This paper is an introduction into the theory of cellular spaces. From the more general model of nets of abstract cells which are interpreted by finite automata, it is shown how the model of cellular spaces is achieved by specialization. Cellular spaces are extremely homogeneous in function and in geometry. The relation between local and global behavior is regarded as the main topic of the theory. After a formal definition of cellular spaces, it is shown that not all functions of (...) the configuration space are induced by cellular spaces. In addition, the Garden-of-Eden problem is discussed, and a simple self-reproduction property is explained. (shrink)

The first English translation of a classic work in vision science from 1936 by a leading figure in the Gestalt movement, covering topics that continue to be major issues in vision research today. This classic work in vision science, written by a leading figure in Germany's Gestalt movement in psychology and first published in 1936, addresses topics that remain of major interest to vision researchers today. Wolfgang Metzger's main argument, drawn from Gestalt theory, is that the objects we perceive (...) in visual experience are not the objects themselves but perceptual effigies of those objects constructed by our brain according to natural rules. Gestalt concepts are currently being increasingly integrated into mainstream neuroscience by researchers proposing network processing beyond the classical receptive field. Metzger's discussion of such topics as ambiguous figures, hidden forms, camouflage, shadows and depth, and three-dimensional representations in paintings will interest anyone working in the field of vision and perception, including psychologists, biologists, neurophysiologists, and researchers in computational vision—and artists, designers, and philosophers. Each chapter is accompanied by compelling visual demonstrations of the phenomena described; the book includes 194 illustrations, drawn from visual science, art, and everyday experience, that invite readers to verify Metzger's observations for themselves. Today's researchers may find themselves pondering the intriguing question of what effect Metzger's theories might have had on vision research if Laws of Seeing and its treasure trove of perceptual observations had been available to the English-speaking world at the time of its writing. (shrink)

The paper displays the similarity between the theory of probabilistic causation developed by Glymour et al. since 1983 and mine developed since 1976: the core of both is that causal graphs are Bayesian nets. The similarity extends to the treatment of actions or interventions in the two theories. But there is also a crucial difference. Glymour et al. take causal dependencies as primitive and argue them to behave like Bayesian nets under wide circumstances. By contrast, I argue the behavior of (...) Bayesian nets to be ultimately the defining characteristic of causal dependence. (shrink)

The paper attempts to rationalize cooperation in the one-shot prisoners' dilemma (PD). It starts by introducing (and preliminarily investigating) a new kind of equilibrium (differing from Aumann's correlated equilibria) according to which the players' actions may be correlated (sect. 2). In PD the Pareto-optimal among these equilibria is joint cooperation. Since these equilibria seem to contradict causal preconceptions, the paper continues with a standard analysis of the causal structure of decision situations (sect. 3). The analysis then raises to a reflexive (...) point of view according to which the agent integrates his own present and future decision situations into the causal picture of his situation (sect. 4). This reflexive structure is first applied to the toxin puzzle and then to Newcomb's problem, showing a way to rationalize drinking the toxin and taking only one box with-out assuming causal mystery (sect. 5). The latter result is finally extended to a rationalization of cooperation in PD (sect. 6). (shrink)

The article deals with some aspects of Dilthey’s thought. First, we examine those elements of Dilthey’s philosophy that play important role in the discussion of his ideas in the 20th century. Next, we refer to the relation of some representatives of late hermeneutics to Dilthey. Finally, we study and evaluate some views of Dilthey’s critics. Key words DILTHEY, HERMENEUTIC PHILOSOPHY.

Let an oracle be called low for prefix-free complexity on a set in case access to the oracle improves the prefix-free complexities of the members of the set at most by an additive constant. Let an oracle be called weakly low for prefix-free complexity on a set in case the oracle is low for prefix-free complexity on an infinite subset of the given set. Furthermore, let an oracle be called low and weakly for prefix-free complexity along a sequence in case (...) the oracle is low and weakly low, respectively, for prefix-free complexity on the set of initial segments of the sequence. Our two main results are the following characterizations. An oracle is low for prefix-free complexity if and only if it is low for prefix-free complexity along some sequences if and only if it is low for prefix-free complexity along all sequences. An oracle is weakly low for prefix-free complexity if and only if it is weakly low for prefix-free complexity along some sequence if and only if it is weakly low for prefix-free complexity along almost all sequences. As a tool for proving these results, we show that prefix-free complexity differs from its expected value with respect to an oracle chosen uniformly at random at most by an additive constant, and that similar results hold for related notions such as a priori probability. Furthermore, we demonstrate that on every infinite set almost all oracles are weakly low but are not low for prefix-free complexity, while by Shoenfield absoluteness there is an infinite set on which uncountably many oracles are low for prefix-free complexity. Finally, we obtain no-gap results, introduce weakly low reducibility, or WLK-reducibility for short, and show that all its degrees except the greatest one are countable. (shrink)

Dieser Band bietet einen umfassenden Überblick über die normativen Theorien der Wissenschaft. Ende des 19. und Anfang des 20. Jhs. schien die Philosophie ihre Kompetenz in der Behandlung der Grundlagenprobleme der menschlichen Existenz an die Physik abzugeben. Einige Philosophen nutzten ihre Kenntnisse in Mathematik und Logik, um durch den Bezug auf die philosophischen Traditionen der Erkenntnistheorie mit den normativen Wissenschaftstheorien des Logische Positivismus, des Kritischen Rationalismus und des Konstruktivismus philosophisches Terrain zu erhalten. Ihr weit überzogener und nicht zu rechtfertigender Anspruch, (...) den Wissenschaftlern korrektes wissenschaftliches Arbeiten vorzuschreiben, hat trotz ihrer wissenschaftsfördernden Arbeiten wie etwa die Metrisierungstheorie oder die sprachliche Bedeutungslehre das Ansehen der Wissenschaftstheorie ruiniert. Der Band III ist darum ein Wiederbelebungsversuch einer interdisziplinären für alle Wissenschaften fruchtbaren Theorie der Wissenschaften. (shrink)

If it is the tendency of technology, and especially of information and communication technology, particularly in the context of the smart city, not to empower the human person but rather to disenfranchise them by curtailing their capability to judge and choose, how can one counter this dynamic? Code, make, talk, and pray are suggested as possible modes of resistance.

This article tries to disentangle different perspectives on nature in Aristotle's biological work. In one sense Aristotle speaks of nature as a craft-like factor in the generation of living beings. In another sense 'nature' refers to Aristotle's conception of an unchanging universe, in which the individual living beings are perishable, but reproduce themselves and thus guarantee that the essential blueprints of the different species (eidê) remain the same. In addition, however, Aristotle's zoology acknowledges natural processes that involve greater dynamics and (...) more exceptions, most notably when it comes to the allocation of available matter within the animals of a certain species or to the adaptation to a species' proper environment. In conclusion, it seems fair to say that in Aristotle's zoology different autonomous perspectives overlap, so that it would be inappropriate to reduce all of them to a common denominator. (shrink)

Das Buch stellt einen Meilenstein in der Aristoteles-Forschung dar, der mit einigen traditionellen Interpretationen der aristotelischen Philosophie radikal bricht. An dem Fundamentalbegriff der Metaphysik, ousia (Sein, Wesen, "Seiendheit"), auf der einen, und dem Fundamentalbegriff der Ethik, eudaimonia (Glück, Glückseligkeit), auf der anderen Seite werden grundlegende Zusammenhänge zwischen der theoretischen und der praktischen Philosophie des Aristoteles dargestellt. Der Autor kommt dabei zu völlig neuen und interessanten Erkenntnissen über die Strukturen des aristotelischen Denkens. Dieses Werk bereichert die Aristoteles-Forschung, die Philosophie des Geistes (...) und die Ethik. (shrink)

The article attempts to portray architecture as a spatial medium and to analyse the processing and storage of information, objects and persons. In doing so, architectural space becomes not only the effect of these medial operations, but it also forms and materializes these processes at the same time. Openings are characterized as fundamental elements of architectural media. Also, in this regard, such classic elements as doors and windows in the sense of a room perceived as a perforated membrane, acquire a (...) new medial quality. (shrink)