Philosophical Debate Research Articles

Biological Individuality Is Not Necessarily an Intrinsic Property

A significant and longstanding debate in philosophy of biology has centered around biological individuality. Although there have been numerous attempts to articulate a plausible and unifying view of what makes something a biological individual, the results are often conflicting and non-coextensive. In spite of these disputes, an open consensus around a few general ideas has surfaced (Pradeu 2016a). One common assumption that has been carried over with the consensus is that biological individuality is an intrinsic property of biological entities (Clarke 2016a). This tendency is reflected in the properties typically selected as criteria: what makes something an individual is quite often a property that biological entities themselves possess. I draw on Ellen Clarke’s (2013) evolutionary account of biological individuality, research about the evolution and maintenance of cooperation in the origins of multicellularity (Brockhurst et al. 2007; Gulli et al. 2019), and important parts of the consensus around biological individuality to argue against this trend. What makes something a biological individual is not always something about the entities in question. I show that there are environmental mechanisms capable of acting as individuation mechanisms in circumstances that resemble early transition stages, or in situations where individuality departs from paradigm cases. Therefore, biological individuality is not necessarily an intrinsic property.

Theological Anthropology Facing Artificial Intelligence. The Investigation of an Intersection Based on Treatises

Abstract For the novelty, the research fields of Artificial Intelligence and Theological Anthropology are creatively confronted with each other, especially the emerging ideas of perfection, salvation, mind and corporeality in comparison with the verbatim meaning of theos and logos. For this purpose, both fields of research, which – historically marked – became virulent at about the same time in (ca. 1960s), are theoretically framed, systematically introduced, and classified. Afterwards, a text-critical appraisal is made based on current European institutional publications on Artificial Intelligence regarding concepts, representations and ways of speaking about the hu_man, about der mensch being beyond neuronal networks. Commonalities and challenges through the juxtaposition and found synergies are not only making a valuable contribution to subjecting concepts of hu_mankind for a sustainable relecture. Furthermore, it provides relevant insights and findings about the positioning of the new technology within (ethical) discourses about human dignity and rights, as well philosophical debates about freedom.

A short report on a probability-based interpretation of quantum mechanics

Abstract This study calls attention to the current state of the probability (P) domain which presents weak points at the mathematical level and more significant flaws at the application level. Popper noticed how fundamental issues raised in quantum mechanics (QM) directly derive from unresolved probabilistic questions. Endless philosophical debates create more problems than solutions, so the author of this research suggests going directly to the root of the issues and searching for the probability theory which formalizes the multifold nature of P. This study offers a brief overview of the structural theory of probability, recently published in a book, and applies it to QM in order to show its completeness. The whole probability-based interpretation of QM goes beyond the limits of a paper and these pages condense a few aspects of this theoretical scheme. The double slit experiment is used to corroborate the theorems presented here.

Resilience and Domination: Resonances of Racial Slavery in Refugee Exclusion

Abstract We are encouraged to think of refugees as resilient people with agency and capacity for flourishing, rather than passive victims needing help. This framing purports to uphold and celebrate refugees’ humanity. But some scholars worry that it problematically serves to demand resilience from refugees, normalize their displacement, and legitimate state bordering practices. This article builds on this critique by examining how powerful actors have long attributed resilience to vulnerable others to legitimate domination and control. I focus on the deployment of resilience-talk by white enslavers and their supporters to justify Black enslavement in the American South. Their philosophical, climatological, and epidemiological arguments about the resilient Black slave were supplemented with a claim that Black people could not survive liberation in the American North. I probe the resonances of this resilience-talk with contemporary invocations of the resilience of refugees in the Global South, and their supposed non-resilience in the Global North.

Is the fine-tuning evidence for a multiverse?

Our best current science seems to suggest the laws of physics and the initial conditions of our universe are fine-tuned for the possibility of life. A significant number of scientists and philosophers believe that the fine-tuning is evidence for the multiverse hypothesis. This paper will focus on a much-discussed objection to the inference from the fine-tuning to the multiverse: the charge that this line of reasoning commits the inverse gambler’s fallacy. Despite the existence of a literature going back decades, this philosophical debate has made little contact with scientific discussion of fine-tuning and the multiverse, which mainly revolves around a specific form of the multiverse hypothesis rooted in eternal inflation combined with string theory. Because of this, potentially important implications from science to philosophy, and vice versa, have been left underexplored. In this paper, I will take a first step at joining up these two discussions, by arguing that attention to the eternal inflation + string theory conception of the multiverse supports the inverse gambler’s fallacy charge. It does this by supporting the idea that our universe is contingently fine-tuned, thus addressing the concern that proponents of the inverse gambler’s fallacy charge have assumed this without argument.

Happiness and well‐being: Is it all in your head? Evidence from the folk

AbstractDespite a voluminous literature on happiness and well‐being, debates have been stunted by persistent dissensus on what exactly the subject matter is. Commentators frequently appeal to intuitions about the nature of happiness or well‐being, raising the question of how representative those intuitions are. In a series of studies, we examined lay intuitions involving happiness‐ and well‐being‐related terms to assess their sensitivity to internal (psychological) versus external conditions. We found that all terms, including ‘happy’, ‘doing well’ and ‘good life’, were far more sensitive to internal than external conditions, suggesting that for laypersons, mental states are the most important part of happiness and well‐being. But several terms, including ‘doing well’, ‘good life’ and ‘enviable life’ were substantially more sensitive to external conditions than others, such as ‘happy’, consistent with dominant philosophical views of well‐being. Interestingly, the expression ‘happy’ was completely insensitive to external conditions for about two thirds of our participants, suggesting a purely psychological concept among most individuals. Overall, our findings suggest that lay thinking in this domain divides between two concepts, or families thereof: a purely psychological notion of being happy, and one or more concepts equivalent to, or encompassing, the philosophical concept of well‐being. In addition, being happy is dominantly regarded as just one element of well‐being. These findings have considerable import for philosophical debates, empirical research and public policy.

How about Pantheism in Ancient Greek Religion?

Abstract Ancient Greek religion has been very rarely studied with reference to pantheism. This article proposes that we should introduce pantheism as an additional interpretive strategy to understand Greek religion. This presupposes addressing the relationship between the interpretations of doxa (theology), discussion about the nature of divine unity in antiquity (philosophy), and religious cult praxis. The main conceptual arguments underlined in refutations of pantheism are discussed. This is followed by a brief survey of the more frequently discussed monotheism and henotheism in Greek religion. The main part of the article presents pantheistic trends in Greek religion, including philosophical argumentation, pantheistic expressions in mythology and in cultic life. It is found that Greek religion exhibits views that can be regarded as pantheistic: gods were immanent rather than transcendent, everything could potentially participate in divine reality, and the boundaries between divine, human, and nature were not exclusive but permeable and fluid.

Artificial Intelligence’s Novel “Mind-Reading” Capabilities through Neuroscience: A Challenge for Mind-Body Dualism?

This paper explores a philosophical problem at the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence (AI), and the potential impact of these novel AI “mind-reading” technologies on various forms of mind–body dualism, including substance, interaction, property, predicate, and emergent dualisms. It critically examines how AI’s ability to interpret and predict mental states from neural patterns challenges traditional dualistic theories, which have historically posited distinct relationships between the mind and body. The paper analyzes each dualistic theory in the context of AI advancements. Substance and interaction dualisms are scrutinized for their claims of mind–body independence and causal interaction, respectively, in light of AI’s capabilities to correlate mental and physical states. Property dualism’s assertion of unique mental properties emerging from physical processes is tested against AI’s potential to map mental phenomena to brain activity. Predicate dualism’s linguistic and conceptual distinction between mental and physical realms is challenged by AI’s ability to bridge these domains. Similarly, emergent dualism, which views mental states as novel phenomena, confronts the possibility of their reduction to physical brain processes. Despite these challenges, the paper argues for the adaptability of dualistic theories to integrate AI insights, suggesting a re-evaluation rather than a negation of dualism. It highlights the enduring relevance of philosophical inquiry into the nature of consciousness and mind–body relationships in the age of AI, suggesting that such technological advancements invigorate rather than terminate the philosophical debate.

Safety and Pluralism in Mathematics

AbstractA belief one has is safe if either (i) it could not easily be false or (ii) in any nearby world in which it is false, it is not formed using the method one uses to form one’s actual belief. It seems our mathematical beliefs are safe if mathematical pluralism is true: if, loosely put, almost any consistent mathematical theory is true. It seems, after all, that in any nearby world where one’s mathematical beliefs differ from one’s actual beliefs, one would believe some other true, consistent theory. Focusing on Justin Clarke-Doane’s recent discussion, I argue the thesis that mathematical beliefs are safe given pluralism faces some obstacles. I argue (i) is true of mathematical belief given pluralism only if we deny plausible claims about the interpretation of non-pluralists who many of us could easily be. Unless strong metasemantic theses are true, it is plausible many of us could easily deny or refuse to believe a consistent and true mathematical theory we actually believe. Since philosophical arguments and controversies permeate the methodology of foundational mathematics, I argue we cannot confidently distinguish the methods we use in mathematics between worlds, thus raising doubts about (ii).

The role of scenarios in paradoxes

This paper fills a gap in the existing metaphilosophical research on paradoxes by focusing on the role of scenarios. Typical philosophical paradoxes contain a scenario description whose contribution to paradoxes remains unexplored. I argue that scenarios are examples or instantiations of the abstract schema of paradoxes. As such, scenarios contribute to paradoxes on two levels. First, they make the argument more concrete, thus enhancing the dialectical force of paradoxes and facilitating their understanding, especially for non-experts. This function is external to the paradox itself, but has important practical implications for the use of paradoxes and their effect on philosophical debates, and it contributes to explaining why philosophical paradoxes are usually introduced by a scenario. Second, and more crucially, scenarios are essential to the epistemic dimension of paradoxes. By definition, paradoxes have two necessary components: the argumentative structure and the plausibility/implausibility of the premises/conclusion. By providing examples of the abstract schema, scenarios contribute to making the premises plausible. In particular, scenarios are the source of plausibility and justification for those premises that contain an empirically grounded assertion of existence. Examples of such paradoxes are the Sorites paradox, the Lottery paradox, and the Grue paradox. Contrary to the dialectical role, the epistemic function of scenarios is indispensable, as it connects paradoxes to the real world and underscores their significance in specific debates.

The responsibility of sports federations to facilitate and fund concussion research and the role of active participant involvement and engagement

ABSTRACT It is generally accepted that we need more research into concussions and other injuries with potential long-term effects in sport because such research underpins effective, evidence-based prevention, management, support, and treatment. This paper provides an analysis of the obligations of sports federations to support and facilitate such research, as well as an analysis of the role active participants in the sport should have in the research process. The paper focuses on concussion and concussion research, though very similar arguments apply to other common sports injuries with potential long-term effects. The paper argues that sports federations have a moral obligation and a prudential interest in initiating, facilitating, and funding concussion research. This follows from their duty of care towards active participants and from considerations of reciprocity. The ability to discharge these research obligations depends on the resources available to a particular federation, but those who can discharge them should do so. The paper further argues that athletes and other active participants in sport should be involved in all aspects of the concussion research process from conception to design, i.e. that Active Participant Involvement and Engagement (APIE) should be a non-negotiable element of concussion research projects. This is supported by instrumental reasons, but also by philosophical argument based on standpoint epistemology and on ethical arguments related to the interests of active participants. Standpoint epistemology is the epistemological position that the knowledge a person has and can have depends on that person’s standpoint in the world. Keywords: Concussion, funding, participant involvement, sport, sport association, sport federation

Knowing Gender in Kim de l'Horizon's Blutbuch

AbstractThis article reads Kim de l'Horizon's award‐winning novel Blutbuch (2022) as a contribution to the epistemology of gender. Amid philosophical debates about internality and externality in the construction of gender, about the feasibility of gender identity as a coherent concept, about gender feels and gender as process, de l'Horizon's novel offers something else: it shows the foolishness of attempting an etiology of gender and the compulsion to attempt one anyway. Instead of setting the ultimate knowability of gender aside, the typical move of today's gender theory, Blutbuch dwells within this impasse. In the novel, I argue, gender appears simultaneously as an empty signifier and an essential aspect of the self.

Un timp, multe timpuri. Principalele teorii ale timpului în dezbaterea filosofică actuală

When asked what time is, the first thing that comes to mind is the clock, that ticking which sets the rhythm of our daily lives. But what can we say if the question is more precise, if we are interested in the nature of time? In this case, many of us would echo Saint Augustine’s words and admit that it’s a difficult question. In this essay, I will focus on the current philosophical debate to highlight the main theories and their limitations. The goal is to show how none of them can fully capture the complexity of the notion of time, particularly when it comes to experience. We must acknowledge that we cannot provide a single answer to the definition of time. Instead, we can arrive at multiple answers depending on the context we consider.

Autistic Mental Schema and the Graphical User Interface circa 1968

Evelyn Fox Keller calls the form of organisms a “devious” problem. How and why do such forms arise? Models, Keller argues, are necessary inroads to these questions. The speculative-propositional mode of computational and mathematical models permits scientists to question the physical and mental processes that shape matter into elegant form despite the “void” of certainty opened by the complexity of vitality. This article documents the use of the LOGO programming language in model-mind making as well as in experimental coding pedagogies for special needs students circa 1968. It provides a historical and philosophical background for interpreting clinical observations of two young autistic students, David and Joey. The article demonstrates that the designers of LOGO understood their design choices in terms of philosophical debates about the nature of purposive orientations in organisms. The author argues that cautious engagement with those debates—guided by Keller’s philosophy of models and Catherine Malabou’s understanding of Immanuel Kant’s concept of schema—can open for humanists an interpretive project aimed at elucidating the historical meaning of the graphical user interface. Insights into the aesthetics of resistance from autistic rhetorician Remi Yergeau and philosopher-poet Fred Moten allow neuroqueer ephemera, lingering in the archives of LOGO, to illuminate a politicization of mental variety nascent in digital screens.

Prespektif Filsafat Kristen Tentang Eksistensi Allah

The existence of God is something that humans have always questioned. Humans rely on reason and knowledge to find out about the existence of God, even though humans have never found certainty about the existence of God. So various human assumptions about God arose, that God never existed, and some people denied and denied the existence of God. Even though humans engage in various studies, it is impossible for humans to fully understand and know the existence of God, because God is transcendent and unlimited, while humans are immanent or limited. Therefore, in writing this article, the author looked at it from a philosophical perspective based on Christian faith to answer several questions: Is it true that God does not exist? Is God just a human imagination? Many people, especially certain groups who do not believe in the existence of God, think that anyone who believes in the existence of God is a fool. This article discusses theological concepts and Christian philosophical thought, using arguments used to prove the inseparable existence of God from the perspective of Christian faith. Philosophy has long been a means of understanding and exploring the existence of God in various Christian traditions. The author presents several philosophical arguments used by Christian theologians to support belief in the existence of God, and also discusses the contribution of thought leadership of Christian philosophers in forming views on the existence of God. From a philosophical perspective, this article offers a deeper understanding of how the Christian faith views the existence of God and how philosophy can play a role in strengthening those beliefs. Finally, this article provides an overview of how to study philosophy to understand and reflect on the existence of God, especially within the framework of Christianity.

Sociopolitical Genealogy of Populist Conspiracy Theories in the Context of Hyperpolitics

The wide circulation of conspiracy narratives and their frequent intertwining with populist rhetoric is both an element of concern and a topic of intense scientific and philosophical debate. The depth of the link between conspiracy theories and populism represents a crucial issue whose comprehension can facilitate understanding their specific nature and the factors behind their diffusion in public communication. To this end, it is necessary to cultivate an interdisciplinary approach and great critical attention, eschewing monocausal explanations. This paper addresses the question of the essentially political nature of conspiracism, confronting the recent epistemological debate that, by putting the positivist paradigm aside, has sought to explore and understand the socio-cultural roots of conspiracy rhetoric, with its sceptical, antagonistic and hermetic traits. By integrating the reflections of epistemologists such as Cassam or Harris with the considerations of political scientists such as Taggart and with Schmitt’s radical reflections on politics, it is perhaps possible to reintegrate the different approaches to populist conspiracism into an overall social genealogical perspective, thanks also to recent demographic elaborations. Thus, we could ascribe the spread of conspiracism to the prevalence in societies of a hyperpolitical discursive regime, i.e., founded on the principle of opposition, without the possibility of compromise, between different groups and interests. At the basis of such Manichaeism, it is plausible to place in the first place the growing inequalities and related social disintegration, which hinder the circulation of trust and recognition between individuals and groups, thus ending up undermining democracy at its roots, as a political system that legitimises and thus peacefully regulates conflict.

ESPORTS: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES

<p>Esports are increasingly popular and are becoming more similar to conventional sports. This is due to the social interaction and community-building aspects, as well as the sporting elements embedded in the virtual environments of the video games they include. Esports are a topic of interest for the interdisciplinary field of Philosophy of Sport, which examines the various dimensions of sport in relation to human values. The aim of this paper is to illuminate the existing philosophical debate on the relationship between esports and the Philosophy of Sport. The paper is a philosophical work that aims to highlight the arguments of sports philosophers on esports over the last twenty years. The argument of this paper is that the focus of philosophical interest is not located in matters of ethics but also not in the human being itself. The majority of philosophical papers on esports focus on whether they can be considered real sports or Olympic sports. Other topics include their definition or institutionalisation, physicality, skill requirements, cheating, and corruption. Rules and the identity of esports players are also of concern to philosophers in the field of Philosophy of Sport. This research is significant due to its relevance and timeliness in the field of esports, as well as its contribution to philosophical discussions surrounding the topic. By advancing both philosophical and empirical research and providing ample material for reflection and debate, the paper is a valuable resource for researchers interested in studying and reflecting on esports.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0777/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Four shades of paternalism in doctor-patient communication and their ethical implications.

The present study aims to explore the forms paternalistic communication can take in doctor-patient interactions and how they should be considered from a normative perspective. In contemporary philosophical debate, the problem with paternalism is often perceived as either undermining autonomy (the autonomy problem) or the paternalist viewing their judgment as superior (the superiority problem). In either case, paternalism is problematized mainly in a general, theoretical sense. In contrast, this paper investigates specific doctor-patient encounters, revealing distinct types of paternalistic communication. For this study, I reviewed videorecorded encounters from a Norwegian hospital to detect paternalism-specifically, doctors overriding patients'expressed preferences, presumably to benefit or protect the patients. I identified variations in paternalistic communication styles-termed paternalist modes-which I categorized into four types: the fighter, the advocate, the sympathizer, and the fisher. Drawing on these findings, I aim to nuance the debate on paternalism. Specifically, I argue that each paternalist mode carries its own normative implicationsand that the autonomy and the superiority problems manifest differently across the modes. Furthermore, by illustrating paternalism in communication through real-life cases, I aim to reach a more comprehensive understanding of what we mean by paternalistic doctors.

Philosophy of cognitive science in the age of deep learning.

Deep learning has enabled major advances across most areas of artificial intelligence research. This remarkable progress extends beyond mere engineering achievements and holds significant relevance for the philosophy of cognitive science. Deep neural networks have made significant strides in overcoming the limitations of older connectionist models that once occupied the center stage of philosophical debates about cognition. This development is directly relevant to long-standing theoretical debates in the philosophy of cognitive science. Furthermore, ongoing methodological challenges related to the comparative evaluation of deep neural networks stand to benefit greatly from interdisciplinary collaboration with philosophy and cognitive science. The time is ripe for philosophers to explore foundational issues related to deep learning and cognition; this perspective paper surveys key areas where their contributions can be especially fruitful. This article is categorized under: Philosophy > Artificial Intelligence Computer Science and Robotics > Machine Learning.

What Can Computers Do Now? Dreyfus Revisited for the Third Wave of Artificial Intelligence

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has seen significant advances that have in fact exceeded even optimistic prognoses. Using data-driven AI, namely deep learning techniques, it has been demonstrated that computers may now be equipped with abilities of remarkable scope and quality, such as solving image and text processing tasks at human level. Large language models, in particular, have sparked debates regarding opportunities and challenges of this rapidly developing area. Will remaining fundamental challenges of data-driven AI, such as factual or logical mistakes, be overcome for good if complemented and hybridized with symbolic AI techniques, such as knowledge representation and reasoning? Will systems of artificial general intelligence (AGI) emerge from this, possessing common sense and in fact completing the decades-old quest for AI that motivated the raise of the field in the 1950s? In the light of these questions, we review the likewise, decades-old philosophical debate about capabilities and limitations of computers from a hybrid AI point of view. Here, we discuss how hybrid AI is coming closer to disproving Hubert Dreyfus’ famous statements regarding what computers can not do. At the same time, we shed light on a lesser discussed challenge for hybrid AI: the possibility that its developers might be its biggest limiters.