An artificial general intelligence (AGI) might have an instrumental drive to modify its utility function to improve its ability to cooperate, bargain, promise, threaten, and resist and engage in blackmail. Such an AGI would necessarily have a utility function that was at least partially observable and that was influenced by how other agents chose to interact with it. This instrumental drive would conflict with the strong orthogonality thesis since the modifications would be influenced by the AGI’s intelligence. AGIs in highly (...) competitive environments might converge to having nearly the same utility function, one optimized to favorably influencing other agents through game theory. Nothing in our analysis weakens arguments concerning the risks of AGI. (shrink)

Social robotics are autonomous robots or Artificial Moral Agents (AMA), that will interact respect and embody human ethical values. However, the conceptual and practical problems of building such systems have not yet been resolved, playing a role of significant challenge for computational modeling. It seems that the lack of success in constructing robots, ceteris paribus, is due to the conceptual and algorithmic limitations of the current design of ethical robots. This paper proposes a new approach for developing ethical capacities in (...) robotic systems, one based on the concept of Aristotelian phronesis. Phronesis in principle reflexes closer human ethics than the ethical paradigms we employ today in ethical robotics. This paper describes the essential features of phronesis and proposes a high-level architecture for implementing phronetic principles in autonomous robots. Phronetic robotics is in its early stages of conceptualization, so many of the presented ideas are speculative and require further research.2. (shrink)

In this paper, we examine the meta-ontology of AI systems with human-level intelligence, with us denoting such AI systems as AI E. Meta-ontology in philosophy is a discourse centered on ontology, ontological commitment, and the truth condition of ontological theories. We therefore discuss how meta-ontology is conceptualized for AI E systems. We posit that the meta-ontology of AI E systems is not concerned with computational representations of reality in the form of structures, data constructs, or computational concepts, while the ontological (...) commitment of AI E systems is directed toward what exists in the outside world. Furthermore, the truth condition of the ontology (which is meta-ontological assumption) of AI E systems does not require consistency with closed conceptual schema or ontological theories but rather with reality, or in other words, “what is the world” (Smith, 2019, p.57). In addition, the truth condition of AI E systems is verified through operational success rather than by coherence with theories. This work builds on ontological postulates about AI systems that were formulated by Brian Cantwell Smith (2019). (shrink)

This volume is written jointly by Witold Marciszewski, who contributed the introductory and the three subsequent chapters, and Roman Murawski who is the author of the next ones - those concerned with the 19th century and the modern inquiries into formalization, algebraization and mechanization of reasonings. Besides the authors there are other persons, as well as institutions, to whom the book owes its coming into being. The study which resulted in this volume was carried out in the Historical Section (...) of the research project _Logical Systems and Algorithms for Automatic Testing of Reasoning,_ 1986-1990, in which participated nine Polish universities; the project was coordinated by the Department of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science of the Bia??l??ystok Branch of the University of Warsaw, and supported by the Ministry of Education 1987). The major part of the project was focussed on the software for computer-aided theorem proving called Mizar MSE ) due to Dr. Andrzej Trybulec. He and other colleagues deserve a grateful mention for a hands-on experience and theoretical stimulants owed to their collaboration. (shrink)

This textbook is a second edition of the successful, Mathematical Logic: On Numbers, Sets, Structures, and Symmetry. It retains the original two parts found in the first edition, while presenting new material in the form of an added third part to the textbook. The textbook offers a slow introduction to mathematical logic, and several basic concepts of model theory, such as first-order definability, types, symmetries, and elementary extensions. Part I, Logic Sets, and Numbers, shows how mathematical logic is used to (...) develop the number structures of classical mathematics. All necessary concepts are introduced exactly as they would be in a course in mathematical logic; but are accompanied by more extensive introductory remarks and examples to motivate formal developments. The second part, Relations, Structures, Geometry, introduces several basic concepts of model theory, such as first-order definability, types, symmetries, and elementary extensions, and shows how they are used to study and classify mathematical structures. The added Part III to the book is closer to what one finds in standard introductory mathematical textbooks. Definitions, theorems, and proofs that are introduced are still preceded by remarks that motivate the material, but the exposition is more formal, and includes more advanced topics. The focus is on the notion of countable categoricity, which analyzed in detail using examples from the first two parts of the book. This textbook is suitable for graduate students in mathematical logic and set theory and will also be of interest to mathematicians who know the technical aspects of the subject, but are not familiar with its history and philosophical background. (shrink)

We argue that the Internet is, and is acting as, an EA because it shapes our belief systems, our worldviews. We explain key concepts for this discussion and provide illustrative examples to support our claims. Furthermore, we explain why recognising the Internet as an EA is important for Internet users and society in general. We discuss several ways in which the Internet influences the choices, beliefs, and attitudes of its users, and we compare this effect with those of psychological conditioning (...) and brainwashing techniques. Finally, we present examples where the Internet’s epistemic agency acts at scale, affecting large portions of society rather than individuals. (shrink)

Nicholas of Cusa was first of all a theologian but he was interested also in mathematic and natural sciences. In fact philosophico-theological and mathematical ideas were intertwined by him, theological and philosophical ideas influenced his mathematical considerations, in particular when he considered philosophical problems connected with mathematics and vice versa, mathematical ideas and examples were used by him to explain some ideas from theology. In this paper we attempt to indicate this mutual influence. We shall concentrate on the following problems: (...) the role and place of mathematics and mathematical knowledge in knowledge in general and in particular in theological knowledge, ontology of mathematical objects and their origin, in particular their relations to God and their meaning for the description of the world and physical reality, infinity in mathematics versus infinity in theology and their mutual relations and connections. It will be shown that—according to Nicholas—mathematics and mathematical thinking are tools of rationalization of theology and liberating it in a certain sense from the trap of apophatic theology. (shrink)

Today, there are several problems in the field of criminal law caused both by the emergence of new types of legal relations and by the imperfection of legislation. Due to the emergence of new challenges in the field of criminal law, many of them require theoretical understanding. Some of these challenges, generated in the light of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, revealed several reasons for discussion in the Ukrainian and international legal community. The purpose of the (...) study involves consideration of certain aspects of modern challenges in the field of criminal-legal relations, which arose against the background of the military aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. The first part of the study is devoted to the question of the qualification of war crimes committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine as acts of genocide. The second part of the work is devoted to the issue of using existing international legal mechanisms to hold the Russian Federation accountable for war crimes. There are convincing reasons to say that the actions of the Russian Federation during the war in Ukraine have signs of the crime of genocide. Even though Ukraine is not a party to the Rome Statute, the Ukrainian government can use another tool to bring the subjects of war crimes to justice, by creating a certain mixed investigative mechanism or a criminal tribunal that could deal directly with the crime of aggression. (shrink)

We find meaning and value in our lives by engaging in everyday projects. But, according to a recent argument by Samuel Scheffler, this value doesn’t depend merely on what the projects are about. In many cases, it depends also on the future generations that will replace us. By imagining the imminent extinction of humanity soon after our own deaths, we can recognize both that much of our current valuing depends on a background confidence in the ongoing survival of humanity and (...) that the survival and flourishing of those future generations matters to us. After presenting Scheffler’s argument, I will explore two twentieth century precursors—Hans Morgenthau and Simone de Beauvoir—before returning to Scheffler to see that his argument can not only show us why future generations matter, but it can also give us hope for immortality and a blueprint for embracing a changing future. (shrink)

This paper discusses the concept of information formulated by Michael (Michał) Heller. Heller—a philosopher, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and theologian—provided a complex image of information and its role in nature, which is rarely found in studies of information. Heller posited that the laws of nature may be interpreted as information, or as providing information, presenting this as a complementary view to scientific structuralism (not discussed in this paper). According to Heller, the informational content of a structure in nature is inversely proportional (...) to that structure’s degree of freedom. The more constrained or complex a structure is, and the less likely it is to exist, the more information it contains. In Heller’s view, the concept of information in Shannon’s Theory of Communication (ToC) is inadequate for expressing the notion of information beyond a numerical measure of a signal structure. Information in Heller’s research closely aligns with the concepts of Jacquette’s and Perzanowski’s combinatorial ontology (concepts not discussed in this paper) and the general theory of information (GTI) of Mark Burgin, although Heller did not explicitly make these connections. (shrink)

Lucrecio plantea una concepción de la realidad diferente a Epicuro, sobre todo porque ejerce la separación entre dos niveles ontológicos: el de la ontología especial y el de la ontología general. Lejos de la interpretación de que Lucrecio desprecia el latín sostenemos que intencionadamente utiliza términos latinos y que no utiliza la palabra átomo, para poder distanciarse de los debates de los aristotélicos y de los propios epicúreos sobre el tema.

This article reflects on the dynamics of the public sphere in the early modern period by analyzing the figure of the peasant and the notion of the common(s) in dialogue pamphlets. Beginning with a discussion of what it means to speak of a public sphere in relation to the early modern period, it examines one of the most famous Reformation dialogues, _Karst-hans_, published anonymously in 1521 in Strasbourg. Just before the German Peasants’ War (1524–26), the Lutheran dialogue, polemically directed against (...) the theologian and satirist Thomas Murner, positions the peasant as a critically mature citizen, with the hoe (_Karst_) symbolizing his potential militancy. This article specifically draws on the notion of publicity that the dialogue articulates. Using it as an example, this article analyzes the transitions and mutual projections between fiction, urban culture, and peasant protest, the structures of which are significant for the literary representation of agrarian protest far beyond the Reformation. In its final section, this article closely examines the media genre of the dialogue pamphlet and outlines some horizons of its historical development up to the Enlightenment concerning its political use and its relation to the ideal of a dialogic and socially leveled public sphere. By arguing that there existed an implicit ideal of the public sphere as a common good in the early modern period, the aim is also to clarify what distinguishes this early modern understanding of the public sphere from its conceptualization as a marketplace that has dominated our understanding of it since the Enlightenment. The prehistory presented here should provide resources for reimagining the future of the public sphere at a time when its actual structure is once again very much at stake. (shrink)

Este artículo delimita las principales tendencias de la crítica literaria feminista en el periodo 1980-2023. Mediante la investigación bibliográfica y el análisis documental, se caracterizan y analizan cinco modalidades específicas del trabajo crítico, realizado en el marco de los estudios literarios centroamericanos contemporáneos, a saber: (a.) las biografías y los estudios históricos sobre escritoras centroamericanas, (b.) las antologías de literatura escrita por mujeres, (c.) las traducciones de literatura femenina (d.) los trabajos monográficos, comparativos y de análisis de casos concretos y (...) (e.) las entradas de diccionarios a propósito de autoras regionales. (shrink)

Determinism and chance seem to be irreconcilable opposites: either something is chancy or it is deterministic but not both. Yet there are processes which appear to square the circle by being chancy and deterministic at once, and the appearance is backed by well-confirmed scientific theories such as statistical mechanics which also seem to provide us with chances for deterministic processes. Is this possible, and if so how? In this essay I discuss this question for probabilities as they occur in the (...) empirical sciences, setting aside metaphysical questions in connection with free will, divine intervention and determinism in history. (shrink)

Modern analytical metaphysics contains many theories and approaches regarding the problem of personal identity. This diversity inevitably leads to the emergence of various classifications, the authors of which are trying to develop a compact way of typologizing existing views. Most of the classifications involve a significant simplification of the theories and approaches under consideration, and some of them are not taken into account at all. As such global classifications, one can single out an approach based on the identity criterion used (...) in the theory (psychological, biological, narrative views). However, numerous local classifications allow one to point out potential differences in theories, even if formally they use a common criterion of identity. Other possible classifications are the division into endurantism and perdurantism, as well as simple (non-reductionist) and complex (reductionist) theories of identity. Special attention is paid to M. Shechtman‘s approach, which offers a local classification of narrative theories. Its main classification is the presentation of the views of researchers in the form of a possible spectrum. The place of a particular philosopher on this spectrum characterizes his views in relation to other supporters of the narrative approach. The purpose of this article is, based on the classification of narrative theories proposed by Shechtman, to propose a classification option for all theories and approaches to the problem of personal identity, which would be sensitive to conceptual details and differences that are important to them. (shrink)

People have always tried to make predictions; they are necessary and useful, but very often they commit obvious errors, which have negative consequences on decision-making. Prediction errors are in some cases, not few, unavoidable, because the world itself is unpredictable, subject to chance (or randomness in mathematics). Chance is a property of nature. The causes of random events are physically determined, but so numerous and complex that they (the events) are unpredictable. Science is not about certainty. Human knowledge itself is (...) not certain. We can only have provisional truths. Therefore, we must manage to reach a state of accommodation with uncertainty and unpredictability. The complexity of natural phenomena generates events that we cannot control through theoretical modeling precisely because of the ignorance of the causal mechanisms, which exist in their privacy but have not (yet) been revealed by the data and observations at our disposal. We have, on the one hand, life experience taken over and assimilated and established in society and, on the other hand, experience gained from real life. Norm and chance follow each other rather chaotically. The duration of validity of a norm and the moment of occurrence of the random event are unpredictable. However, norms and events coexist in our consciousness. Order and predictability are born (formed and exist) from rules; chance and unpredictability are born from the lack of rules. The highest truths, recognized as such by society cannot be transposed into the life of society only by the force of reason. It is imperative that they are reinforced and embedded in the social behavior of all citizens. Rules are needed. Without rules there is no freedom. (shrink)

Las cartas de Platón están realizadas siguiendo un método propio y son el testimonio más antiguo al que podemos referirnos para su biografía. Además, inauguran dicho método cuya estructura será copiada y utilizada hasta la actualidad. No es exagerado considerar que Platón pergeña la primera biografía de la historia cuya fórmula ha perdurado y que hemos descifrado en la carta VII.

Se analiza el feminismo como una nueva concepción de la idea de hombre. El feminismo se presenta como un movimiento alternativo que pretende superar el sesgo antropocéntrico de la filosofía y la cultura Occidental. Para comprobar esta posición de partida, se analizada el feminismo desde dos variables, la idea de sujeto y las ideas de hombre de Max Scheler. Desde la primera perspectiva se aplica una matriz fenoménico-materialista para clasificar los distintos feminismos y analizar en qué casos podría construir un (...) sujeto universal. Desde la segunda se analiza y clasifica el feminismo como un proyecto posthumanista o transhumanista, incluido en la idea pesimista de hombre. (shrink)

1. T. Das Werk -- 2. T. Ergänzende Texte.

У статті аналізуються причини, особливості та наслідки трансформації традиційного гендерного ладу. Стверджується, що в наш час відбувається надзвичайно потужна трансформація культурної парадигми. Одним із наслідків цієї трансформації є зміна звичного гендерного ладу та гендерної ідентичності. Автор доводить, що трансформація традиційного (патріархального) гендерного ладу здійснює вагомий вплив на соціальне буття людини, зокрема, на самоідентифікацію сучасної людини. Філософським підґрунтям трансформації традиційного гендерного ладу є відмова від універсалізму, «визнання іншого» та відхід від концепції «маскулінного характеру культури». Найбільш соціально значущий наслідок трансформації гендерного ладу (...) – поступове вирівнювання гендерних ролей чоловіка та жінки. Аналізуючи український контекст проблеми гендерних відносин, автор робить висновок, що українське суспільство значною мірою є ще патріархальним, про що свідчить домінування патріархальної культури та патріархальних стереотипів і цінностей. (shrink)

Translated excerpts from works by various authors; original titles and names of the translators given in captions.

The article discusses ways of developing bioethical guidance in the Orthodox Christian discourse. Here, “ethical” refers to what contributes to holiness, “un-ethical” refers to sin as what hinders man’s foundational calling to holiness. To explore the development of guidance for emerging bioethical issues, we use the “therapeutic” understanding of treatment for sin in two senses. (1) It refers to the spiritual means provided by the “hospital” of the Orthodox Church for healing the fallenness of human nature in general; and (2) (...) it helps identify in particular cases both what counts as transgression of unconditional boundaries (defining what is illicit for everyone) and what is advisable in order to help particular persons to choose rightly within the area of the “more or less licit” (or “permissible”). Sources of the Orthodox faith that frame the general understanding of the boundaries between the permissible and the impermissible reflect the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church framing her Sacred (Holy) Tradition. In Holy Tradition, prayers, as communion with God, occupy a central position. This is why Orthodox moral reasoning, and thus also Orthodox bioethics, takes the form of liturgical bioethics. Penalties of excommunication determine hard boundaries that believers should not overstep: when crossing such boundaries, they enter on a spiritually dangerous path that completely distracts them away from God. Many minor sins, by contrast, have not been codified in Canons. They are not taken to remove the sinner completely from contact with the Lord. Within this realm of actions, it depends on a person’s spiritual maturity whether such actions are classified as sinful. Thus, an act can be counted merely as a small offense if committed by a beginner, while that same act can become a grave sin for an advanced believer. Due to acceleration of the technological progress, Orthodox recourse to Holy Tradition encounters ever-new challenges. There are bioethical issues that had not surfaced at the time of the Fathers of the Church. Today, Bishops gathered at a local council can supply the guidance lacking on a newly emerging bioethical problem. Even if ratified only by such local councils, the resulting decrees can also be regarded as the expression of the Holy Spirit working within a local Church and conveying His guidance. The article illustrates this source of Christian bioethics by reference to how the Russian Orthodox Church orients and develops its position on the ethics of reproductive technologies. (shrink)

The current monopoly of psychology in the different facets of human life becomes psychological practice care increasingly suspect. And while it states legitimate targets, they are controversial. This paper highlights the lack of an agreed target between the professionals of psychological practice care. The first part argues that psychological practice care does not provide a clear and agreed target. This dissent is due to a disciplinary problem of psychology and it damages its image of responsible profession. In the second part, (...) we propose a goal that unifies various psychological practices care beyond their differences and through which its professional action is legitimate. The hypothesis presented is that the aim of psychological practice care is what begins it, that is, relief of suffering. However, to understand the nature of suffering, psychological practice care must regain its relationship with philosophy. (shrink)

Albrecht Dürer was German, but it was Italy he loved and followed the example of. Along with Erasmus of Rotterdam, he was one of the first to instil the ideas of Italian humanism in northern Europe, paying attention to the study of ancient culture, and thus fighting for the renewal of art in the spirit of the Renaissance. Dürer believed that using the patterns developed in Florence, the art of imaging would achieve unprecedented narrative power. The uniqueness of the artist (...) from Nuremberg was also that he was able not only to assimilate and synthesise German Gothic art with the achievements of the Florentine school, but also to develop his own vision of the theory of art taking into account the specifics of native art. His research on the theory of movement, the implementation of objects into the structure of the image, the search for the perfect beauty in woodcut and copper engraving can be considered to be unique and pioneering projects in Germany. The influence of Dürer on the sphere of Renaissance iconography is invaluable, but unfortunately it is often omitted in the literature as secondary or even insignificant. The article shows that Dürer’s theoretical influence on the shape of early modern art is noteworthy. (shrink)

The Logic & Structure project is about the language of mathematical logic and how it can be of use in the visual arts. It involves a conversation between a mathematical logician and a group of artists. The project is ongoing, and this is a report on its first two phases. This text has two parts. The first, “Logic”, is a short introduction to certain aspects of logic, as it was presented to the participants. The second part, “Structures”, describes some of (...) the outcomes.The inspiration for the project comes from modern model theory whose advances revealed the extent to which formal methods may be helpful in describing and analysing mathematical structures. While the structures that are studied are often immensely complex, the formal language in which their properties can be expressed is simple. Its syntax is precisely defined and well understood, and this understanding often successfully guides us in our explorations of the rich world of mathematical objects. Our goal is to see the extent to which a similar approach could be of value when talking about works of art as structures. To this end, one could try to describe existing art objects in terms of suitably chosen formal languages, but we follow a reverse route. The language is described first, and the participating artists are asked to come up with artwork in which formal elements and their relations are chosen in advance, making it easier to identify those features of the created pieces that can be formally expressed. In other words, we are not thinking of applying formal methods to create art; rather we want to begin with samples that can serve as material for discussion. (shrink)

The article deals with the phenomenon of "social memory" in the light of current research studies. The next step is to see the recovery of the people's memory through the lens of biblical texts. The book of the prophet Jonah and the passage from the book of the prophet Amos 2:1-3 are the main texts the study is based on. The author emphasizes the main aspects of the text of the prophet Amos: condemnation of those who destroy the memory of (...) another people; indicating the consequences that the aggressor should expect for his action. (shrink)

This article will introduce Isaac Newton’s fundamental methodological concepts applied for a solution concerning a question of gravity in his Principia Mathematica. The method of deduction of propositions from phenomena can be described as demonstrative induction. The main aim is to show that this method proposed by Newton explicitly contains a criticism of hypothetico-deductive methodology as an inadequate approach to the study of nature. As opposed to hypothetico-deductive method, demonstrative induction is capable of producing theories with much richer empirical and (...) epistemological value. Delimitation against hypothetically deduced theories is closely connected with criticism of mechanical materialism, most notably in a form proposed by René Descartes. Consequently, it has led Newton to not only reject the universality of mechanical premise but also to certain level of immunization against all competitive hypothetically based theories. (shrink)

From a historical perspective the reflection of opposites is a creative strategy of coping with infinite regress. The lawfulness of law is only a particular version of the general paradox that occurs when a distinction is applied to itself. Common legal techniques of avoiding the paradox of self-reference amount to evacuating it or to building hierarchies. Modern strategies futurize the problem under the paradigms of autonomy and procedurality. With increasing complexity legal self-descriptions all the more cling to the ideals of (...) completeness, coherence, and accurate generalisation. However, one can retrace antinomical structures: The legal system is at the same time incomplete, caught in multiple binds, and inadequate from case to case due to highly selective concepts. The law keeps producing conflicts that again must be legally resolved. (shrink)

Russian translation of the XVIII and XIX sections of the third volume of Ingarden R. Spór o istnienie Świata . Translated by Maxim Lebedev and Yanina Kubka from Polish, the translation is compared with German translation by Alexander Nesterow.

Parece que Platón enseñó en la Academia otras doctrinas diferentes de las expuestas por él en los diálogos. Además, parece también que voluntariamente se abstuvo de consignarlas por escrito al creer que la palabra, la enseñanza oral, era un medio más eficaz que la escritura para transmitir aquello que "tenía importancia". Dicho así, puede resultar una paradoja que el mejor prosista griego, sea un detractor, al menos en parte, de la prosa escrita. A partir de aquí, las interpretaciones novedosas que (...) han provocado las doctrinas no-escritas de Platón han generado debates a veces imposibles de resolver. Añadir unas breves notas a estas discusiones es la intención de este artículo. (shrink)