Grandiose narcissistic traits refer to exploitative and arrogant attitudes, while vulnerable narcissistic traits entail hypersensitivity to judgment and low self-esteem. Little is known about how individuals with narcissistic traits can improve their attitudes toward themselves and others. The current research puts self- and other compassion forward as possible targets to alleviate some of destructive patterns of narcissism. Generally, self-compassion has previously been associated with beneficial effects on psychological wellbeing, while other compassion is advantageous for interpersonal relationships. This study explored the (...) relationship between narcissistic traits and the efficacy of experimental compassion inductions. Student and community participants completed grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic trait, SC and OC state questionnaires, and either an SC or OC induction. It was expected that individuals with higher narcissistic traits would benefit from the inductions and show higher SC after but would have greater difficulty showing meaningful increases in OC. The results indicated that individual differences in grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic traits are related to the magnitude of improvements following the inductions: the theorized lack of SC in individuals with vulnerable oversensitivity to judgment traits seems possible to be counteracted through different types of compassion exercises. Moreover, higher grandiose exploitativeness–entitlement and global vulnerable narcissistic traits related to less increases than others. However, directly inducing OC in individuals with these traits was linked to greater OC improvements than improvements after inducing SC. Overall, the present findings suggest that self-compassionate behavior can be improved in individuals with high oversensitivity and that other compassionate behavior could potentially be increased if, specifically, other compassion exercises are utilized when higher levels of certain narcissistic traits are present. (shrink)

It is generally accepted that H. Friedman’s gap condition is closely related to iterated collapsing functions from ordinal analysis. But what precisely is the connection? We offer the following answer: In a previous paper we have shown that the gap condition arises from an iterative construction on transformations of partial orders. Here we show that the parallel construction for linear orders yields familiar collapsing functions. The iteration step in the linear case is an instance of a general construction that we (...) call ‘Bachmann–Howard derivative’. In the present paper, we focus on the unary case, i.e., on the gap condition for sequences rather than trees and, correspondingly, on addition-free ordinal notation systems. This is partly for convenience, but it also allows us to clarify a phenomenon that is specific to the unary setting: As shown by van der Meeren, Rathjen and Weiermann, the gap condition on sequences admits two linearizations with rather different properties. We will see that these correspond to different recursive constructions of sequences. (shrink)

An seine Freunde - wer da Zeugnisse dessen, was wir Freundschaft nennen, erwartet, wird sich ein wenig enttäuscht finden. Abgesehen von den Briefen an seine Gattin Terentia und seine Freigelassenen Tiro, die eine Sonderstellung einnehmen, gibt sich Cicero nur einigen wenigen Partnern gegenüber ganz so, wie er ist, und das ist doch das, was wir bei einem Freund voraussetzen: Unbefangenheit und Unverstelltheit. Die große Masse seiner Briefe ist zweckgebunden, trägt mehr oder weniger formellen Charakter. Da gilt es, das eigene (...) politische Handeln zu rechtfertigen, das persönliche Verdienst ins rechte Licht zu rücken, Differenzen mit politischen "Freunden" auszufechten, Beziehungen für sich und andere auszuwerten, den politischen Gesinnungsgenossen bei der Stange zu halten oder zu fördern und was dergleichen mehr ist. So leuchten diese Briefe tief hinein in das Treiben der führenden Kreise und bergen mit ihren Schlaglichtern auf das politische Geschehen der Zeit eine Fülle von Interessantem und Fesselndem. Ganz von der Politik diktiert ist der Briefwechsel mit L. Plancus, M. Lepidus, D. Brutus und C. Cassius in den Büchern X, XI und XII. Er bildet eine unschätzbare Quelle für unsere Kenntnis der Vorgänge während des Todeskampfes der Republik. (shrink)

Keinen Menschen der Antike kennen wir so gut wie Marcus Tullius Cicero. Wir verdanken dies dem Umstand, dass ein großer Teil seiner Korrespondenz überliefert ist, im ganzen etwa 780 Briefe, davon gut die Hälfte an seinen Freund Titus Pomponius Atticus gerichtet. Die Atticus-Briefe sind insofern eine historische Quelle außerordentlichen Ranges, als Cicero sich in ihnen unbefangen und vorbehaltlos äußert. So folgen wir in zahlreichen Krisen seines Lebens zuweilen Tag für Tag den wechselnden Stimmungen, erleben den Kampf um gesellschaftliche und (...) politische Anerkennung, erkennen aber auch Ciceros heiße Vaterlandsliebe, erhalten Einblick in die privaten Verhältnisse, kurzum, alle Züge seines Wesens erscheinen in klarer Kontur wie in einem Spiegel. Die Atticus-Briefe vermitteln uns das Bild eines antiken Menschen, der zwar nicht der Weltgeschichte ihren Lauf gewiesen hat, der aber doch zu den bedeutendsten Persönlichkeiten einer Zeit gehörte, in der Weltgeschichte gemacht wurde, und der darüber zu berichten weiß. Darin liegt der nicht zu schätzende Wert der Sammlung. Mit Einführung, Erläuterungen, Registern und Zeittafel. (shrink)

Geleitwort von Prof. P. Nicki -- Dr. Hermann Freund im Gespräch mit Prof. Dr. Dr. Hinderk M. Emrich -- Die Angst und der existentielle Sprung -- Die neue Zeit -- Der gedachte Gott -- Wie kommt das Ich zum Du? - Hysterie als Lebensform -- Was heisst, sich entscheiden? - Zur Theologie der Freiheit -- Re-formation der Reformation -- Das metaphysische und zugleich dämonische Wesen des Schlosses in Franz Kafkas Schloss-Roman -- Nachwort von Wolfgang Teichert: Epiphanie oder wo sprechende (...) Philosophie und Theologie aufhören müssen -- Literatur -- Verzeichnis der Mitwirkenden -- Abbildungsverzeichnis. (shrink)

Ernst Fraenkels Neopluralismus zählt zu den 'Klassikern'. Worin zeigt sich seine Anschlussfähigkeit? Antipluralistische Traditionsbestände sind wirkmächtig geblieben. 'Lobbyismus' hat immer noch einen schlechten 'Beigeschmack'. Das Problem von Grundkonsens und Streit stellt sich insbesondere bei politischen Gegnern, die mit 'Freund-Feind-Ideologien' agieren.

We investigate the family of concepts that an agent comes to know through a set of defining features, and examine the role played by these features in the process of categorization. In a qualitative framework, categorial membership is evaluated through an order relation among the objects at hand, which translates the fact that an object may fall more than another under a given concept. For concepts defined by their features, this global membership order depends on the degree with which each (...) feature applies to the objects of the universe. The passage from these individual membership degrees to a global membership order poses a problem analogous to vote aggregation in social choice theory. This similarity leads to an original solution that is particularly well-adapted to the framework of cognitive psychology. The resulting membership order extends to compound concepts, and provides a good description of the guppy paradox and the conjunction effect. (shrink)

This paper investigates the responses of GPT-4, a state-of-the-art AI language model, to ten prominent philosophical paradoxes, and evaluates its capacity to reason and make decisions in complex and uncertain situations. In addition to analyzing GPT-4's solutions to the paradoxes, this paper assesses the model's Theory of Mind (ToM) capabilities by testing its understanding of mental states, intentions, and beliefs in scenarios ranging from classic ToM tests to complex, real-world simulations. Through these tests, we gain insight into AI's potential for (...) social reasoning and its capacity for more sophisticated forms of human-AI interaction. The paper also explores the limitations and biases of AI-generated reasoning and its implications for our comprehension of complex philosophical problems. (shrink)

This paper explores the intersection of René Girard's mimetic theory and the algorithmic society, particularly in the context of the potential advent of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Girard's theory, which elucidates the dynamics of desire, rivalry, scapegoating, and the sacrificial crisis, provides a unique lens through which to examine the complexities of our relationship with AI and its role in the creation of the sacred. As individuals increasingly rely on AI recommendations, the distinction between personal choice and algorithmic manipulation becomes (...) less clear, raising concerns about the authenticity of cultural expressions and the role of algorithms in shaping cultural narratives. The triangular structure of desire, with AI as the model and individuals as the imitators, underscores the power of algorithms in this process. The sacrificial crisis, a key concept in Girard's theory, becomes a critical point of reflection in the algorithmic society. The exposure of the scapegoating mechanism reveals the destructive potential of algorithmic manipulation and calls for new forms of understanding, empathy, and non-violent solutions. This paper argues that recognizing the sacrificial crisis can prompt individuals and society to critically examine the impact of AI's influence, challenge the narratives it perpetuates, and reclaim agency in the face of algorithmic dominance. This paper further discusses the potential implications of the emergence of AGI, which could intensify the influence of algorithms on the creation of the sacred due to its advanced cognitive capabilities and deep understanding of human desires and behaviors. This could fuel a rapid evolution of the mimetic ecosystem, with profound implications for personal freedom, independent decision-making, and the formation and preservation of individual identity. This paper concludes by emphasizing the need for responsible algorithmic practices and ethical considerations to ensure that the creation of the sacred serves the common good in the algorithmic society. (shrink)

Logic and philosophy of logic have increasingly become areas of research and great interest in Latin America and Spain, where significant work has been done and continues to be done in both of these fields. The goal of this volume is to draw attention to this work through a collection of original and unpublished papers by specialists from Latin America and Spain. Some of the papers are of importance for set-theory and model theory. They cover topics such as the foundations (...) of paraconsistency, the use of paraconsistent logic as a basis for set-theory, and the methodological aspects in both the justification of new axioms in set theory and the formalization of pre-theoretic notions. Other papers are related to epistemic logic. They deal with the issues of abduction and the choice of the simplest hypothesis, the definition of group probability, and the nature of explanation and understanding in such logic. There are also papers on logical paradoxes, the semantics of names, and the nature of relations. Max A. Freund is Professor of Logic and Philosophy at the University of Costa Rica and the National University of Costa Rica. He is co-author of the book Modal Logic its syntax and semantics, as well as the author of Judicial Logic, and of a forthcoming book The Logic of Sortals. Max Fernandez de Castro is Professor of Logic and Philosophy at the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico. He is the author of the book Quine y la Ontologíaa and co-author of the books Lógica Matemática I: lógica proposicional, intuicionista y modal, Lógica Matemática II: clásica, intuicionista y modal, Teoría de Conjuntos, Lógica y Temas Afines I. Marco Ruffino is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Campinas and the editor of Manuscrito, the Brazilian international journal for Analytic Philosophy. He has many publications, in important philosophical journals, in the philosophy of language, of logic, and of mathematics; in the history of analytic philosophy, and on Frege and Wittgenstein. (shrink)

"First published by Oxford University Press, 1916."--Title page verso.

An English language translation accompanies the original Greek text of Aristotle's book about the nature of the state, constitutions, revolutions, democracy, and oligarchy.

We develop a set-theoretic semantics for Cocchiarella's second-order logical system . Such a semantics is a modification of the nonstandard sort of second-order semantics described, firstly, by Simms and later extended by Cocchiarella. We formulate a new second order logical system and prove its relative consistency. We call such a system and construct its set-theoretic semantics. Finally, we prove completeness theorems for proper normal extensions of the two systems with respect to certain notions of validity provided by the semantics.

"Using hundreds of examples from newsrooms large and small, author Ron F. Smith challenges readers to determine how they would face moral dilemmas on the job. Chapters evaluate the search for principles, accountability, truth and objectivity, errors and corrections, diversity, "faking" the news, reporters and their sources, privacy, the government watch, deception, compassion, the business of news, journalists and their communities, and financial concerns. New to this edition: a chapter on improving coverage of minorities, expanded discussion of broadcast journalism and (...) reporting on the Internet, and stories from recent front pages and TV news programs."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (shrink)

In this text, a variety of modal logics at the sentential, first-order, and second-order levels are developed with clarity, precision and philosophical insight. All of the S1-S5 modal logics of Lewis and Langford, among others, are constructed. A matrix, or many-valued semantics, for sentential modal logic is formalized, and an important result that no finite matrix can characterize any of the standard modal logics is proven. Exercises, some of which show independence results, help to develop logical skills. A separate sentential (...) modal logic of logical necessity in logical atomism is also constructed and shown to be complete and decidable. On the first-order level of the logic of logical necessity, the modal thesis of anti-essentialism is valid and every de re sentence is provably equivalent to a de dicto sentence. An elegant extension of the standard sentential modal logics into several first-order modal logics is developed. Both a first-order modal logic for possibilism containing actualism as a proper part as well as a separate modal logic for actualism alone are constructed for a variety of modal systems. Exercises on this level show the connections between modal laws and quantifier logic regarding generalization into, or out of, modal contexts and the conditions required for the necessity of identity and non-identity. Two types of second-order modal logics, one possibilist and the other actualist, are developed based on a distinction between existence-entailing concepts and concepts in general. The result is a deeper second-order analysis of possibilism and actualism as ontological frameworks. Exercises regarding second-order predicate quantifiers clarify the distinction between existence-entailing concepts and concepts in general. Modal Logic is ideally suited as a core text for graduate and undergraduate courses in modal logic, and as supplementary reading in courses on mathematical logic, formal ontology, and artificial intelligence. (shrink)

This article aims to read feminist new materialisms (Barad), together with ‘postulated’ linguistic or cultural primacy of Queer Theory (Butler), to show how both are engaged in similar critical-ethical endeavours. The central argument is that the criticism of Barad and new materialisms misses Butler’s materialistic insights due to a narrow interpretation of Butler's alleged social-constructivist position. There is, therefore, a specific focus on where they both make similar ethical appeals. Moreover, the article relies on Adorno's negative dialectic to highlight an (...) interpretation of Barad and Butler as being part of the same dialectical movement, in which materialism and idealism fluctuate in their mutual criticisms, thus continuing the procession towards 'new knowledge' and emancipation, or freedom, through their motions back and forth. (shrink)

In this text, a variety of modal logics at the sentential, first-order, and second-order levels are developed with clarity, precision and philosophical insight.

The book challenges the values of much of contemporary bioethics and health care policy by confronting their failure to secure the moral norms they seek to apply.

Provability, Computability and Reflection.

This paper argues that proper functions are proximal functions. In other words, it rejects the notion that there are distal biological functions – strictly speaking, distal functions are not functions at all, but simply beneficial effects normally associated with a trait performing its function. Once we rule out distal functions, two further positions become available: dysfunctions are simply failures of proper function, and pathological conditions are dysfunctions. Although elegant and seemingly intuitive, this simple view has had surprisingly little uptake in (...) the literature. Indeed, our position departs from that of almost every theorist who has engaged with the issue at any depth. We start by presenting three arguments for the position that proper functions are proximal: one from the specificity of functions, one from their relation to intervention, and one from their relation to pathology. We then consider two case studies evidencing the trouble that accepting distal functions causes for philosophical reflection on the nature of pathological conditions. Finally, we anticipate and respond to three objections: that there can be failure of function without dysfunction; that our account is unacceptably revisionary in respect of normal function-talk; and that our thesis over-generalises from a narrow set of cases. (shrink)