We obtain several game characterizations of Baire 1 functions between Polish spaces _X_, _Y_ which extends the recent result of V. Kiss. Then we propose similar characterizations for equi-Bare 1 families of functions. Also, using related ideas, we give game characterizations of Baire measurable and Lebesgue measurable functions.

We generalize the Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem on ideal convergence. We show examples of ideals with and without the Bolzano-Weierstrass property, and give characterizations of BW property in terms of submeasures and extendability to a maximal P-ideal. We show applications to Rudin-Keisler and Rudin-Blass orderings of ideals and quotient Boolean algebras. In particular we show that an ideal does not have BW property if and only if its quotient Boolean algebra has a countably splitting family.

In the paper some consequence operations generated by ukasiewicz's matrices are examined.

In the paper I explore the relations between a relatively new and quickly expanding branch of artificial intelligence –- the automated discovery systems –- and some new views advanced in the old debate over scientific realism. I focus my attention on one such system, GELL-MANN, designed in 1990 at Wichita State University. The program's task was to analyze elementary particle data available in 1964 and formulate an hypothesis (or hypotheses) about a `hidden', more simple structure of matter, or to put (...) it in contemporary terms –- the discovery of quarks. The central thesis of my paper is that systems like GELL-MANN not only discover (or rediscover) the hidden structure of matter, but also provide independent strong evidence in favor of scientific realism about entities involved in that structure. I make an attempt to show how an argument for scientific realism about sub-microscopic entities can be constructed that would parallel Ian Hacking's `argument from coincidence' presented with respect to microscopic objects in his famous book Representing and Intervening. (shrink)

We study the structure of the partial order induced by the definability relation on definitions of truth for the language of arithmetic. Formally, a definition of truth is any sentence $$\alpha $$ which extends a weak arithmetical theory (which we take to be $${{\,\mathrm{I\Delta _{0}+\exp }\,}}$$ ) such that for some formula $$\Theta $$ and any arithmetical sentence $$\varphi $$, $$\Theta (\ulcorner \varphi \urcorner )\equiv \varphi $$ is provable in $$\alpha $$. We say that a sentence $$\beta $$ is definable (...) in a sentence $$\alpha $$, if there exists an unrelativized translation from the language of $$\beta $$ to the language of $$\alpha $$ which is identity on the arithmetical symbols and such that the translation of $$\beta $$ is provable in $$\alpha $$. Our main result is that the structure consisting of truth definitions which are conservative over the basic arithmetical theory forms a countable universal distributive lattice. Additionally, we generalize the result of Pakhomov and Visser showing that the set of (Gödel codes of) definitions of truth is not $$\Sigma _2$$ -definable in the standard model of arithmetic. We conclude by remarking that no $$\Sigma _2$$ -sentence, satisfying certain further natural conditions, can be a definition of truth for the language of arithmetic. (shrink)

Given the adage “older and wiser,” it seems justified to assume that older people may be stereotyped as more moral than younger people. We aimed to study whether assessments of a person’s morality differ depending on their age. We asked 661 individuals from seven societies (Australians, Britons, Burusho of Pakistan, Canadians, Dani of Papua, New Zealanders, and Poles) whether younger (~20-year-old), middle-aged (~40-year-old), or older (~60-year-old) people were more likely to behave morally and have a sense of right and wrong. (...) We observed that older people were perceived as more moral than younger people. The effect was particularly salient when comparing 20-year-olds to either 40- or 60-year-olds and was culturally universal, as we found it in both WEIRD (i.e. Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) and non-WEIRD societies. (shrink)

The paper presents the possibility of using the lifestyle concept for better recognition of the employee motivation attitude towards work leadership and managerial behaviours. That could result in better human capital management in different types of organizations. Different approaches to the lifestyle concept are presented in the paper. Also the linkage between the motivation theory, here the Douglas McGregor theory, and the lifestyle based theory VALS is examined.

Globalization is a cultural phenomenon. The authors present the thematically multi-dimensional and theoretically complex contribution of Polish research on globalization. They do not approach globalization as an abstract process, instead exploring it through the lens of clearly defined factors.

The paper deals with the problem of digital restitution of art to post-colonial and postdependency countries. A new model of digital restitution composed of two elements: creation of a digital copy with a NFT attached and creation of new property right in a physical and digital object has been proposed. A system of balances between the rights and duties based on the prior user concept has been developed.

In visual information processing, two kinds of vision are distinguished: vision-for-perception related to the conscious identifi cation of objects, and vision-for-action that deals with visual control of movements. Neuroscience suggests that these two functions are performed by two separate brain neural systems - the ventral and dorsal pathways. Two experiments using behavioural measures were conducted with the objective of exploring any potential interaction between these two functions of vision. The aim was to combine in one task methods allowing for the (...) simultaneous capture of both perceptual global processing and affordance extraction and to check whether they infi uence each other. This aim was achieved by employing the paradigms of Navon and Tucker and Ellis. A compound fi gure was created made up of objects with handles that might or might not have orientation congruent between levels. The results revealed that while the affordance effect occurred every time, the Navon effect appeared only when subjects focused their attention on object elements responsible for inconsistence within compound fi gure. Most importantly, even when these two effects occurred at once, they had no effect on each other. Results from the study failed to confi rm the hypothesis about interaction and gives support to the view that vision-for-perception and vision-for-action tend to act as separate systems. (shrink)

Why ask ‘what after post-modernism’? This question implies that postmodernism, as a grand narrative, recently withered away, that this is an event educators should be concerned with, and that it ca...

The Middle English Pearl is known for its mixture of genres, moods and various discourses. The textual journey the readers of the poem embark on is a long and demanding one, leading from elegiac lamentations and the erotic outbursts of courtly love to theological debates and apocalyptic visions. The heterogeneity of the poem has often prompted critics to overlook the continuity of the erotic mode in Pearl which emerges already in the poem’s first stanza. While it is true that throughout (...) the dream vision the language of the text never eroticizes the relationship between the Dreamer and the Pearl Maiden to the extent that it does in the opening lines, the article argues that eroticism actually underlies the entire structure of the vision proper. Taking recourse to Roland Barthes’s distinction between the erotic and the sexual to explain the exact nature of the bond which connects the two characters, the argument posits eroticism as an expression of somatic longing; a careful analysis of Pearl through this prism provides a number of ironic insights into the mutual interactions between the Dreamer and the Maiden and highlights the poignancy of their inability to understand each other. Further conclusions are also drawn from comparing Pearl with a number of Chaucerian dream visions. Tracing the erotic in both its overt and covert forms and following its transformations in the course of the narrative, the article outlines the poet’s creative use of the mechanics of the dream vision, an increasingly popular genre in the period when the poem was written. (shrink)

The article investigates the canonical plays of William Shakespeare—Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest—in an attempt to determine the nature of Shakespeare’s position on the early modern tendency to demonize fairy belief and to view fairies as merely a form of demonic manifestation. Fairy belief left its mark on all four plays, to a greater or lesser extent, and intertwined with the religious concerns of the period, it provides an important perspective on the problem of religion in (...) Shakespeare’s works. The article will attempt to establish whether Shakespeare subscribed to the tendency of viewing fairies as demonic agents, as epitomized by the Daemonologie of King James, or opposed it. Special emphasis will also be put on the conflation of fairies and Catholicism that one finds best exemplified in Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan. The article draws on a wealth of recent scholarship on early modern fairies, bringing together historical reflection on the changing perception of the fairy figure, research into Shakespeare’s attitude towards Catholicism and analyses of the many facets of anti-Catholic polemic emerging from early modern Protestant discourse. (shrink)

The articles in this collection focus on philosophical approaches to proper names. The issues discussed include abstract names, empty names, naming and name-using practices, definite descriptions, individuals, reference, designation, sense and semantics. The contributions show the importance and lasting influence of theories proposed by John Stuart Mill, Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell, Donald Davidson, and Saul Kripke. Individual chapters assess traditional analyses and modern controversies, and contribute to the debate on proper names in contemporary philosophy of language.

This collection brings together contributions by linguists, philosophers, and logicians, offering interdisciplinary approaches to current research on semantics and meaning. Individual chapters concentrate on different issues and demonstrate that semantics and meaning have remained in the center of research carried out within contemporary linguistics and philosophy, especially the philosophy of language.

COVID-19 did not disappear in the third year (2022) of the global pandemic. On the contrary, the number of infected people several times exceeded the highs of previous years, but the greater morbidity was not accompanied by a relatively comparable number of deaths. Some studies showed that the SARS-CoV-2 virus impact, e.g. in CEE EU countries, characterizes the seasonal intensity as temperatures fall or rise in relative humidity. All researchers agree that the number of COVID-19-infected people is only an estimate (...) based on the volume of tests performed and that the true numbers are usually much higher. The implementation of spatial interaction modeling could potentially aid in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the inherently spatial nature of its diffusion. The gravity models used in this investigation to simulate the regional spread of the COVID-19 epidemic are based methodologically on previous empirical studies. The proposed methodology uses techniques for modeling spatial interactions due to the epidemics described above, which are a direct result of the number of contacts between individuals. The COVID-19 pandemic can be studied regionally using spatial diffusion methods as well as population potential models (spatial interaction models) and visualized using geographic information system software. Empirical verification and geovisualizations are based on available recent population and pandemic statistics that are possible to acquire from national health services. Methodologically, this type of modeling and simulation aimed at reconstructing a factual situation can be defined as abductive chorological inferring. (shrink)

Ultimism is the view that there is a metaphysically and axiologically ultimate reality in relation to which it is possible to achieve the ultimate good. John Schellenberg believes that ultimism is the backbone of every religion, while the differences between religions arise from different views of what the nature of the ultimate is. Schellenberg tries to show that if there is progress in religion, then it is most reasonable to assume that we are only at the beginning of the inquiry (...) into the ultimate. The aim of the paper is to show that epistemological and methodological objections can be raised against ultimism. It will present an epistemological argument, pointing to the cognitive limitations of imagination, and a methodological argument, questioning the feasibility of Schellenberg’s project. (shrink)

This is a review article of a recently published guide to the philosophy of language, Przewodnik po filozofii języka, Wydawnictwo WAM, Kraków 2016). The article presents this publication against a background of other monographs and guides devoted to the topic of the contemporary philosophy of language which have been published in English. It aims at highlighting the main issues discussed by this philosophy, as well as its relation to linguistics.

The article presents the question of understanding divine causality and its analogical character in the context of Thomas Aquinas’s teaching on Divine Providence. Analyzing Aquinas’s texts concerning the relation of God’s action towards nature and its activities it is necessary to emphasize the proper understanding of mutual relations between secondary causes and the primary cause which are not on the same level. Influenced by the reflection of M. Dodds and I Silva, the author of the article refers to Aquinas’s biblical (...) commentaries which have not been discussed so far from the perspective of the character of God’s action. In the final part of the article, metaphors used by Thomas in reference to the relation of God towards the world will be presented. (shrink)

This theoretical paper is offered in the spirit of advancing the debate on the socioemotional wealth construct and its impact on how family firms conceptualize and practise corporate social responsibility. The study builds on Kellermanns et al.’s :1175–1182, 2012) claim that the SEW dimensions can be positively and negatively valenced as well as makes a distinction between the selective and instrumental approach to CSR and the holistic and normative one. Drawing on these considerations, it provides a theoretical underpinning in favour (...) of the view that SEW has ambivalent nature and therefore can produce detrimental outcomes for stakeholders of family companies. In this way, the study challenges the implicit assumption prevalent in the literature that SEW is “a prosocial and positive stimulus”. Crucially, it expands on the SEW construct by arguing that, given its ambivalent nature, SEW, as such, is at odds with the “strategic, whole-business view of responsibility”. Consequently, it posits that family firms—because of their concern with SEW—may be more likely to adopt the instrumental and selective rather than strategic and normative approach. Hence, it also makes the case for regarding the latter as a reference point to investigate the family company’s attitude towards social responsibility. It concludes by summarising the argument and offering future research avenues. (shrink)

Samuel J. Wheeler defends Wittgenstein's criticism of Cantor's set theory against the objections raised by Hilary Putnam. Putnam claims that Wittgenstein's dismissal of the basic tenets of this set theory concerning the noncountability of the set of real numbers was unfounded and ill‐conceived. In Wheeler's view, Putnam's charges result from his failure to grasp Wittgenstein's intention and, in particular, to consider the difference between empirical and logical impossibility. In my paper, I argue that Wheeler's defence is unsuccessful and, at the (...) same time, that Putnam's objections go too far. (shrink)

Rozprawa Doktora Piotra Domerackiego zatytułowana Horyzonty i perspektywy monoseologii. Filozoficzne studium samotności stanowi ciekawą i oryginalną propozycję intelektualną. Jako oczywiste plusy przedstawionego opracowania wskazać należy oryginalność tematyki, rozległość studiów oraz dojrzały charakter refleksji autora. Samotność stanowi temat ciągle aktualny i powracający, a jednocześnie zaskakujący złożonością i wielowymiarowością. Jest to przy tym temat, który prowokuje do pytań o naszą własną tożsamość, stanowi punkt wyjścia dla autoanalizy i pytania o relacje z innymi. Odpowiedzi na pytanie o mechanizm rozprzęgania się tych więzi i (...) konsekwencje tych procesów dla człowieka ukazują paradoksy i sprzeczności myślenia o tym zagadnieniu. […] W przedstawionym opracowaniu dr Piotr Domeracki podejmuje ogromny wysiłek przedstawienia całej tej złożoności i wewnętrznych napięć organizujących badania i refleksję nad samotnością. Realizując podjęte zadanie, Autor odnosi wiele sukcesów. Z recenzji wydawniczej dr hab. Heleny Ciążeli, prof. APS, Warszawa Wszelki system wiedzy o samotności, jeśli aspiruje do zupełności oraz jeśli ma być wiarygodny, miarodajny i funkcjonalny, powinien być komplementarny, to znaczy powinien umiejętnie łączyć minimalistyczną oraz maksymalistyczną (w sensie Walzerowskim) perspektywę oglądu i deskrypcji. Zasadniczą trudnością w precyzyjnym i kompleksowym opisie samotności jest jej wysoce ograniczona komunikowalność na poziomie doznaniowości. Samotność jest bowiem niezwykle oporna wobec możliwości empatycznego jej współprzeżywania. Z tego powodu jawi się ona jako agregat takich negatywnie percypowanych własności i określeń, jak monadyczność, solipsystyczność, apatyczność, autystyczność czy outsiderstwo. Zasadniczym celem niniejszej monografii – oprócz intencji wyłożenia i popularyzacji standardów wiedzy monoseologicznej – jest dążenie do przedstawienia jak najszerszego spektrum problemowego oraz siatki pojęciowej filozofii samotności. (shrink)

The process of continuing education of paramedics is based on gaining educational credits during five-year educational periods. One of the forms of self-improvement are Internet-based educational programs. The lack of regulations concerning the organizational and technical aspects of e-learning made the authors attempt to analyze the phenomenon. The aim of the article is to present an initial analysis of the role of online educational programs in comparison with other forms of professional training of paramedics. One in three respondents has recently (...) used one of the methods of distance learning. Despite the low awareness of the effectiveness of e-learning, almost 70% of the interviewees expressed a positive opinion about it and over 50% were willing to use such forms in the future. The respondents preferred online trainings in the asynchronous version, containing audio-visual materials and providing the possibility to obtain a certificate issued to the participant after completing the course. The demand for topics in the area of professional training included mainly the fields of Drug Therapy, electrotherapy, electrocardiogram evaluation, medical segregation, and help in delivery in pre-hospital conditions. Modern forms of distance learning do not make it possible to acquire practical skills, yet their role in professional training of paramedics is still significant. According to the authors, online educational programs constitute an effective complement to traditional training through the performance of tasks in a mixed form, known as blended-learning. (shrink)

Some subfamilies of κ, for κ regular, κ λ, called -semimorasses are investigated. For λ = κ+, they constitute weak versions of Velleman's simplified -morasses, and for λ > κ+, they provide a combinatorial framework which in some cases has similar applications to the application of -morasses with this difference that the obtained objects are of size λ κ+, and not only of size κ+ as in the case of morasses. New consistency results involve existence of nonreflecting objects of singular (...) sizes of uncountable cofinality such as a nonreflecting stationary set in κ, a nonreflecting nonmetrizable space of size λ, a nonreflecting nonspecial tree of size λ. We also characterize possible minimal sizes of nonspecial trees without uncountable branches. (shrink)

The rule of Continuous Improvement is one of the pillars of the concept of Total Quality Management. It states that one should continuously seek the sources of arising problems and eliminate or minimize them. The article presents a method of implementing the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility based on the above rule and afterwards it identifies the most important advantages of using the rule. The article also stresses its usefulness in the area of Small and Medium-sized Companies.

The questions concerning control over the environment are becoming increasingly more significant. From ecology to medicine, from bioethics to transhumanism, there are many different issues reflected and acted upon, which have an important common element, namely underlying premises about the relationship between the natural biosphere and humans. Hans Jonas, in his book The Imperative of Responsibility: In Search for an Ethics for the Technological Age, first published over 40 years ago in German as Das Prinzip Verantwortung: Versuch einer Ethik für (...) die technologische Zivilisation, proposed philosophical and ethical foundations for understanding this relationship. One of the underestimated Hans Jonas’ reflections concerns the characteristic of power. The paper analyzes the concept of power presented along with the imperative of responsibility, as well as three different degrees of power characteristic for Jonas’ approach to the notion of power. The paper presents this structure of power and the underlying philosophical considerations that constitute a basis for it. It also provides an argument that these considerations may be used as a framework for understanding many contemporary challenges and ethical responsibility in the technological age. (shrink)

The article deals with the question of the language and the style of drama Potrójny z Plauta by Piotr Ciekliński. The author of the treatise emphasized the most important components creating the artistic structure of the work, especially regional elements which are so essential for the writings of old literature.

Piotr Cyciura Human Freedom and MetaphysicsHuman freedom is in a sense the topic of metaphysics. Freedom is usually regarded as what is the most perfect in the reality. For man being perfect is the same as acting in the way which is proper for him only, viz., acting in a rational manner. However, what man desires is more perfect than what he is. The human existence is participated whereas what man aims at in the most rational manner is the (...) Existence itself. Therefore God (as loved and known) guarantees the human freedom. The value is everything that brings us closer to Him – everything save God and persons – provided we offer it to Him. It is our choice whether we make whatever is ours obey to God or not. However, what is eventually achieved is not what is ours but we ourselves – living in the Life itself. There are no borders for the human freedom in the physical world; whatever bears upon us, i.e. what is natural, could become an offering, whereas what is offered to Him in the way He cannot reject it is the only absolute value. Keywords: freedom, values, metaphysics, God. (shrink)

This article introduces a model of levels of analysis applied to statements found in philosophical, scientific, and religious discourses in order to facilitate a more accurate description of the relation between science and religion. The empirical levels prove to be the most crucial for the relation between science and religion, because they include statements that are important parts of both scientific and religious discourse, whereas statements from metaphysical levels are only important in terms of religion and are neutral in relation (...) to particular scientific theories. In particular, the rejection of certain ontological assumptions behind special divine action logically entails the rejection of the literal meaning of empirical statements describing special open expression of supernatural factors in nature. Such a rejection also entails an essential revision of many religious systems of beliefs, including traditional Christian theism. (shrink)

Abraham Robinson’s framework for modern infinitesimals was developed half a century ago. It enables a re-evaluation of the procedures of the pioneers of mathematical analysis. Their procedures have been often viewed through the lens of the success of the Weierstrassian foundations. We propose a view without passing through the lens, by means of proxies for such procedures in the modern theory of infinitesimals. The real accomplishments of calculus and analysis had been based primarily on the elaboration of novel techniques for (...) solving problems rather than a quest for ultimate foundations. It may be hopeless to interpret historical foundations in terms of a punctiform continuum, but arguably it is possible to interpret historical techniques and procedures in terms of modern ones. Our proposed formalisations do not mean that Fermat, Gregory, Leibniz, Euler, and Cauchy were pre-Robinsonians, but rather indicate that Robinson’s framework is more helpful in understanding their procedures than a Weierstrassian framework. (shrink)

W bogatej literaturze poświęconej C.S. Lewisowi wskazuje się na trzy spotykane w jego publikacjach argumenty przeciwko naturalizmowi filozoficznemu. Są to argument z rozumu, argument z moralności oraz argument z Pragnienia (lub pragnienia transcendencji). Celem artykułu jest wykazanie, że Lewis przedstawił także inne antynaturalistyczne rozumowanie odwołujące się do numinotycznej bojaźni, o której pisał Rudolf Otto. W tekście omawiam charakterystykę Pragnienia dokonaną przez Lewisa oraz spotykane w literaturze ujęcia Pragnienia, w których zestawia się je z doświadczeniem numinotycznym. Wykazuję, że Lewis charakteryzował Pragnienie, (...) pisząc o uczuciach rozkoszy, tęsknoty, smutku i niezaspokojenia, wskazywał na subiektywność tego doświadczenia, twierdził, że wywoływane jest ono przez rzeczy z tego świata oraz że ma ono charakter powszechny. Cechy te odróżniają je od doświadczenia numinotycznego. Odmiennie niż w doświadczeniu numinotycznym jest to też odczucie braku czegoś, a nie obecności Boga czy bóstwa. Na tej podstawie argumentuję, że wbrew popularnym ujęciom, Pragnienie, o którym pisał Lewis, różni się istotnie od doświadczenia numinotycznego, a przede wszystkim od doświadczenia numinotycznej bojaźni. Ponieważ Lewis odwoływał się do doświadczenia numinotycznego w swojej argumentacji przeciwko naturalizmowi, stąd można mówić o istnieniu czwartego antynaturalistycznego argumentu Lewisa – argumentu z numinotycznej bojaźni. (shrink)

The article reviews the book Filozofia analityczna. Koncepcje, metody, organiczenia [Analytic Philosophy. Concepts, Methods, Limitations], by Tadeusz Szubka.

Celem artykułu jest charakterystyka filozofii chrześcijańskiej w kategoriach tradycji badawczej. Za Larrym Laudanem uznano, że tradycja badawcza nadaje się do eksplikacji pojęcia filozofii chrześcijańskiej. W tym celu autor przybliża najpierw kluczowe pojęcie tradycji badawczej, następnie analizuje pojęcie obrazu świata, które zawsze jest związane z określoną tradycją badawczą. Kolejnym krokiem jest konstrukcja projektującej definicji filozofii chrześcijańskiej jako tradycji badawczej. W artykule wykazano, że filozofia chrześcijańska jako tradycja badawcza jest tradycją pluralistyczną i zdemokratyzowaną. Na zakończenie sformułowano kilka deklaracji metaprzedmiotowych, odnoszących się do (...) metody uprawiania filozofii chrześcijańskiej. Metodą tą powinna być dyskutowalność, czyli niedyktatorska gra zachodząca między przedstawicielami różnych tradycji badawczych wyznających odmienne obrazy świata. (shrink)

Celem artykułu jest prezentacja i rekonstrukcja argumentów sformułowanych przez tomistów egzystencjalnych przeciwko ontologii uprawianej przez fenomenologów. Całość dyskusji zaprezentowano na ogólnym tle krytyki fenomenologii jako sposobu uprawiania filozofii. W artykule zaprezentowano najważniejsze argumenty, następnie oceniono ich wartość merytoryczną, biorąc pod uwagę kontekst historyczny, przedmiotowy i metodologiczny. Zwrócono uwagę na wartość tej dyskusji dla kształtowania dialogu filozoficznego między tomizmem a fenomenologią oraz na aktualność podejmowanej problematyki. Dialog ten u niektórych tomistów doprowadził do nowego przemyślenia szeregu kwestii metafizyki tomistycznej. Wskazano również, że (...) współcześnie tomizm i ontologia fenomenologiczna mają wspólnego przeciwnika jakim jest naturalizm w różnych wariantach. W związku z tym rekomendowano, że między tomizmem a ontologią fenomenologiczną powinna zachodzić głębsza współpraca, gdyż tylko wtedy będzie można podjąć sensowną debatę z naturalizmem, który sięgając nawet po środki administracyjne stara się wprost wyeliminować tak metafizykę klasyczną, jak i fenomenologię. (shrink)