Memetics is a research approach which applies evolutionary ideas and terminology to cultural phenomena. The core idea of memetics is the existence of the units of cultural evolution which are attributed autonomous replicating goals. Of course, such a controversial concept has gained many devoted adherents as well as its determined opponents. The paper discusses the theoretical difficulties of memetics. The first part discusses the analogy of genes and memes. The theme of the second part is the ontology of a cultural (...) replicator. Finally, the third part presents the main issues related to manners of transmission and the adaptation of memes. In short, the aim of the paper is an evaluation of the explanatory potential of memetics. The explanatory potential of memetics will be evaluated in terms of its intrinsic consistency, the degree of its confirmation, the falsifiability of the theses which were elaborated on its basis and the heuristic value of this approach. (shrink)

Sport plays today an eminent role in man's life and in societies. Various sciences have made it the subject-matter of their reflection, i.e. psychology, sociology, the natural and humanistic sciences, art, philosophy, and theology. The present work seeks to answer some fundamental questions connected with the phenomenon of sport: what is it for man? whether and when does it serve the social integration of a community? what are the premises and principles of the ethics of sportive activity? what is the (...) aesthetic dimension of sport? what are the relations between sport and religious faith? The philosophical profile is dominant in the book, taking into consideration various aspects of sport: anthropological, social, axiological, and theological. (shrink)

Fanaticism is the view that, for every finite good x and every positive probability p, there is a finite good y such that getting y with probability p is better than getting x for sure. I develop a neglected argument for a form of fanaticism limited to life saving scenarios. I explain how my argument is compatible with some forms of small-probability discounting, imprecise probabilism, risk-aversion and aggregation scepticism. I also try to respond to theoretical problems that fanatical arguments encounter (...) in cases that involve infinitely many possible people. I also suggest why, even if fanaticism is true, we might often be warranted in our intuitive reluctance to accept fanatical conclusions. (shrink)

This paper examines a recent argument in favour of strong precautionary action—possibly including working to hasten human extinction—on the basis of a decision-theoretic view that accommodates the risk-attitudes of all affected while giving more weight to the more risk-averse attitudes. First, we dispute the need to take into account other people’s attitudes towards risk at all. Second we argue that a version of the non-identity problem undermines the case for doing so in the context of future people. Lastly, we suggest (...) that we should not work to hasten human extinction, even if significant risk aversion is warranted. (shrink)

Ex-ante deontology is an attempt to combine deontological constraints on doing or intending harm with the idea that one should act in everyone’s interest if possible. I argue that ex-ante deontology has serious problems in cases where multiple decisions are to be made over time. I then argue that these problems force us to choose between commonsense deontological morality and a more consequentialist morality. I suggest that we should choose the latter.

Moral options are permissions to do less than best, impartially speaking. In this paper, we investigate the challenge of reconciling moral options with the ideal of justifiability to each individual. We examine ex-post and ex-ante views of moral options and show how they might conflict with this ideal in single-choice and sequential-choice cases, respectively. We consider some ways of avoiding this conflict in sequential-choice cases, showing that they face significant problems.

Personites are like continuant people but shorter-lived. Johnston argues that personites do not exist since otherwise personites would have the same moral status as persons, which is untenable. I argue that Johnston’s arguments fail. To do that I propose an alternative way to understand intrinsicness and I clarify the meaning of reductionism about persons. I also argue that a plausible ethical theory is possible even if personites have the same moral status as persons. My arguments draw on Johnston’s earlier debate (...) with Parfit about personal identity and the place of ordinary concerns in a naturalistic world. I also describe an important but metaphysics-free problem that arises from Johnston’s discussion. (shrink)

This paper presents a new puzzle for limited aggregation. Unlike other recent puzzles, this one arises independently of the issue of rational aversion to risk. Some possible responses are laid out and explored.

Recent studies have shown that deductive reasoning skills are related to mathematical abilities. Nevertheless, so far the links between mathematical abilities and these two forms of deductive inference have not been investigated in a single study. It is also unclear whether these inference forms are related to both basic maths skills and mathematical reasoning, and whether these relationships still hold if the effects of fluid intelligence are controlled. We conducted a study with 87 adult participants. The results showed that transitive (...) reasoning skills were related to performance on a number line task, and conditional inferences were related to arithmetic skills. Additionally, both types of deductive inference were related to mathematical reasoning skills, although transitive and conditional reasoning ability were unrelated. Our results also highlighted the important role that ordering abilities play in mathematical reasoning, extending findings regarding the role of ordering abilities in basic maths skills. These results have implications for the theories of mathematical and deductive reasoning, and they could inspire the development of novel educational interventions. (shrink)

Urban spaces require increasing their attractiveness by exploring the social and spatial implications of new lifestyles. Broad civic knowledge is the basis for placemaking to shape user-centred and inclusive spaces of everyday life. Gathering information on the sense of the place is crucial to finding out and understanding the place-related identity of its users to make the place more appealing and usable. The most popular survey tool is a questionnaire constructed as a series of questions and used for collecting information (...) about a population’s attributes, attitudes or actions. Administered in person or online, questionnaire surveys may provide broad coverage of urban communities – however, they require significantly large human resources to carry out. The survey based on personal contact with the respondent may limit time allocated to its implementation, thus affecting the sample selection. Also, the researcher’s involvement in the questionnaire-filling process can be problematic if he or she reveals the topic of interest and if the sequencing of questionnaire themes influences responses. Similarly, an online questionnaire may not reach some potential respondents due to their reduced access to the internet etc. These limitations may affect the results’ reliability. Taking into account the above-mentioned aspects, the idea of this chapter is to present selected types of questionnaires (textual, visual, in-VR and survey gamification). The main aim is to discuss these questionnaires in the context of their main advantages and disadvantages resulting from the specifics of a type and a form of survey (in-depth and online) to facilitate their use in the process of data collection in placemaking research. The results show that the variety of types of questionnaires, as well as the form of the conducted survey, allow their better selection to the specificity of the community, increasing the place-related identity, thus may provide a more reliable and complete set of information possible to be used in placemaking. (shrink)

This article addresses the issue of linguistic phenomena which, as a legacy of the centuries-old tradition of the Roman Empire, are rooted in Polish jurisdictional texts. The study focused on foreign-language expressions and short texts in Latin, used in judicial decisions. The aim of the study was to determine the function of Latinisms as foreign-language expressions in judicial decisions and how their use influences the communicativeness and persuasiveness of argumentation. During the analysis, it was noticed that Latinisms in jurisdictional texts (...) are used on four levels, including: legal maxims, terminology equivalence, linguistic ornaments and the description of taboo phenomena. On the basis of the identified categories, efforts were made to determine the extent to which Latin strengthens or weakens the power of persuasion of judicial decisions. (shrink)

Author: Kaśkiewicz Kinga Title: IMMANUEL KANT AND FRIEDRICH SCHILLER ON THE BEAUTY OF HUMAN BODY (Immanuel Kant i Fryderyk Schiller o pięknie ludzkiego ciała) Source: Filo-Sofija year: 2005, vol:.5, number: 2005/1, pages: 105-123 Keywords: KANT, SCHILLER, BEAUTY OF HUMAN BODY, KANTIAN AESTHETIC Discipline: PHILOSOPHY Language: POLISH Document type: ARTICLE Publication order reference (Primary author’s office address): E-mail: www:The essay deals with the question of the beauty of the bodily form, the notion of perfection of the human species and its (...) moral expression as well as with other problems connected with this aspect of aesthetic experience. In the XVIII century the problems were undertaken particularly by Friedrich Schiller, who on the grounds of Kantian aesthetics tried to show the difference between the free and dependant beauty, and between the natural beauty and fine arts, which led him to establish the notions of grace and of dignity as the aesthetic expression of human spirit. The essay is based chiefly on the following works: Schiller’s On Grace and Dignity and Critic of Judgment and Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime by Kant. (shrink)

This paper develops transfinite extensions of transitivity and acyclicity in the context of population ethics. They are used to argue that it is better to add good lives, worse to add bad lives, and equally good to add neutral lives, where a life's value is understood as personal value. These conclusions rule out a number of theories of population ethics, feed into an argument for the repugnant conclusion, and allow us to reduce different-number comparisons to same-number ones. Challenges to these (...) arguments are addressed, including the issue of comparing existence and non-existence in terms of personal value, the possibility of minimal quanta of time and life, and the meaningfulness of measuring closeness between outcomes with different population sizes. An asymmetry is uncovered between transfinite cycles of worseness and betterness, supporting a version of the weak procreative asymmetry. Transfinite transitivity principles are also favourably compared to the better-known principles of continuity. (shrink)

How has the current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected R&D and innovation in Poland? Numerous international studies conducted after the Great Depression in 2008–2010 show a strong procyclicality of investments in R&D and innovation in companies: investments rise during the economic upturn and fall sharply during the crisis. This procyclicality is driven within firms both by internal financial resources and by differences in market incentives to innovate. It seems likely that the COVID-19 crisis caused financial weakness for many (...) actors, having the most significant impact on the willingness or ability of smaller firms to support R&D and innovation. However, where firms are able to sustain these investments, evidence from the crisis a decade ago suggests that they will be more likely to survive, grow more strongly, and have higher profitability. Based on the analysis of the literature and macroeconomic data, this paper presents several recommendations that, if implemented by R&D actors, could help increase the efficiency of operations, even in times of crisis. (shrink)

Freedom appears in the very centre of human existence: it constitutes its „heart", sanctuary, indispensible source of dignity, and mystery. Freedom makes man, homo sapiens, both a subject and a person. The history of humankind is a history of an unceasing struggle to conquer and widen the borders of its freedom, although often it is also a history of the betrayal of freedom, of enslaving others, or of an escape from freedom^. Freedom is a foundation of man's activity, determining its (...) purposefulness. It offers man a possibility of self-determination, internal development, though also of self-destruction. There are three main types of freedom: personalistic, individualistic and collectivistic. (shrink)

Badania dotyczące pojawiania się myśli oderwanych od zadania wykonywanego przez podmiot pokazują, że takich myśli jest tym mniej, im większe wymagania stawia ono systemowi poznawczemu, jeśli chodzi o zaangażowanie procesów zarządczych, złożoność, trudność bądź częstość wykonywanych operacji. Jednym z możliwych wyjaśnień tych zależności jest hipoteza biernej regulacji zasobowej: aktywność umysłowa oderwana od zadania rozwija się w takim zakresie, w jakim procesy realizujące zadanie pozostawiają wolne zasoby niezbędne do jej rozwoju. Analizy przedstawione w artykule motywowane są pytaniem o teoretyczną konkretyzację tej (...) idei. Jaka jest natura zasobowych ograniczeń, które mają uniemożliwiać równoczesne rozwijanie się aktywności umysłowej dotyczącej zadania i oderwanej od niego? Na jakim etapie rozwoju aktywności umysłowej prowadzącej do pojawienia się myśli oderwanej od zadania występuje w związku z tymi ograniczeniami zasobowa blokada? Pod tym kątem rozważane są cztery współczesne znaczące ujęcia „roboczej” części umysłu: modele pamięci roboczej Baddeleya i Cowana oraz architektury kognitywne ACT-R i CAPS. Chociaż w tych teoriach są uwzględnione ograniczenia dotyczące przetwarzania lub aktywnego przechowywania, z którymi może wiązać się bierna regulacja zasobowa, to ważne pytania dotyczące mechanizmów takiej regulacji pozostają bez odpowiedzi. Wyjaśnienie odwołujące się do idei biernej regulacji zasobowej stawia przed modelami funkcjonowania umysłu nowe wyzwania. (shrink)

Liberalism and marxism are two forms of economism, which separate economic activity from ethics. The social teaching of the Church accepted continued by pope Benedict XVI recognizes the necessity of free market and limited intervention of the state in economy, but first of all postulates creativity of civil society in the field of economic life. The main arguments for observance of moral rules in the economic activity are following: 1. Every conscious and free men’s action is responsible for the effects (...) – economic activity cannot be any exception; 2. The same ethics ought to be applied in the individual-private life and in the public domain – also economy; 3. Ethos of economic activity is connected with three virtues – truth, love and justice (also social justice); 4. Christian-personalistic ethics is based on the principles auxialiarity (personalism) and common good (solidarity). Economic activity completely separated from ethics is inhuman. (shrink)

The subject matter of the paper is the John Paul II teachings on the fields of a state’s activity in economic life. The first part of article talks about general elements of economic order: private property, liberal market, a just salary for labour and the participation of workers in the control of a business. The second part of the paper confirms that the state ought to create a solid infrastructure of economy and to find a good balance between different sectors (...) of economic life. The last part of the paper shows that the state ought to interfere sometimes in the economic field, for example, to combat unemployment and poverty, or to protect the family. (shrink)

Al centrar su atención en Dios y en el hombre, con frecuencia Agustín nos ofrece su relación recíproca al nivel axiológico. La teoría agustiniana de los valores comporta un razonamiento filosófico y teológico a la vez. En la intersección de estos dos elementos se encuentra el problema de la jerarquía de los bienes y en el fondo podemos descubrir el teocentrismo agustiniano. En el pensamiento del obispo de Hipona, podemos distinguir un triple teocentrismo teleológico, que se completan y explican recíprocamente.

Paper has three parts. Te first part gives the reasons for need of liberty external-social of science guaranteed by law. Speaks about it Declaration of human rights in 1948 and social teaching of Church – including documents of Vaticanum II and Jean Paul II, which indicate of subjectivity and dignity of man as person. The second part of this paper based on personalism demonstrates that science can harmoniously develop only in the climate of internal-moral freedom of scientist. The purpose of (...) science is revelation of truth, but effects of scientific investigations – in particular of biological-medical sciences – influence on the life of human individuals and societies. Conscious and free activity of man has ethical character, therefore liberty of science ought to be responsible liberty and then to be subordinated the ethical criterions. Science cannot ignore values and rules moral. The third part of paper stated that good of human person and common good of society demand juridical limitations of scientific inquiries’ liberty. Liberty is man’s right but also its obligation to respect of human person’s fundamental rights – including right to life, integrality and dignity. Therefore internal-ethical and external-juridical limitations are necessary of scientist’s liberty. (shrink)

Entre los historiadores de la filosofía, desde hace tiempo se viene discutiendo acerca de la postura de san Agustín frente a los argumentos de la existencia de Dios, tomados del mundo material. Mientras unos, como M. Schmaus, E. Gilson, se pronuncian por una respuesta negativa, otros, como Ch. Boyer, J. Geyser, F. Cayré, responden afirmativamente. A nuestro modo de ver, la opinion de los últimos está más cerca de la verdad, ya que la lectura de las obras del obispo de (...) Hipona nos permite descubrir dos argumentos formulados en sus grandes líneas: el argumento de la causalidad eficiente o argumento cosmológico, y el argumento de la finadidad o argumento teleológico. Vamos a examinar ahora la doctrina agustiniana sobre estos dos argumentos. (shrink)

The subject of social justice are groups or whole societies – also states, object of this justice are their mutual rights and common good. The process of economic and technological globalization means among other things: establishment of the world market, predominant role of international companies, centralization of leading elites’ decisions, financial disproportion between individual people and countries. In the teaching of contemporary popes (John XXIII’s, Paul VI’s, John Paul II’s) the idea of social justice has also international dimension and therefore (...) process of economic globalization ought to respect two principles of the Church’s social teaching: the principle of the subsidiarity and the principle of solidarity. The principle of the subsidiarity demands to respect subjectivity of all nations and states as well as to aid their integral development. The principle of solidarity postulates creation of common good of world society, this good are: peace, economic prosperity, commerce profitable for all states, cooperation and financial help of rich countries for underdeveloped countries. The social justice in the international dimension is the expression and the imperative of solidarity of all nations and states. (shrink)