This volume contains 45 papers, written by the author alone or in collaboration with the following co-authors: Mumtaz Ali, Said Broumi, Sukanto Bhattacharya, Mamoni Dhar, Irfan Deli, Mincong Deng, Alexandru Gal, Valeri Kroumov, Pabitra Kumar Maji, Maikel Leyva-Vazquez, Feng Liu, Pinaki Majumdar, Munazza Naz, Karina Perez-Teruel, Rıdvan Sahin, A. A. Salama, Muhammad Shabir, Rajshekhar Sunderraman, Luige Vladareanu, Magdalena Vladila, Stefan Vladutescu, Haibin Wang, Hongnian Yu, Yan-Qing Zhang.

This work promotes the thesis that humans are naturally transhuman. In order to achieve this, we present in the first two sections some examples of technological devices assembled to human beings, and we critically review the assumptions and dichotomies on which the idea of human enhancement is based according to the ordinary transhumanist vision. Thirdly, we present the thesis of the Extended Mind to support our intuition. Fourthly, we dismantle the most relevant philosophical dichotomies that structure the transhumanist position. Finally, (...) we recapitulate the reasons why we should wake up from the transhumanist dream. (shrink)

Journal of Political Philosophy, EarlyView.

Many authors have proposed constraining the behaviour of intelligent systems with ‘machine ethics’ to ensure positive social outcomes from the development of such systems. This paper critically analyses the prospects for machine ethics, identifying several inherent limitations. While machine ethics may increase the probability of ethical behaviour in some situations, it cannot guarantee it due to the nature of ethics, the computational limitations of computational agents and the complexity of the world. In addition, machine ethics, even if it were to (...) be ‘solved’ at a technical level, would be insufficient to ensure positive social outcomes from intelligent systems. (shrink)

We argue that the later Wittgenstein’s philosophy of language and mathematics, substantially focused on rule-following, is relevant to understand and improve on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) alignment problem: his discussions on the categories that influence alignment between humans can inform about the categories that should be controlled to improve on the alignment problem when creating large data sets to be used by supervised and unsupervised learning algorithms, as well as when introducing hard coded guardrails for AI models. We cast these (...) considerations in a model of human–human and human–machine alignment and sketch basic alignment strategies based on these categories and further reflections on rule-following like the notion of meaning as use. To sustain the validity of these considerations, we also show that successful techniques employed by AI safety researchers to better align new AI systems with our human goals are congruent with the stipulations that we derive from the later Wittgenstein’s philosophy. However, their application may benefit from the added specificities and stipulations of our framework: it extends on the current efforts and provides further, specific AI alignment techniques. Thus, we argue that the categories of the model and the core alignment strategies presented in this work can inform further AI alignment techniques. (shrink)

In our daily lives, we need to predict and understand others’ behavior in order to navigate through our social environment. Predictions concerning other humans’ behavior usually refer to their mental states, such as beliefs or intentions. Such a predictive strategy is called ‘adoption of the intentional stance.’ In this paper, we review literature related to the concept of intentional stance from the perspectives of philosophy, psychology, human development, culture, and human-robot interaction. We propose that adopting the intentional stance might be (...) a pivotal factor in facilitating social attunement with artificial agents. The paper first reviews the theoretical considerations regarding the intentional stance and examines literature related to the development of the intentional stance across life span. Subsequently, we discuss cultural norms as grounded in the intentional stance, and finally, we focus on the issue of adopting the intentional stance toward artificial agents, such as humanoid robots. At the dawn of the artificial intelligence era, the question of how – and also when – we predict and explain robots’ behavior by referring to mental states is of high interest. The paper concludes with a discussion on ethical consequences of adopting the intentional stance toward robots, and sketches future directions in research on this topic. (shrink)

How can expressivists make sense of the practice of communication? If communication is not a joint enterprise aimed at sharing information about the world, why do we engage in communication the way we do? Call this *the problem of communication*. Starting from basic assumptions about the rationality of speakers and the nature of assertion, we argue that speakers engaging in conversation about normative matters must presuppose that there is a unique normative standard on which the attitudes of conversational participants ought (...) to converge. This gives the beginning of a solution to the problem of communication on behalf of expressivists. (shrink)

The susceptibility of online learning to cheating behavior remains a contentious and unresolved issue. A cross-sectional explanatory research design was utilized to test the hypothesized factors influencing academic cheating in online learning. Our study involved 562 participants, selected through a non-probability sampling technique, who were surveyed using online questionnaires designed to measure the identified factors. We tested the hypotheses by utilizing path analysis through the partial least square regression approach within the SMART-PLS software. The demographics such as gender and age (...) of the students, along with the roles of teachers and school administration significantly influenced the students’ instances of self-reported academic cheating. The students’ attitude toward academic cheating emerged as an important factor in predicting cheating behaviors. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research explorations into other potential factors that may contribute to academic dishonesty in online learning. (shrink)

This is the first major work in English to explore at length the meaning, context, aims, and vital importance of Thomas Hobbes's concepts of the law of nature..

BackgroundPreprint usage is growing rapidly in the life sciences; however, questions remain on the relative quality of preprints when compared to published articles. An objective dimension of quality that is readily measurable is completeness of reporting, as transparency can improve the reader’s ability to independently interpret data and reproduce findings.MethodsIn this observational study, we initially compared independent samples of articles published in bioRxiv and in PubMed-indexed journals in 2016 using a quality of reporting questionnaire. After that, we performed paired comparisons (...) between preprints from bioRxiv to their own peer-reviewed versions in journals.ResultsPeer-reviewed articles had, on average, higher quality of reporting than preprints, although the difference was small, with absolute differences of 5.0% [95% CI 1.4, 8.6] and 4.7% [95% CI 2.4, 7.0] of reported items in the independent samples and paired sample comparison, respectively. There were larger differences favoring peer-reviewed articles in subjective ratings of how clearly titles and abstracts presented the main findings and how easy it was to locate relevant reporting information. Changes in reporting from preprints to peer-reviewed versions did not correlate with the impact factor of the publication venue or with the time lag from bioRxiv to journal publication.ConclusionsOur results suggest that, on average, publication in a peer-reviewed journal is associated with improvement in quality of reporting. They also show that quality of reporting in preprints in the life sciences is within a similar range as that of peer-reviewed articles, albeit slightly lower on average, supporting the idea that preprints should be considered valid scientific contributions. (shrink)

Photos. "This is a masterly book which brings together the two major Bacons--the politician and the philosopher. . .

This research analyses the influence of the perception of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR image) on consumer–company identification (C–C identification). This analysis involves an examination of the influence of CSR image on brand identity characteristics which provide consumers with an instrument to satisfy their self-definitional needs, thereby perceiving the brand as more attractive. Also, the direct and mediated influences (through their effect on brand attitude), of CSR-based C–C identification on purchase intention are analysed. The results offer empirical evidence that CSR generates (...) more C–C identification because it improves brand prestige and distinctiveness; brand coherence is also a powerful antecedent of brand attractiveness in the context of CSR communication. Finally, CSR-based C–C identification is able to generate directly better attitude towards the brand and greater purchase intention. (shrink)

This study focuses on retraction notices from two major Latin American/caribbean indexing databases: SciELO and LILACS. SciELO includes open scientific journals published mostly in Latin America/the Caribbean, from which 10 % are also indexed by Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge Journal of Citation Reports. LILACS has a similar geographical coverage and includes dissertations and conference/symposia proceedings, but it is limited to publications in the health sciences. A search for retraction notices was performed in these two databases using the keywords “retracted”, (...) “retraction” “withdrawal”, “withdrawn”, “removed” and “redress”. Documents were manually checked to identify those that actually referred to retractions, which were then analyzed and categorized according to the reasons alleged in the notices. Dates of publication/retraction and time to retraction were also recorded. Searching procedures were performed between June and December 2014. Thirty-one retraction notices were identified, fifteen of which were in JCR-indexed journals. “Plagiarism” was alleged in six retractions of this group. Among the non-JCR journals, retraction reasons were alleged in fourteen cases, twelve of which were attributed to “plagiarism”. The proportion of retracted articles for the SciELO database was approximately 0.005 %. The reasons alleged in retraction notices may be used as signposts to inform discussions in Latin America on plagiarism and research integrity. At the international level, these results suggest that the correction of the literature is becoming global and is not limited to mainstream international publications. (shrink)

This article develops a typology of usages for empirical data in normative theorizing in ‎contemporary political theory. A typology of usages is indicated, providing definitions, ‘names’ and an analysis for each ‎usage, and points to the typical stage within political theory research for each usage. The typology is built in a casuistic methodology. It includes the following categories: Spotlighting, Definition, ‎‎ Conversion, Institutional clarity, Theoretical clarity, and Theory improvement. The typology creates a novel toolbox that can be adopted by political (...) theorists; and it clarifies the methods and achievements of data-sensitive political theory. (shrink)

We focus on the literature about UBI and the experiments developed all around the world to test it in order to address how UBI implementation could affect entrepreneurship. Building on these findings and various strands of entrepreneurial theory, we develop a theoretical framework to explain how the implementation of UBI would dramatically change the environment of entrepreneurial activity, shaping entrepreneurial action at three levels: (i) the desirability of becoming an entrepreneur; (ii) the perceived feasibility of becoming an entrepreneur; (iii) the (...) propensity to act. Consequently, UBI implementation would arguably facilitate the decision to become an entrepreneur. The contribution of the paper is threefold. It firstly provides a theoretical framework that opens new directions for further research on the relationship between UBI and entrepreneurship. Secondly, it offers new insights for policy makers by shedding light on potential effects of UBI implementation. Finally, it raises further questions that remains unsolved related to the role of non-pecuniary motivations and financial constraints. (shrink)

A realistic axiomatic formulation of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics for a single microsystem with spin is presented, from which the most important theorems of the theory can be deduced. In comparison with previous formulations, the formal aspect has been improved by the use of certain mathematical theories, such as the theory of equipped spaces, and group theory. The standard formalism is naturally obtained from the latter, starting from a central primitive concept: the Galilei group.

Republican theorists have paid little attention to the normative problems of secession conflicts. So far, there is no such thing as a democratic republican theory of right of secession ; nor any comprehensive analysis of current TRS has ever been undertaken from a democratic republican point of view. This article tries to fill this second gap as a first step in order to fill that first one. In doing so, it shows how secession conflicts pose threats for two core democratic (...) republican values: freedom and inclusion. The threats are, concretely, those of exclusion, blackmailing minorities, arbitrary permanent majorities, and instability. The article also shows how, due to their respective pro-unionist or pro-secessionist biases, no current TRS seems to be able to handle those threats; and briefly outlines how a democratic republican TRS, based on a non-unilateralist logic, could be developed. (shrink)

En el presente texto se defenderá la idea según la cual, la filosofía y el filosofar están intrínsecamente ligados. Se partirá de un caso paradigmático, el caso de la filosofía analítica. A partir de su definición,se pretenderá mostrar que las características más sobresalientes de dicha corriente están fundamentalmente ligadas al acto de filosofar.Por medio de dicho ejemplo, se desea mostrar que enseñar la filosofía consiste en enseñar a filosofar, y que por lo tanto una no puede ser separada de la (...) otra. Aprender a filosofar es entonces, aprender a ver un problema detrás de cada página de un texto filosófico, una argumentación detrás de cada problema y finalmente, una verdad detrás de cada argumentación. El precio a pagar por dicha separación es bastante alto, se podría hablar de épocas de decadencia intelectual. (shrink)

We seek to add to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainable Development (SD) literature through the empirical study of Latin American firm membership in the United Nations Global Compact (GC) and Global Report Initiative (GRI). Within an institutional-based framework, we explore through three filters – commercial, state-signaling, and distinguished peers – the impact of normative and mimetic pressures associated with GC/gri membership. Our sample includes 207 public firms from six Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru). (...) Our results suggest Latin American firms from countries with a greater European influence (normative pressure) are twice as likely to be enrolled in the GC/gri. Additionally, we find that Latin American firms listed on the NYSE (mimetic pressure) are also twice as likely to sign up under the GC/gri. Hence, the normative and mimetic pillars of institutional theory are found to be significant factors for Latin American firms adopting sustainability initiatives. (shrink)

Hume argued that inductive inferences do not have rational justification. My aim is to reject Hume’s argument. The discussion is partly motivated by an analogy with Carroll’s Paradox, which concerns deductive inferences. A first radically externalist reply to Hume (defended by Dauer and Van Cleve) is that justified inductive inferences do not require the subject to know that nature is uniform, though the uniformity of nature is a necessary condition for having the justification. But then the subject does not have (...) reasons for believing what she believes. I defend a moderate externalist account that seeks to partly accommodate that objection to the radical externalist proposal. It is based on an extension of Peacocke’s theory of concepts: possession conditions for predicative concepts standing for natural properties include (fallible) dispositions to project them to new cases in accordance with inductive inferential patterns. (shrink)

In this paper, I propose to analyse two objections raised by Turner Jr in his paper “On Two Reasons Christian Theologians Should Reject The Intermediate State” in order to show that the intermediate state is an incoherent theory. As we shall see, the two untoward consequences that he mentions do not imply a metaphysical or logical contradiction. Consequently, I shall defend an Intermediate State and I shall propose briefly one metaphysical conception of the human being able to reply to Turner (...) Jr’s objections. (shrink)

The just-war framework neatly distinguishes between jus ad bellum, the criteria that address political leaders’ decisions for waging war, and jus in bello, the criteria that address soldiers’ condu...

The field of Latin American philosophy has established itself as a relevant subfield of philosophical inquiry. However, there might be good reasons to consider that our focus on the subfield could have distracted us from considering another subfield that, although it might share some geographical proximity, does not share the same historical basic elements. In this paper, I argue for a possible and meaningful conceptual difference between Latin American Philosophy and Indigenous philosophy produced in Latin America. First, I raise what (...) I call Mariátegui’s Solidarity Challenge to show that there might be some neglectful treatment of the philosophical views of different Indigenous groups. I then depart from Mariátegui and engage in a critical exercise to show that even he would be guilty of failing in his own solidarity demands. I follow that by drawing out some implications of the argument. I first sketch how this differentiation would play out against the political project of “Mestizaje,” a project that seems to inform some of the Latin American philosophical tradition. I then speculate about the kinds of duties that the field of Latin American philosophy might have towards the field of Indigenous Philosophy produced in Latin America. (shrink)

BackgroundInformed consent is an important factor in a child’s moral structure from which different types of doctor–patient relationships arise. Children’s autonomy is currently under discussion in terms of their decent treatment, beyond what doctors and researchers perceive. To describe the influential practices that exist among clinicians and researchers toward children with chronic diseases during the process of obtaining informed consent.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional, qualitative study via a subjective and interpretivist approach. The study was performed by conducting semi-structured interviews of 21 (...) clinicians and researchers. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS version 21® and Atlas Ti version 7.0® programs.ResultsThe deliberative and paternalistic models were influential practices in the physician–patient relationship. In the deliberative model, the child is expected to have a moral awareness of their care. The paternalistic model determined that submission was a way of structuring the child because he or she is considered to be a subject of extreme care.ConclusionsThe differentiated objectification [educational] process recognizes the internal and external elements of the child. Informed consent proved to be an appropriate means for strengthening moral and structuring the child. (shrink)

Given the reality of legal orders collapsing or breaking, this paper argues that a good explanation is needed to understand this phenomenon. It adopts a Hartian account of positivism and considers law as part of a larger set of social facts and orders. The paper analyzes the relationship between evil moral commitments and the law. It concludes by showing that it might be more conducive to analyzing the loss of faith in a legal system as an explanation for its collapse (...) rather than thinking about problematic commitments to evil moral attitudes. (shrink)

Goal: To assess public knowledge and attitudes towards the family’s role in deceased organ donation in Europe. -/- Methods: A systematic search was conducted in CINHAL, MEDLINE, PAIS Index, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science on December 15th, 2017. Eligibility criteria were socio-empirical studies conducted in Europe from 2008 to 2017 addressing either knowledge or attitudes by the public towards the consent system, including the involvement of the family in the decision-making process, for post-mortem organ retrieval. Screening and data collection (...) were performed by two or more independent reviewers for each record. -/- Results: Of the 1482 results, 467 studies were assessed in full-text form, and 33 were included in this synthesis. When the deceased has not expressed any preference, a majority of the public support the family's role as a surrogate decision-maker. When the deceased expressly consented, the respondents' answers depend on whether they see themselves as potential donors or as a deceased's next-of-kin. Answers also depend on the relationship between the deceased and the decision-maker(s) within the family, and on their ethnic or cultural background. -/- Conclusions: Public views on the authority of the family in organ donation decision-making require further research. A common conceptual framework and validated well-designed questionnaires are needed for future studies. The findings should be considered in the development of Government policy and guidance regarding the role of families in deceased organ donation. (shrink)

Reflexión sobre el desafío al que nos enfrentamos los docentes si deseamos integrar la inteligencia artificial (IA) en la educación, sin perder de vista los valores humanos y la esencia de la enseñanza. La importancia de encontrar un equilibrio entre la tradición y la innovación, con el objetivo de apoyarnos en la tecnología como una herramienta para enriquecer la interacción humana en el aula. La clave está en aprovechar el potencial de la IA para reforzar la experiencia educativa, sin perder (...) de vista el valor insustituible del vínculo humano en el proceso de aprendizaje. (shrink)

El presente artículo introduce el lector a la filosofía analítica de la religión desde un punto de vista histórico y haciendo énfasis en su evolución. El objetivo es doble: primero dar a conocer una nueva disciplina que se ha desarrollado de manera notoria dentro del habla inglesa pero que ha sido ignorada dentro de la filosofía de habla hispana; segundo, comprender su nacimiento y algunas de sus principales características.

This article arises in the Ecuadorian context of Higher Education where the insertion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has a considerable impact on the knowledge and attitudes of students. The purpose of the research is to analyze the integration of ICT in attitudes and knowledge in students of the Bolivar State University in the careers of Accounting and Business Administration. The methodology used in a sample of 150 students presents a quantitative research design, exploratory type, correlational scope and cross-sectional; (...) in addition, an exploratory factor analysis, KMO sample adequacy and Bartlett’s test were used, central trend and dispersion measures, Pearson’s correlation. The results show that, despite the direct relationship between the variables, there are no statistically significant differences between knowledge and attitude, that is, the perception and understanding of ICTs between the two cohorts of students are similar. It is concluded that students have an average level of knowledge about ICT and their attitude to the use of them is indifferent. (shrink)

Le titre de cette étude suggère de traiter trois termes, à premier vue, sans aucun lien. En effet, quel peut être le lien entre l’homosexualité et la Bible? Ou celui entre l’homosexualité et les sciences cognitives? Et finalement, quel lien peut-il y avoir entre ces trois termes à première vue juxtaposés? Il y a une réponse à chacune de ces trois questions et nous proposons d’explorer ces réponses dans le cadre de cette étude. Notre thèse consiste à défendre que les (...) sciences et plus précisément les sciences cognitives peuvent contribuer à la discussion sur l’homosexualité dans un cadre théologique (et/ou ecclésial). (shrink)

Le but de cet article est d'interroger les transformations culturelles qui accompagnent la commercialisation des inventions, phénomène majeur de l'essor marchand et consumériste au XVIIIe siècle. Les stratégies commerciales des inventeurs sont fondées sur une médiatisation croissante, mêlant rhétoriques visuelles (démonstrations, spectacles, expositions) et recours à l'imprimé: annonces de presse, affiches, prospectus, modes d'emploi, livrets d'utilisation. L'information et le savoir techniques jouent un rôle clef dans la construction de marchés pour les inventions. Cette dimension a rarement été prise en compte (...) dans l'histoire de la consommation et dans l'histoire des techniques. Pourtant, la littérature d'usage, qui postule l'autonomie et la capacité participative de l'acheteur comme argument de vente, exprime la montée en puissance des savoirs d'action, opératoires, prescriptifs, où priment le verbe et le geste, l'intention et le projet. Si la technologie des Lumières se déploie dans les traités et les dictionnaires, elle se manifeste aussi dans cette littérature éphémère, pratique et commerciale, source d'appropriations. (shrink)

Can we reify the form of a substance? Is it possible to identify DNA as the principle of our personal and numerical identity? These questions will be studied through Berti’s reading of Aristotle’s hylomorphism. Indeed, Enrico Berti proposes the identification of the DNA to the Aristotelian notion of form, thesis which raises many questions from an exegetical point of view and a metaphysical perspective. We will present the sources of Berti’s reading and one of the main objections made by Aristotle. (...) Thus, different versions of the Berti’s thesis will be examined and then, a thought experiment that makes them false. Finally, it will be proposed an aristotelian solution, coming from a contemporary Aristotelian (E. J. Lowe), that seems to prevent Berti’s mistakes and gives us a robust metaphysics of the identity. (shrink)