s general approach to the semantics of know. (shrink)

In this article, we examine the key ideas of Wilhelm von Humboldt about language and their relevance to the contemporary research in the field of linguistics. In his works, N. Chomsky describes Humboldt as a key predecessor of the generative approach. The authors discuss the concrete aspects of Humboldt’s influence on generative linguistics drawing special attention to his notion of Form. The authors also observe that Humboldt’s works also contain statements about the deep differences that exist between different languages, as (...) well as statements that different languages can form different pictures of the world. These ideas resonate with philosophical ideas about linguistic relativity (the famous Sapir – Whorf hypothesis), which are incompatible with generative linguistics. The authors try to reconcile an apparent contradiction by appealing to two different perspectives on language that they call the dynamic and the static one. They provide arguments in favor of the former and explore existing arguments against the later, which is associated with the aforementioned hypothesis. The authors conclude by pointing out that Humboldt’s legacy has so many facets that it introduces to incompatible views on language each of which had a serious impact on the studies of language in the 20th century. (shrink)

This paper is an overview of the contemporary discussions in interdisciplinary studies of meaning of natural language expressions. The paper discusses the latest work published in two interdisciplinary journals «Linguistics and Philosophy» and «Natural Language Semantics» most relevant for philosophy of language. The paper focuses on two general topics: the semantics of singular terms (proper names, pronouns, demonstratives) and the semantics of belief-reports. The paper discusses the recent proposal about the interpretation of pronouns by [Stojnic et al., 2019] according to (...) which such interpretation is strictly determined by the linguistic rules and does not depend on the context. According to this proposal, the referent of a pronoun is determined by a specific coherence relationship the sentence it occurs in has to the previous sentence in a discourse unless it is preceded by a pointing gesture. The paper discuses some issues with this proposal. Specifically, it discusses its difficulties with explaining the cases where the referent of a pronoun stands out in a context and, thus, no pointing gesture or previous discourse is required for the referent identification. It also discusses cases where a coherence relationship (such as Narration) between two sentences allows flexibility with respect to the referent identification and points at pragmatic factors that can be relevant in this respect. The paper also presents some other recent research on proper names, demonstratives and pronouns both linguistically and philosophically oriented.The paper also presents informally some work on belief-reports in linguistics and discussed its relevance for philosophy of language. It discusses the recent work on restrictions on the types of embeddings of propositional attitude verbs and the general approach that derives those restrictions from the predicted meanings of the relevant sentences, such as [Theiler et al., 2019]. The paper discussed the relevance of this issue to a more general question about the nature of a natural language and the relationship between language and logic. (shrink)

This is a review of the book by E.G. Dragalina-Chyornaya “Informal notes on logical form". The review discusses the structure and the main ideas of the book. The review focuses on the author's arguments in favor of the dynamic regulatory model of logic and provides a critical analysis of them.

The authors explore Carnap’s (1931) famous critique of Heidegger’s metaphysics and argue that, from the perspective of contemporary formal semantics of natural language, Carnap’s criticism is not convincing. Moreover, they provide direct empirical objections to Carnap’s criticism. In particular, using empirical evidence from languages like Russian that have negative concord, they show that Heidegger cannot be accused of assigning illegitimate logical forms to his sentences about Nothing because terms like “Nothing” can be used non-quantificationally and the fact that it is (...) not clear how their reference is established cannot be the reason why the corresponding sentences are ungrammatical (as Carnap seemed to suggest). The authors also critically discuss the view that natural language is insensitive to meaninglessness or contradiction. With reference to the work of J. Gajewsky, they show that this view is not true either. As a result of this investigation, they arrive at a position that an appeal to ungrammaticality like the one proposed by Carnap does not provide legitimate evidence against metaphysics. This conclusion relates to some recent criticism of the so-called non-analytical philosophers that can be traced back to Carnap’s paper. (shrink)

This paper addresses the question of understanding of language expressions. We argue that understanding of language expressions can be successfully studied within a general approach of formal semantics and pragmatics. We show how three types of meanings of expressions (truth conditional meaning, presuppositional component and implicatures) contribute to our general understanding of what was said and how those meanings can be studied within the formal approach.

Цель данного издания - познакомить широкий круг читателей с основными вехами жизни ученого, организатора, ее научными трудами, литературой о ней.

This article analyzes the change in interpretation of the principles of freedom and equality in liberal thought in Russian in the early twentieth century. From the classical negative understanding...

In the current debate there are two epistemological approaches to the definition of ignorance: the Standard View and the New View. The former defines ignorance simply as not knowing, while the latter defines it as the absence of true belief. One of the main differences between these two positions lies in rejecting (Standard View) or in accepting (New View) the factivity of ignorance, i.e., if an agent is ignorant of φ, then φ is true. In the present article, we first (...) provide a criticism of the Standard View in favour of the New View. Secondly, we propose a formal setting to represent the notion of factive ignorance. (shrink)

Social robots are gradually entering children’s lives in a period when children learn about social relationships and exercise prosocial behaviors with parents, peers, and teachers. Designed for long-term emotional engagement and to take the roles of friends, teachers, and babysitters, such robots have the potential to influence how children develop empathy. This article presents a review of the literature in the fields of human–robot interaction, psychology, neuropsychology, and roboethics, discussing the potential impact of communication with social robots on children’s social (...) and emotional development. The critical analysis of evidence behind these discussions shows that, although robots theoretically have high chances of influencing the development of empathy in children, depending on their design, intensity, and context of use, there is no certainty about the kind of effect they might have. Most of the analyzed studies, which showed the ability of robots to improve empathy levels in children, were not longitudinal, while the studies observing and arguing for the negative effect of robots on children’s empathy were either purely theoretical or dependent on the specific design of the robot and the situation. Therefore, there is a need for studies investigating the effects on children’s social and emotional development of long-term regular and consistent communication with robots of various designs and in different situations. (shrink)

In this article we analyze the methodological commitments of a radical embodied cognition (REC) approach to social interaction and social cognition, specifically with respect to the explanatory framework it adopts. According to many representatives of REC, such as enactivists and the proponents of dynamical and ecological psychology, sociality is to be explained by (1) focusing on the social unit rather than the individuals that comprise it and (2) establishing the regularities that hold on this level rather than modeling the sub-personal (...) mechanisms that could be said to underlie social phenomena. We point out that, despite explicit commitment, such a view implies an implicit rejection of the mechanistic explanation framework widely adopted in traditional cognitive science (TCS), which, in our view, hinders comparability between REC and these approaches. We further argue that such a position is unnecessary and that enactive mechanistic explanation of sociality is both possible and desirable. We examine three distinct objections from REC against mechanistic explanation, which we dub the decomposability, causality and extended cognition worries. In each case we show that these complaints can be alleviated by either appreciation of the full scope of the mechanistic account or adjustments on both mechanistic and REC sides of the debate. (shrink)

Defining the degree of categoricity of a computable structure ${\mathcal{M}}$ to be the least degree d for which ${\mathcal{M}}$ is d-computably categorical, we investigate which Turing degrees can be realized as degrees of categoricity. We show that for all n, degrees d.c.e. in and above 0 (n) can be so realized, as can the degree 0 (ω).

In this topical section, we highlight the next step of research on modeling aiming to contribute to the emerging literature that radically refrains from approaching modeling as a scientific endeavor. Modeling surpasses “doing science” because it is frequently incorporated into decision-making processes in politics and management, i.e., areas which are not solely epistemically oriented. We do not refer to the production of models in academia for abstract or imaginary applications in practical fields, but instead highlight the real entwinement of science (...) and policy and the real erosion of their boundaries. Models in decision making – due to their strong entwinement with policy and management – are utilized differently than models in science; they are employed for different purposes and with different constraints. We claim that “being a part of decision-making” implies that models are elements of a very particular situation, in which knowledge about the present and the future is limited but dependence of decisions on the future is distinct. Emphasis on the future indicates that decisions are made about actions that have severe and lasting consequences. In these specific situations, models enable not only the acquisition of knowledge (the primary goal of science) but also enable deciding upon actions that change the course of events. As a result, there are specific ways to construct effective models and justify their results. Although some studies have explored this topic, our understanding of how models contribute to decision making outside of science remains fragmentary. This topical section aims to fill this gap in research and formulate an agenda for additional and more systematic investigations in the field. (shrink)

We study the complexity of the isomorphism relation on classes of computable structures. We use the notion of FF-reducibility introduced in [9] to show completeness of the isomorphism relation on many familiar classes in the context of all ${\mathrm{\Sigma }}_{1}^{1}$ equivalence relations on hyperarithmetical subsets of ω.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Rhetoric 37.1 (2004) 1-20 [Access article in PDF] Endoxa, Epistemological Optimism, and Aristotle's Rhetorical Project Ekaterina V. Haskins Communication Department Boston College Aristotle's crucial role in institutionalizing the art of rhetoric in the fourth century BCE is beyond dispute, but the significance of Aristotle's rhetorical project remains a point of lively controversy among philosophers and rhetoricians alike. There are many ways of reading and evaluating Aristotle's (...) Rhetoric that depend on the philosophical, theoretical, and pedagogical purposes of the scholar.1 Most philosophical and rhetorical exegeses of the Rhetoric, however, while focusing on the text's connections to Aristotle's corpus and to the rhetorical tradition before and after Aristotle, seem to lack a critical perspective on Aristotle's relationship with his cultural context. Yet, like other parts of Aristotle's encyclopedic intellectual endeavor, much of Rhetoric 's cultural content was provided by endoxa, "reputable or received opinions."Since G. E. L. Owen's essay "Tithenai ta phainomena" (1961) many scholars have accepted the claim that endoxa, rather than empirical observations, are the source of Aristotle's own philosophical principles. The "linguistic" turn within Aristotelian studies has drawn attention to the role of "facts" of language and ordinary experience within Aristotle's philosophical method. As a result, a view of Aristotle as a hard-core empiricist has given way to a picture of a humanist who is attuned to the nuances of his cultural milieu. Still, this new portrait fails to take into account that Aristotle's manner of selecting and categorizing his linguistic resources allows him to transform what we would consider cultural beliefs into natural, and hence, atemporal premises. This pattern can be explained by Aristotle's "epistemological optimism," in itself a blend of several cultural assumptions about perception in general and vision in particular, the function of language, and the cyclical nature of human history. Part of this essay's objective, then, will be an explanation of these components of Aristotle's epistemological optimism. By appreciating Aristotle's difference [End Page 1] on these issues from our modern assumptions, we will be in a better position to understand why Aristotle relies on endoxa on all three levels of philosophical discourse (theoretical science, moral philosophy, and productive arts of poetics and rhetoric). Aristotle remains consistent in his treatment of endoxa throughout; rhetoric, however, presents a major challenge to Aristotle's epistemological optimism and his conception of language. I shall argue that Aristotle recognized this challenge and that he answered it by isolating proofs and rhetorical genres from their linguistic medium (lexis ), and postulating linguistic transparency (sapheneia ) as a stylistic norm. I. Aristotle's openness to appearances (phainomena ) and opinions (endoxa ) was accorded prominence especially thanks to the work of G. E. L. Owen and Martha Nussbaum. Owen was first to defend a linguistic translation of Aristotle's phainomena as "ordinary beliefs" and "appearances" against the then-prevalent rendition "observed facts." In so doing he asserted the crucial impact of the philosopher's cultural context on the formation of speculative discourse. Owen (1961) nonetheless demanded that phainomena be understood as empirical observations in Aristotle' treatises on biology and meteorology (84-86), so as to preserve the methodological and epistemological distinctions between inquiries into the natural world, on the one hand, and the world inhabited by human agents, on the other. Nussbaum (1986) went much further than Owen in asserting the role of phainomena and endoxa in Aristotle's inquiry. Unlike Owen, Nussbaum sees no fundamental difference between "experiences" of a philosopher and linguistic expressions of cultural beliefs and interpretations—his discursive data—from which Aristotle constructs his philosophical accounts. Nussbaum's chief (and highly influential) claim is that Aristotle's method is marked by a deep concern for the experiential world of his fellow men and their language. Aristotle's philosophical insights into the human condition, on this reading, echo and amplify classical Greek tragedy, despite the austere diction of Aristotle's extant treatises.Owing to this openness to the world of ordinary beliefs, Aristotle seems to depart from the Eleatic and Platonic distrust of human... (shrink)

The study of Borel equivalence relations under Borel reducibility has developed into an important area of descriptive set theory. The dichotomies of Silver [20] and Harrington, Kechris and Louveau [6] show that with respect to Borel reducibility, any Borel equivalence relation strictly above equality on ω is above equality on , the power set of ω, and any Borel equivalence relation strictly above equality on the reals is above equality modulo finite on . In this article we examine the effective (...) content of these and related results by studying effectively Borel equivalence relations under effectively Borel reducibility. The resulting structure is complex, even for equivalence relations with finitely many equivalence classes. However use of Kleene’s O as a parameter is sufficient to restore the picture from the noneffective setting. A key lemma is that of the existence of two effectively Borel sets of reals, neither of which contains the range of the other under any effectively Borel function; the proof of this result applies Barwise compactness to a deep theorem of Harrington establishing for any recursive ordinal α the existence of singletons whose α-jumps are Turing incomparable. (shrink)

For a computable structure $\mathcal {M}$, the categoricity spectrum is the set of all Turing degrees capable of computing isomorphisms among arbitrary computable copies of $\mathcal {M}$. If the spectrum has a least degree, this degree is called the degree of categoricity of $\mathcal {M}$. In this paper we investigate spectra of categoricity for computable rigid structures. In particular, we give examples of rigid structures without degrees of categoricity.

LetEbe a computably enumerable equivalence relation on the setωof natural numbers. We say that the quotient set$\omega /E$realizesa linearly ordered set${\cal L}$if there exists a c.e. relation ⊴ respectingEsuch that the induced structure is isomorphic to${\cal L}$. Thus, one can consider the class of all linearly ordered sets that are realized by$\omega /E$; formally,${\cal K}\left = \left\{ {{\cal L}\,|\,{\rm{the}}\,{\rm{order}}\, - \,{\rm{type}}\,{\cal L}\,{\rm{is}}\,{\rm{realized}}\,{\rm{by}}\,E} \right\}$. In this paper we study the relationship between computability-theoretic properties ofEand algebraic properties of linearly ordered sets realized (...) byE. One can also define the following pre-order$ \le _{lo} $on the class of all c.e. equivalence relations:$E_1 \le _{lo} E_2 $if every linear order realized byE1is also realized byE2. Following the tradition of computability theory, thelo-degrees are the classes of equivalence relations induced by the pre-order$ \le _{lo} $. We study the partially ordered set oflo-degrees. For instance, we construct various chains and anti-chains and show the existence of a maximal element among thelo-degrees. (shrink)