Chapter 1 serves as an introduction to the vast topic of laws of nature. Thus, it first outlines the alleged characteristics of the laws of nature, namely truth, objectivity, contingency, necessity, universality, grounding counterfactuals and their role in science. Among these aspects, the peculiar modal status of laws of nature will be identified as the ‘holy grail’ of the debate. The second part of this chapter is concerned with the three main families of theories of laws of nature – neo-humean, (...) ADT and dispositional theories – which are introduced and evaluated in regard to the aforementioned characteristics. It will then be argued that among those theories, the dispositional ones show the greatest promise of being able to account for the natural necessity of the laws of nature. -/- Before a dispositional account of laws of nature can be given, dispositions themselves need to be understood. Consequently, Chapter 2 introduces various analyses of dispositions. As dispositions are pre-theoretically close to conditionals, a lot of analyses try to reduce dispositions to conditionals. This chapter critically assesses some chosen accounts: the simple conditional analysis, Carnap’s reduction sentences, the simple counterfactual conditional analysis, Lewis’ reformed conditional analysis, Malzkorn’s sophisticated con- ditional analysis, Choi and Gundersen’s context-dependent analysis, Manley and Wasserman’s gradable dispostion ascriptions, and Fara’s habituals. The prevention problem, which poses a threat to any account of dispositions, is depicted. It is argued that, ultimately, none of the conditionalising attempts is able to convince since they all exclude the problem cases which leads to explanation gaps and outlaw areas. -/- Chapter 3 contains the synchronic part of my preferred solution to the prevention problem. The notion of ‘component causes’ is introduced, and the ontological status of components discussed. Millikan’s oil drop experiment is depicted en detail. In a first step, making a distinction between dispositions and the resulting behaviour is advocated. Via the symmetry argument, mani- festations and masks are shown to be ontologically on a par. In a second step, a triadic account consisting of dispositions, wirkungen and resultant behaviour, is established. Finally, the ontological interpretation of the trias is given. It is in the nature of the dispositions to bring about the wirkungen. These interact via combinations rules like the functions f and fa or vector addition, which are built-in into to dispositions. -/- The diachronic part of my favourite interpretation, the triadic process picture of dispositions (TPD), is presented in chapter 4. The dynamics of dispo- sition manifestation are discussed and it is argued that fiddling with the trigger works only up to a certain point. Diachronic masking cases turn out to be no- torious. An excursus to action theory shows that the ontology needs to include processes, as understanding disposition manifestations as processes solves the diachronic prevention problem. The (TPD) can account for all counterexamples by taking the stimulus as the beginning of the manifestation process. -/- Chapter 5 applies the (TPD) to the debate about laws of nature. In order to judge its adequacy, the characteristics of laws of nature given in chapter 1 are consulted. As a first step, the criteria truth, objectivity, universality, grounding counterfactuals and their role in science are covered. It is sketched how the (TPD) can account for these. The second part of the chapter deals with the modal status of the laws of nature. The dispositional essentialist’s view that laws of nature are metaphysical necessary is depicted and then criticised. It is argued that metaphysical necessity is not the appropriate modal status of the laws of nature. Finally, the (TPD) account of the necessity of the laws of nature is presented: laws of nature are naturally necessary and metaphysically contingent. (shrink)

In this paper we develop an analysis of dispositions by means of causal Bayes nets. In particular, we analyze dispositions as cause-effect structures that increase the probability of the manifestation when the stimulus is brought about by intervention in certain circumstances. We then highlight several advantages of our analysis and how it can handle problems arising for classical analyses of dispositions such as masks, mimickers, and finks.

The importance of the hidden curriculum is recognised as a practical training ground for the absorption of medical ethics by healthcare professionals. Pakistan’s healthcare sector is hampered by the exclusion of ethics from medical and nursing education curricula and the absence of monitoring of ethical violations in the clinical setting. Nurses have significant knowledge of the hidden curriculum taught during clinical practice, due to long working hours in the clinic and front-line interaction with patients and other practitioners.

Influencing students’ educational achievements first requires understanding the underlying processes that lead to variation in students’ performance. Researchers are therefore increasingly interested in analyzing the differences in behavior displayed in educational assessments rather than merely assessing their outcomes. Such analyses provide valuable information on the differences between successful and unsuccessful students and help to design appropriate interventions. Complex problem solving (CPS) tasks have proven to provide particularly rich process data as they allow for a multitude of behaviors several of which (...) can lead to a successful performance. So far, this data has often been analyzed on a rather aggregated level looking at an average number of actions or predefined strategies. with only a few articles investigating the specific actions performed. In this paper, we illustrate and discuss a more detailed report the results of an exploratory analysis of CPS process data based on the specific actions performed.log-files that is aimed at distinguishing between students that applied the correct strategy to a problem but failed to solve it and those applying the strategy successfully. In that, the sequence of behavior displayed is reduced to interpretable parts (n-grams) that allow searching for meaningful differences between the two groups of students. This level of analysis allows finding previously undefined or unknown patterns within the data and increases our understanding of the processes underlying successful problem -solving behavior even further. (shrink)

In this paper, I will argue that we need to consider the ‘change- makers’ if we want to provide a comprehensive theory of persistence. The classical theories of persistence, endurantism and perdurantism in all their flavours, are content with avoiding the looming contradiction in the context of Leibniz’s Law. They do not account for how change is brought about. I argue that this is not sufficient to constitute a theory of persistence and I will introduce produrantism as a new access (...) towards a comprehensive approach. (shrink)

En sus análisis sobre la interioridad de la palabra en la hermenéutica de H. G. Gadamer, Jean Grondin afirma que su hermenéutica del vouloir-dire puede comprenderse como una "fenomenología de lo inaparente”. La afirmación deja establecido un vínculo entre la propuesta de Gadamer y esa polémica expresión que Heidegger usó para describir el sentido originario de la fenomenología. Hoy la fenomenología de lo inaparente se ha convertido en su motor a través del debate francés sobre el giro teológico. El objetivo (...) de este trabajo es examinar hasta qué punto esa formulación puede ser también motor de la hermenéutica de Gadamer. Para ello, se examinarán las condiciones de posibilidad e imposibilidad de tal acercamiento. (shrink)

La question directrice de cette étude est la suivante: comment est-il possible de comprendre la nécessité d’une entreprise pédagogique pour atteindre l’intelligible dans la République, tandis que l’âme accède à l’Idée sans l’aide d’un maître dans le Phédon? Ces deux voies épistémologiques, respectivement politique et morale, ne sont contradictoires qu’en apparence, car c’est toujours un naturel philosophe qui, programme éducatif ou non, peut avoir une intuition de l’Idée dans une expérience solitaire. Si le rôle de l’éducation est, dans la République, (...) de repérer un tel naturel, de le préserver d’une corruption politique , de le rendre redevable d’un engagement dans les affaires publiques et de faciliter la conversion eidétique de son regard, la philosophie - ou dialectique - reste, dans les deux dialogues, une aventure personnelle et solitaire. (shrink)

The paper reviews Balashov’s Asymmetry Thesis concerning co-existing (point-sized) enduring objects, on the one hand, and perduring ones, on the other. In this regard, it becomes crucial to investigate whether, at a given spacetime point p, it is located only the respective temporal part of a perdur- ing whole, or that whole as well. Two alternatives ought to be distinguished and, then, I will argue as follows: If the perduring whole is located where its parts are, the original asymmetry- thesis (...) has to be rejected. If, however, the perduring whole is not located where its parts are, the spatiotemporal locations of the parts can no longer be used to ground the co-existence relation. But, with the modified co-existence relation the asymmetry between perdurantism and endurantism turns out to be even much stronger than it has been assumed. (shrink)

There are several intertwined debates in the area of contemporary philos- ophy of time. One field of inquiry is the nature of time itself. Presentists think that only the present moment exists whereas eternalists believe that all of (space-)time exists on a par. The second main field of inquiry is the question of how objects persist through time. The endurantist claims that objects are three-dimensional wholes, which persist by being wholly1 present, whereas the perdurantist thinks that objects are four- dimensional (...) and that their temporal parts are the bearers of properties. The third debate in the field of contemporary philosophy of time is about tense- versus tenseless theory. Tensers are at odds with detensers about the status of the linguistic reference to the present moment. These are only very crude characterizations and it is even disputed by some ad- vocates of the corresponding positions that they are accurate. However this very sketchy picture already reveals a fundamental difference: The eternalism/presentism and endurance/perdurance discussions belong to the field of metaphysics, whereas tense is in the first instance a linguistic phenomenon. (shrink)

The important switch from the so-called old B-theory to the new tenseless theory of time (NTT), which had significant implications for the field of tense and indexicals, occurred after Carnap’s era. Against this new background, Carnap’s original inter-translatability thesis can no longer be upheld. The most natural way out would be to modify Carnap’s position according to the NTT; but this is not compatible with Carnap’s metaphysical neutrality thesis. Even worse, Carnap’s work on measurement theory can be used to develop (...) an argument in favour of the A-theory. I argue that there are tensed basic sentences which are needed in order to construct a tenseless system and thus cannot be translated without loss of meaning into tenseless ones (old B-theory) or made true by tenseless facts (NTT). (shrink)

Résumé Dans cet article, je propose une typologie des études contemporaines relatives au troisième segment de la Ligne en République VI, en adoptant une classification des interprétations qui prend pour fil conducteur la question de la nature eidétique de l’objet de la dianoia. Le sentiment de confusion que la disparité des voies interprétatives laisse au lecteur vient de ce que les interprètes contemporains confondent l’objet spécifiquement dianoétique, qui est le γνωστόν, et le référent à la fois dianoétique et noétique, qui (...) est le νοητόν.We present here a typology of contemporary studies concerning the third segment of the Line in Republic VI, in which we adopt a classification of interpretations whose main thread is the question of the eidetic nature of the object of dianoia. The feeling of confusion with which the reader is often left is due to the disparity between some 10 different approaches where contemporary interpreters fail to distinguish between the specifically dianoetic object, which is the γνωστόν, and the referent, both dianoetic and noetic, which is the νοητόν. (shrink)

In this paper, I aim to show the importance of transferring metaphors from our aesthetic experiences to social praxis. I will therefore focus on reverberation, a phenomenon in the perceptual field of sound, to argue that it offers a deep understanding of social experiences. Reverberation is a secondary concept in Paul Ricœur's hermeneutic phenomenology, but it plays a crucial role in his analysis of imagination. Firstly, I will examine Ricœur's analysis of the phenomenon of reverberation within the framework of his (...) phenomenology of imagination. Secondly, I will read Ricœur's reference to G. Bachelard, considering the reverberation in the poetic image. Thirdly, I will study his reference to E. Minkowski, who thinks about reverberation within a cosmological scope. Finally, based on these analyses, I will outline the transfer of the phenomenon of reverberation to the field of social praxis. (shrink)

Social choice rules are often evaluated and compared by inquiring whether they satisfy certain desirable criteria such as the Condorcet criterion, which states that an alternative should always be chosen when more than half of the voters prefer it over any other alternative. Many of these criteria can be formulated in terms of choice sets that single out reasonable alternatives based on the preferences of the voters. In this paper, we consider choice sets whose definition merely relies on the pairwise (...) majority relation. These sets include the Copeland set, the Smith set, the Schwartz set, von Neumann-Morgenstern stable sets, the Banks set, and the Slater set. We investigate the relationships between these sets and completely characterize their computational complexity, which allows us to obtain hardness results for entire classes of social choice rules. (shrink)

La programática del siguiente trabajo es esclarecer la herencia que la hermenéutica filosófica de H.-G. Gadamer recibe de la teoría fenomenológica de la conciencia del tiempo; herencia que Gadamer mismo reconoce cuando afirma “que una clara línea conduce desde el concepto de síntesis pasiva y la teoría de la intencionalidad anónima a la experiencia hermenéutica […]” [GW 2, 16]. A partir de la explicitación de algunos aportes generales y más conocidos de la fenomenología a la propuesta de Gadamer (punto I), (...) se desarrollarán las cuestiones de la teoría de la conciencia del tiempo que constituyen una contribución silenciosa a su pensamiento (punto II). Finalmente, se delinearán algunos posibles complementos hermenéuticos a la teoría fenomenológica desarrollada por Husserl (punto III). (shrink)

During the 90s of the twentieth century, Paul Ricoeur designated his view concerning the metaphysical issue of God as philosophical agnosticism. He thought that feature to be the hallmark of his entire work. However, in his Memoirs of Youth [Méthode réflexive appliquée au problème de Dieu chez Lachelier et Lagneau], which he wrote during his twenties, Ricouer developed a philosophy that named God and that made it a metaphysical issue. This memoir remained unpublished until 2017. Faced with his self-proclaimed philosophical (...) agnosticism, this work raises some questions. If the early Ricoeur was interested in applying the method of reflexive philosophy to the issue of God, why this early work remained unpublished? Was it published just because it contradicts the hallmark of his entire work? The purpose of the article is to shed light on the origin of this memoir, which seems strange due to his own description of his philosophical work. Therefore, it addresses three issues within the memoir: the philosophical ideas established in the beginning, the decisions he took during its development, and the structure of an impossible conclusion which ends it. (shrink)

El objetivo de este dossier es presentar distintos métodos para hacer investigación en filosofía. Los motivos para asumir este trabajo residen en una serie de preguntas diversas que descansan sobre un mismo presupuesto de experiencia: los hombres pensamos de modos infinitamente heterogéneos, pero, en esa diversidad, parece haber unas formas más rigurosas que otras al dar razones y fundamentos sobre lo que se logra saber. Este principio, que sustenta la necesidad de formarse como investigador en cualquier ciencia, implica aprender metodologías (...) concretas. Eso significa ejercitarse en “caminos a seguir”, específicos para hacer ciencia, lo que indica la etimología griega de μετά-ὁδός. (shrink)

El tema del tiempo ha sido una de las principales paradojas que ha motivado el comienzo, desarrollo y evolucion de la filosofia de Paul Ricoeur. Ha sido un problema constante a lo largo de toda su obra y ha sido ampliamente discutido por sus interpretes. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir el surgimiento y evolución de este tema central hasta su culminacion en Temps et récit. A traves del método fenomenologico de la pregunta regresiva, en la primera parte de (...) este trabajo examinare la genesis y fuentes originarias del tema del tiempo y su evolución en las primeras obras de Ricoeur; en la segunda indagare el involucramiento de este tema con la vida de Ricoeur como preludio a la escritura de Temps et récit ; finalmente en la tercera parte analizare el suceso e impacto de esta obra central y sus continuaciones en sus obras tardias. (shrink)