We characterize rings over which every cotorsion module is pure injective in terms of certain descending chain conditions and the Ziegler spectrum, which renders the classes of von Neumann regular rings and of pure semisimple rings as two possible extremes. As preparation, descriptions of pure projective and Mittag–Leffler preenvelopes with respect to so-called definable subcategories and of pure generation for such are derived, which may be of interest on their own. Infinitary axiomatizations lead to coherence results previously known for the (...) special case of flat modules. Along with pseudoflat modules we introduce quasiflat modules, which arise naturally in the model-theoretic and the category-theoretic contexts. (shrink)

"A splendidly illuminating book." —The New York Times Like it or not, George W. Bush has launched a revolution in American foreign policy. He has redefined how America engages the world, shedding the constraints that friends, allies, and international institutions once imposed on its freedom of action. In America Unbound, Ivo Daalder and James Lindsay caution that the Bush revolution comes with serious risks–and, at some point, we may find that America’s friends and allies will refuse to follow his lead, (...) leaving the U.S. unable to achieve its goals. This edition has been extensively revised and updated to include major policy changes and developments since the book’s original publication. (shrink)

In Transparent Intensional Logic we can recognize two distinct notions of computation that loosely correspond to term rewriting and term interpretation as known from lambda calculus. Our goal will be to further explore these two notions and examine some of their properties.

The conceptual axis of this paper is a reflection on Charles Peirce’s realism, trying to show it as the ground from which many others of his philosophical doctrines are derived. In its first part, the paper analyses the problems posed by the classical Peircean paper Questions Concerning Certain Faculties Claimed for Man, proposing to extract from the consequences of this analysis the guidelines of a realism that gradually become more radical in Peirce’s mature work. Such consequences will be consolidated in (...) his Phenomenology, a science that will ground Semiotics and a conception of symmetry related to Peirce’s categories. This symmetry regarding his epistemology and ontology will be, by the way, omnipresent in all Peircean philosophical system. The second part of the paper discusses the concepts of mediation and representation, also under a realistic background, concluding that these concepts cannot be coherently interlaced in nominalistic philosophies, in which is often found theoretical consequences somehow committed with dogmatic and no dialogic postures, in the sense of a meaning analysis proposed by the classical Peircean pragmatism. (shrink)

In this paper we examine two approaches to the formal treatment of the notion of problem in the paradigm of algorithmic semantics. Namely, we will explore an approach based on Martin-Löf’s Constructive Type Theory, which can be seen as a direct continuation of Kolmogorov’s original calculus of problems, and an approach utilizing Tichý’s Transparent Intensional Logic, which can be viewed as a non-constructive attempt of interpreting Kolmogorov’s logic of problems. In the last section we propose Kolmogorov and CTT-inspired modifications to (...) TIL-based approach. The focus will be on non-empirical problems only. (shrink)

Proofs from assumptions are amongst the most fundamental reasoning techniques. Yet the precise nature of assumptions is still an open topic. One of the most prominent conceptions is the placeholder view of assumptions generally associated with natural deduction for intuitionistic propositional logic. It views assumptions essentially as holes in proofs, either to be filled with closed proofs of the corresponding propositions via substitution or withdrawn as a side effect of some rule, thus in effect making them an auxiliary notion subservient (...) to proper propositions. The Curry–Howard correspondence is typically viewed as a formal counterpart of this conception. I will argue against this position and show that even though the Curry–Howard correspondence typically accommodates the placeholder view of assumptions, it is rather a matter of choice, not a necessity, and that another more assumption-friendly view can be adopted. (shrink)

The main objective of this paper is to sketch unifying conceptual and formal framework for inference that is able to explain various proof techniques without implicitly changing the underlying notion of inference rules. We base this framework upon the so-called two-dimensional, i.e., deduction to deduction, account of inference introduced by Tichý in his seminal work The Foundation’s of Frege’s Logic (1988). Consequently, it will be argued that sequent calculus provides suitable basis for such general concept of inference and therefore should (...) not be seen just as technical tool, but philosophically well-founded system that can rival natural deduction in terms of its “naturalness”. (shrink)

Let Uq be the quantum group associated to sl2 with char≠2 and qk not a root of unity. The article is devoted to the model-theoretic study of the quantum plane kq[x,y], considered as an -structure, where is the language of representations of Uq. It is proved that the lattice of definable k-subspaces of kq[x,y] is complemented. This is deduced from the same result for the Uq-module M, which is defined to be the direct sum of all finite dimensional representations of (...) Uq. It follows that the ring of definable scalars for the quantum plane is a von Neumann regular epimorphic ring extension of the quantum group Uq. (shrink)

This pioneering book presents a reconstitution of Charles Sanders Peirce philosophical system as a coherent architecture of concepts that form a unified theory of reality. Historically, the majority of Peircean scholars adopted a thematic approach to study isolated topics such as semiotics and pragmatism without taking into account the author’s broader philosophical framework, which led to a poor and fragmented understanding of Peirce’s work. In this volume, professor Ivo Assad Ibri, past president of The Charles Sanders Peirce Society and a (...) leading figure in the Brazilian community of Peircean scholars, adopts a systemic approach to Peirce’s thought and presents Peirce’s scientific metaphysics as a deep ontological architecture based on a semiotic logic and on pragmatism as criteria of meaning. Originally published in Portuguese, this book became a classic among Brazilian Peircean scholars by presenting a conceptual matrix capable of providing a clear reference system to ground the thematic studies into the broader Peircean system. Now translated to English, this reviewed, amplified and updated edition aims to make this contributions available to the international community of Peircean scholars and to serve as a tool to understand Peirce’s work in a more systemic way by integrating concepts such as experience, phenomenon, existence and reality, as well as theories such as Chance, Continuity, Objective Idealism, Cosmology and Pragmatism, in a coherent system that reveals Peirce’s complex metaphysical architecture. "As the philosophical reputation of Charles S. Peirce continues to rise to first-tier prominence in the history of American philosophy, Ivo Ibri’s Kósmos Noetós assumes a unique status in both a pioneering and a magisterial work of transcontinental Peirce scholarship. This original work of this internationally renowned scholar and editor, and Professor of Philosophy at the Pontifical Catholic University of San Paulo, penetrates to the heart of Peirce’s architectonic system of phenomenological, metaphysical, and semiotic categories which heuristically characterize our world as “a universe perfused with signs.” Ibri’s own synergistic commentary on the radiating registers of Peirce’s cosmogonically and pragmatistically conceived “one intelligible theory of the universe” also instructively contributes to the illumination of significant nodes of interface with a range of relevant theoretical trends in the contemporary academy; as well, it places Peirce in the company of such thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Kant, and Schelling who preceded Peirce in providing a legacy of first-tier reasoning on our intelligibly developing world. Kosmos Noetos impresses as Ibri’s pure, lucid, passionately thought-loving, philosophical articulation of his own and as the indispensable prolegomena to all future Peirce studies." David Dilworth, State University of New York at Stone Brook – USA "Ivo Ibri has offered us in this exquisite work a framing of the inner logic of Charles S. Peirce's core metaphysical vision and its existential implications. It is a deep and nuanced exploration of the internal dynamics of Peirce’s central metaphysical categories, developed through rigorous and detailed attention to the evolution of Peirce’s thought on the ‘vitally important topics’ of the appearing, the reality, and the intelligibility of the world. The two-leveled format of the book, an intricate weaving of Peirce’s texts and discursive elaboration and linkage by Ibri, gives it a distinctive feel and is the bedrock of its value. The book is a remarkable combination of presentation and analysis. It is informed by Ibri’s deep philosophical culture and is a gentle and convincing argument for the centrality of metaphysics in understanding Peirce’s thought. It offers in a new way indispensable suggestions for our own attempts to think about our places in an evolving universe with the aid of Peirce and offers threads of thought to be followed up by others." Robert E. Innis, University of Massachusetts Lowell – USA. (shrink)

In die Geschichte sind Franz Josef Graf von Thun (1734-1801) und seine Frau Wilhelmine (1744-1800) als Gonner des Geniemusikers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart eingegangen. Der "sonderbare Cavalier", wie er von Mozart genannt wurde, war seinen Zeitgenossen eher als Geisterbeschworer und Magnetiseur, denn als Musikliebhaber und Schriftsteller bekannt. Erst 2009 tauchte im Familienarchiv Thun-Hohenstein das Manuskript der umfangreichen esoterischen Enzyklopadie auf, in der Graf von Thun seine Ansichten uber den Menschen, uber das Weltall und uber die Franzosische Revolution darlegt. Ivo Cerman stellt (...) hier die Philosophie des Grafen vor dem Hintergrund des Illuminismus des 18. Jahrhunderts vor und ediert die wichtigsten Artikel seiner esoterischen Enzyklopadie. Auf der Grundlage dieser gerade entdeckten wichtigen Quelle kann die Frage nach dem Verhaltnis zwischen Aufklarung und Illuminismus neu beantwortet werden. (shrink)

Quality of life is an important outcome measure in mental health care. Currently, QoL is mainly measured with paper and pencil questionnaires. To contribute to the evaluation of treatment, and to enhance substantiated policy decisions in the allocation of resources, a web-based, personalized, patient-friendly and easy to administer QoL instrument has been developed: the QoL-ME. While human values play a significant role in shaping future use practices of technologies, it is important to anticipate on them during the design of the (...) QoL-instrument. The value sensitive design approach offers a theory and method for addressing these values in a systematic and principled manner in the design of technologies. While the VSD approach has been applied in the field of somatic care, we extended the VSD approach to the field of mental healthcare with the aim to enable developers of the QoL-instrument to reflect on important human values and anticipate potential value conflicts in its design. We therefore explored how VSD can be used by investigating the human values that are relevant for the design of the QoL-ME. Our exploration reveals that the values autonomy, efficiency, empowerment, universal usability, privacy, redifinition of roles, of responsibilites, reliability, solidarity, surveillance and trust are at stake for the future users of the technology. However, we argue that theoretical reflections on the potential ethical impact of a technology in the design phase can only go so far. To be able to comprehensively evaluate the usability the VSD approach, a supplementary study of the use practices of the technology is needed. (shrink)

Nemonotónní logika vznikla za účelem systematicky zachytit tzv. zrušitelné uvažování, tj. typ každodenního uvažování, které vede jen k provizorně platným argumentům, jenž mohou být následně staženy s příchodem nových informací. Tím se ovšem nemonotónní logika dostává do ostrého kontrastu s klasickou logikou, která je monotónní, tj. žádné dodatečné premisy nemohou zrušit jednou již platné argumenty. To bylo pro mnohé dostatečným důvodem k tomu, aby nemonotónní logice upřeli status logiky. V tomto textu si ukážeme, že takový závěr je příliš unáhlený a (...) že nemonotónní logika má právo se nazývat logikou. (shrink)

Contact relations have been studied in the context of qualitative geometry and physics since the early 1920s, and have recently received attention in qualitative spatial reasoning. In this paper, we present a sound and complete proof system in the style of Rasiowa and Sikorski (1963) for relation algebras generated by a contact relation.

In this paper I will explore the question whether the Trivialization construction of transparent intensional logic (TIL) can be understood in terms of the Execution construction, specifically, in terms of its degenerate case known as the 0-Execution. My answer will be positive and the apparent contrast between the intuitive understanding of Trivialization and 0-Execution will be explained as a matter of distinct yet related informal perspectives, not as a matter of technical or conceptual differences.

Natural law as a discipline was definitively institutionalized at universities in the Habsburg monarchy during the reforms of Maria Theresia after 1752. The guiding principles of these reforms were set in the instruction for the chair of natural law in Vienna which was given to Carl Anton Martini. It was Catholic in conception, but it ordered the professor to draw on Grotius. Our article reconstructs the elementary structure of Martini’s theory of natural law with a focus on his conception of (...) state. The article proves that Martini did not adopt Wolff’s conception of deducing duties and obligations from the highest principle for that would conflict with the Catholic emphasis on freedom of will. Instead of that, Martini derived duties and rights from the three God-given ends. Martini perceived the state as based on social contract, after the model of Christian Wolff. However, it seems that Martini rejected the two-contract model and acknowledged only the contract of submission as binding. Martini sought to hold the middle ground between Machiavellians arguing that the subjects lose all rights after the social contract, and radical ‘monarchomachs’ who believe that the ‘populus’ retains the supreme power. Martini argues that the ruler is limited by natural laws; the subjects retain rights to life and to property, but they are denied any right to resistance. Since Martini derived the monarch’s powers from the unlimited duty to guarantee security, he admitted even encroachments on religious freedom. He admitted coercion in matters that would threaten salus civitatis, but respected the inner libertas conscientiae. He also acknowledged a peculiar division of powers differentiating between a legislative, an inspectorial and an executive power. Even though the aim of this division was not a system of checks and balances, a precise description of the scope of the executive power helped to delimit a sphere of individual freedom. (shrink)

The Kosovo conflict -- The Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Tradução do comentario tomista ao "De Hebdomadibus" de Boécio.