In this highly topical book, Agamben ultimately arrives at original ideas about the future of democracy and casts a new light on the hidden relationship that ties law to violence.

He proposes, in his characteristically allusive and intriguing way, a politics of gestureOCoa politics of means without end.Among the topics Agamben takes up are the properly political paradigms of experience, as well as those generally not ...

Explores the symbiosis of philosophy and literature in understanding negativity.

This paper discusses the views of three medieval thinkers—Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, and John Duns Scotus—about a specific aspect of the problem of evil, which can be dubbed ‘the Lucifer problem’. What was the object of the first evil choice? What could entice a perfectly rational agent placed in ideal circumstances into doing evil? Those thinkers agreed that Lucifer wanted to be happier, but while Anselm thought that that was something Lucifer could achieve by his natural powers, Aquinas held that it (...) was not naturally possible for Lucifer to be happier, even though it was something he could obtain supernaturally. By contrast, Scotus posited that what Lucifer wanted was beyond what was logically possible, i.e. to be as happy as God (or to be God’s equal). An interesting consequence of Scotus’s hypothesis is that God could have done nothing to make Lucifer’s evil choice less likely. (shrink)

In this article we present a technique for selecting models of set theory that are complete in a model-theoretic sense. Specifically, we will apply Robinson infinite forcing to the collections of models of ZFC obtained by Cohen forcing. This technique will be used to suggest a unified perspective on generic absoluteness principles.

The ArgumentThe development of modern mathematical biology took place in the 1920s in three main directions: population dynamics, population genetics, and mathematical theory of epidemics. This paper focuses on the first trend which is considered the most significant. Modern mathematical theory of population dynamics is characterized by three aspects (the first two being in a somewhat critical relationship): the emergence of the mathematical modeling approach, the attempt at establishing it in a reductionist-mechanist conceptual framework, and the revival of Darwinism. The (...) first section is devoted to the analysis of the concept of mathematical model and the second one presents an example of a mathematical model (Van der Pol's model of heartbeat) which is a good prototype of that concept. In section 3 the main trends of mathematization of biology and the cultural and scientific contexts in which they found their development are discussed. Sections 4 and 5 are devoted to the contributions of V. Volterra and A. J. Lotka, to the analysis of the differences of their scientific conceptions, and to a discussion of a case study: the priority dispute concerning the discovery of the Volterra-Lotka equations. The historical analysis developed in this paper is also intended to detect the roots of some recent trends of mathematization of biology. (shrink)

This chapter is an intervention into the interpretation of Franz Kafka's great novels The Trial and The Castle; implicitly, it constitutes a divided assault on the divisiveness of the law. In Roman law, slander represented so serious a threat for the administration of justice that the false accuser was punished by the branding of the letter K on his forehead. The gravity of slander is a function of its calling into question the principle itself of the trial: the moment of (...) accusation. K.'s strategy can be defined with more precision as the failed attempt to render impossible, not the trial, but the confession. The profession of the protagonist of The Castle is addressed. The interpretation according to which K. wants to be accepted by the castle and settle in the village would then appear all the more mistaken. (shrink)

We offer tableaux systems for logics of essence and accident and logics of non-contingency, showing their soundness and completeness for Kripke semantics. We also show an interesting parallel between these logics based on the semantic insensitivity of the two non-normal operators by which these logics are expressed.

L'uomo moderno è ancora capace di esperienza o la distruzione dell'esperienza è da considerare un fatto ormai compiuto? Da questo interrogativo prende avvio la ricerca che dà il titolo al volume per proporre un ripensamento radicale del problema dell'esperienza, in cui il tema si allarga sino ad abbracciare motivi apparentemente lontani; la sotterranea solidarietà di razionalismo e irrazionalismo nella nostra cultura e lo scivolare della fantasia dalla sfera della conoscenza a quella dell'irrealtà; la scissione fra desiderio e bisogno e l'apparizione (...) del concetto di inconscio; il rifiuto delle ragioni dell'esperienza da parte dei movimenti giovanili e lo spostarsi dell'avventura dal quotidiano allo straordinario; la nascita dell'io e la rivendicazione dell'inesperibile nella poesia moderna. (shrink)

The debate around the notions of a priori knowledge and a posteriori knowledge has proven crucial for the development of many fields in philosophy, such as metaphysics, epistemology, metametaphysics etc. We advocate that the recent debate on the two notions is also fruitful for man-made distributed computing systems and for the epistemic analysis thereof. Following a recently proposed modal and fallibilistic account of a priori knowledge, we elaborate the corresponding concept of a priori belief: We propose a rich taxonomy of (...) types of a priori beliefs and their role for the different agents that participate in the system engineering process, which match the existing view exceedingly well and are particularly promising for explaining and dealing with unexpected behaviors in fault-tolerant distributed systems. Developing such a philosophical foundation will provide a sound basis for eventually implementing our ideas in a suitable epistemic reasoning and analysis framework and, hence, constitutes a mandatory first step for developing methods and tools to cope with the various challenges that emerge in such systems. (shrink)

Nell’articolo si propone un percorso finalizzato a ricostuire alcuni passaggi di particolare rilevanza teorica nella vicenda della Scuola di Francoforte, in merito al concetto di emancipazione. La tesi che si vuole verificare è che, a dispetto dell’ampio ventaglio di variazioni sul tema, sia possibile isolare alcuni tratti specifici della prospettiva “francofortese” sull’emancipazione, che si lasciano riconoscere in tutte le interpretazioni che ne sono state compiute. Nelle nuove generazioni della teoria critica si è affermata tuttavia l’esigenza di ripensare questo motivo fuori (...) dagli schemi di filosofia della storia di matrice idealistica e marxista, nei quali veniva inizialmente interpretato. La sfida è quella di ripensare l’emancipazione come un obiettivo di prassi determinate e specifiche, ancorate a percorsi di progresso sociale non lineari, interdipendenti ma distinti e persino in contrasto. (shrink)

Apparently, aiming to comply with the norm ‘Believe that P if and only if the proposition that P is true’ can hardly differ from aiming to comply with the norm ‘Believe that P if and only if the proposition that P is epistemically justified’. So one may be tempted to agree with Richard Rorty that the distinction between truth and justification is pragmatically useless because it cannot make any difference ‘when the question is about what I should believe now’. I (...) resist this conclusion by arguing that the distinction between truth and justification is pragmatically useful even if the two properties are indeed normatively coincident. The argument I offer turns on the claim that truth plays an explanatory role that justification is inherently incapable of playing. However, my contention is not just that the distinction between truth and justification is pragmatically useful because truth is a bona fide explanatory notion. It is that the distinction between truth and justification is pragmatically useful because the realization that the former plays an explanatory role that the latter is inherently incapable of playing gives access to reasons which would otherwise escape our attention. If truth is a bona fide explanatory notion, the distinction between truth and justification is pragmatically useful because it is precisely when the question is about what I should believe now that attending to such a distinction will often make a difference – and it will make a difference even if the two properties are in fact normatively coincident. (shrink)

This book provides the first English translations of pivotal essays and debates on the role of language politics, linguistics, and translation in Antonio Gramsci's influential cultural theory. It also includes new works from leading and up-and-coming anglophone scholars to create a vital resource for a wide variety of readers interested in Gramsci across many disciplines including cultural studies, critical political economy, social and political theory, literature, sociology, post-colonialism, and philosophy.

In this paper I will address some theories of Roman Ingarden and Walter Benjamin in the light of the new reproductive technologies for streaming music. As to Ingarden's theory I argue that, in the case I am bringing into investigation, streaming music experience can bring new light on the problem of the identity of the musical work by creating a continuum in a sequence of performances, and such continuum may account for a sort of ‘fluid’ cross-identity of the music piece (...) variously performed. I also argue that the lack of ‘aura’, in this case, does not devalue the music piece and nevertheless allows for a notable aesthetic fruition. (shrink)

In this paper I outline and criticize Judith Shklar’s and Richard Rorty’s ‘liberalism of fear’. Both political thinkers believe liberalism to be characterized by a fundamental opposition to cruelty , which they regard as the least liberal of the features that may distinguish any given human community. In order to demonstrate the limits of the Shklar–Rorty thesis, I make use, in the first place, of John Kekes’s critique of liberalism as to show that liberalism allows for cruelty in so far (...) as it grants wider margins of agency to the members of the community. In the second place, I make use of Cesare Beccaria’s reflections on the cruelty implied by liberalism assuch, in so far as this political doctrine endorses the institutions of penal justice and private property. Key Words: Cesare Beccaria • cruelty • ethics • fear • justice • John Kekes • liberalism • politics • property • punishment • Richard Rorty • Judith Shklar. (shrink)

The present book comprises thirteen chapters written by Nordic scholars in the human and social sciences, and developed out of conference papers presented at regular winter and summer symposia held by two research groups emanating from the Nordic Summer University. Born within and informed by this specific milieu, the chapters address significant sociopolitical implications for contemporary societies emerging from the ethical reflections of leading 20th century thinkers (e.g. Michel Foucault and Jürgen Habermas), important procedural as well as substantive aspects of (...) democracy, and pivotal ethico-political issues arising from the abstract logic and concrete manifestations of market economies. Though by no means devoid of their own economic, cultural and political problems, the Nordic countries are still paramount examples of humane prosperity, democratic civility, environmentally sound policy, and peaceful resolution of social and industrial conflicts. Year after year, if not decade after decade, they keep topping the international charts for socio-economic indicators about sostainable development, healthcare quality and accessibility, educational levels, crime control, preceived happiness and much else. As such, the scholarly and scientific reflections orginating within the Nordic Summer University might prove to be useful sources of insight for policy-makers, intellectuals and interested persons outside the Nordic context, and not solely inside it. (shrink)

The paper illustrates the evolution of the territorial system of government in Italy. A traditionally centralized state is turning into a quasifederation. The reasons underpinning this transformation are the growing insatisfaction with the inefficiency of the central government, the quest for autonomy by the fastest growing regions and the opposition by the latter to the interterritorial redistribution of resources made by the central government with the use of nontransparent and inefficient instruments.A substantial degree of subnational tax autonomy has been reintroduced. (...) The powers of subnational governments have been expanded. The main impact on decentralization derives, however, from the direct, popular, election of mayors and of presidents of regional and provincial governments.The transformation is far from complete. The central government is still reluctant to relinquishing its powers. The increased local tax autonomy did not yet introduce substantial tax competition. More precisely, tax rates were not reduced, but rather increased, due to the fiscal stringency of the whole public sector.L’article illustre l’évolution du système territorial de gouvernement en Italie. Un Etat traditionnellement centralisé est en train de devenir quasi-fédéral. Les raisons fondamentales de cette transformation sont l’insatisfaction croissante vis-à-vis de l’inefficacité du gouvernement central, la quête de plus d’autonomie de la part des régions à croissance rapide et l’opposition de ces dernières à la redistribution interterritoriale des ressources qu’opère le gouvernement central en utilisant des instruments opaques et inefficaces.Un degré substantiel d’autonomie fiscale subnationale a été réintroduit. Les pouvoirs des gouvernements subnationaux ont été étendus. L’impact principal de la décentralisation provient, cependant, de l’élection, directe et populaire, des maires et des présidents de gouvernements régionaux et provinciaux.La transformation est loin d’être complète. Le gouvernement central reste réticent à abandonner ses pouvoirs. L’autonomie croissante des impôts locaux n’a pas introduit pour le moment de concurrence fiscale. Plus précisément, les taux d’imposition n’ont pas été réduits, mais plutôt augmentés, en raison de la rigueur budgétaire de l’ensemble du secteur public. (shrink)

C'est au tournant du XIXe siècle que les représentations de la jeunesse féminine italienne commencent à se croiser autour de nouveaux concepts et de nouvelles disciplines.Cet article décrit l'émergence des multiples visages de la « nouvelle jeune fille » italienne à partir des codes d'appellation et d'une plus grande mobilité dans l'appartenance aux classes d'âge juvéniles. C'est la convergence de plusieurs éléments de transformation socio-culturelle qui, dans les années 1920, est à l'origine de la naissance de la « Jeunesse féminine (...) catholique » italienne, que l'auteur examine comme lieu emblématique, entre traditions et innovations, des modèles et des normes de la formation des signorine italiennes. (shrink)

The article examines the reasons for silence in Thomas More, starting from his History of King Richard the III, considering then his actions as speaker of the House of Commons and later as Chancellor, and, finally, his refusal to take the oath to uphold the Acts of Succession and Supremacy. Another relevant subtopic takes a cue from Seneca's assertions about silence to allow the author, after careful reading of a paper published by F. Mitjans on Moreana, to correct an assertion (...) made, in an earlier essay, in regard to the Seneca details in Lockey's copy of Holbein's More family portrait, as well as to present a more analytical assessment of the relevance of Seneca's presence in More's works. It turns out that More cites Seneca more often than has been thought, but with certain fairly crucial reservations, which should—at least in part—explain More's apparent reluctance to quote Seneca's name: another case of silence, which needs to be probed. (shrink)

The intention of this paper is to explore the way in which Löwith′s Das Individuum in der Rolle des Mitmenschen offers a contribution to the actual philosophic-moral debate about the specific moral status of personal relationships. An assumption is given in which Löwiths phenomenological analysis of the I-you-relation permits a new perspective on the question which is pointedly provoked in Honneth′s theory of recognition, namely how to deal with the tension between the universalistic issue of the Kantian morality of respect (...) and the particular demand of care and love in personal relationships. (shrink)

This article describes key paradigms employed to assess deception and reviews the main neuroscience-based technologies that have been employed to investigate the neural correlates of deception: electroencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and transcranial direct current stimulation. Any potential use of neuroscience-based methods to detect deception in real-life situations requires successful classification in single subjects. It describes findings on the single subject performance of these methods and addresses the effects of two factors that are problematic for all deception detection methods, the (...) potential use of countermeasures, strategies used by subjects to defeat the deception detection tests, and the potential role of false memories and of incidental encoding. It briefly outlines some of the ethical issues associated with these technologies to detect deceptive behavior. (shrink)

Le infrastrutture e la logistica sono dimensioni costitutive dei processi globali e un campo di costante ridefinizione del rapporto tra spazi politici e spazi del capitale. Utilizzando contributi critici provenienti da diversi ambiti disciplinari, l’articolo analizza il rapporto tra un quadro internazionale segnato dagli effetti delle trasformazioni logistiche, dai processi di infrastrutturazione e dal rinnovato attivismo statale, concentrandosi sull’emergere degli Stati-piattaforma, degli agglomerati transnazionali e dei corridoi come spazi politici.

ExcerptSeveral studies have examined the racial policies promoted by the Nazi regime from theoretical and sociological perspectives. Theoretical studies have focused their attention on the contribution that scientific disciplines (anthropology, biology, eugenics, and demography) gave to the institution of Nazi racial policies. Sociological studies have focused on the role that the German scientific community had in enforcing such policies, as well as on the consequences these policies had for the scientific community. For instance, they have considered the effect that the (...) emigration of Jewish and anti-fascist scientists from Germany had on the quality of scientific research. The migration of scientists…. (shrink)

En este trabajo se reconstruyen tres concepciones de la constitución, denominadas "constitución como límite" (o modelo de la constitución "por reglas"), " constitución como fundamento" (o modelo de la constitución "por principios"), y "constitución como axiología" (o modelo de la constitución "por valores") y se destacan sus repercusiones sobre las técnicas interpretativas y argumentativas utilizadas por los juristas asociados a los órdenes constitucionales contemporáneos. Se culmina explorando su naturaleza, fundamentalmente normativa, aunque en parte también descriptiva y analizando sus relaciones recíprocas, (...) para comprobar que coexisten superpuestos y combinados, pero que tienen, como tales, cierta virtualidad explicativa de las prácticas interpretativas y argumentativas que se dan en la cultura jurídica reciente. Finalmente, se valora el grado en que favorecen la normatividad de la constitución, concluyéndose que el modelo de los principios garantiza una proyección flexible de la constitución sobre el resto del ordenamiento jurídico, abierta a la participación de diversos actores institucionales, motivo por el que resulta preferible al modelo de los límites, que es demasiado estrecho y circunscrito y al de los valores, que es difuso y casuístico. (shrink)