Keywords: mind; problem of other minds; developmental psychology; Augustine; Descartes
In presented paper we consider the problem of knowledge of other minds. We develop a systematic argument against this theory that has come to known as argument from analogy. We look to the philosophical and psychological ideas whose meaning boils down to the claim that metacognitive processes so critical for self-awareness, self-knowledge emerge and develop in a strong connection with the process of attribution of mental states to others. We spin in one position some philosophical traditions, dating historically from Augustine, Descartes to Strawson and Davidson. Then, we combine philosophical discourse with the findings provided in developmental psychology, which show that children’s attributions of their own mental states emerge in a strong correlation with the attribution of mental states to others. Next, we combine those psychological findings with philosophical discussion of the conceptual conditions for the attribution of mental states. At the same time, we show that a key issue in the design of an argument against the theory which recognizes the primacy of the first person or uses in some sense the argument from analogy in solving the problem of other minds, is to refer to cognitive conditions for the acquisition of language and its functioning which we find historically in Descartes’ works and recently in works of cognitive psychologists.
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Keywords: science; philosophy; methodological isolationism; philosophical assumptions; interpretations of the term "assumption"
Drawing on the analysis developed by M. Heller and J. !yci"ski in a work published 25 years ago, the paper shows that science is essentially “nested” in philosophy, because various philosophical assumptions are present in it. Five types of such assumptions are considered: (a) philosophical conditionings of empirical sciences; (b) philosophical themata; (c) philosophical implications of empirical theories; (d) philosophical theses employed in scientific argumentation; (e) philosophical criteria of scientificity. Some possible interpretations of the first type listed are analyzed. They may be: (1) defined in terms of logical inference; (2) treated as the necessary or/and sufficient condition; (3) taken as presupposition (as understood in pragmatics); (4) interpreted psychologically as reasons for acceptance; (5) seen as the condition of understanding of scientific claims. The considerations developed in the paper show that those assumptions do not constitute a homogeneous group. Some are the a priori of science in that sense that rationality of doing science depend on their acceptance; some—for example, so-called ontological commitments—result from an acceptance of a certain theory; some others—interpreted, following E. McMullin, as non-standard epistemic factors—are a matter of choice and are historically changeable, what brings the issue of rational reasons for their acceptance; and still others are theses which belong both to science and to philosophy, what brings the issue of their mutual falsifiability. The presence of philosophical assumptions in science nevertheless indicates that neither methodological isolationism, nor attempts to subordinate one kind of cognition to the other capture correctly the relation between science and philosophy.
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Keywords: quantum cosmology; cobordism
In this paper we address some critical remarks to two leading models quantum cosmology – Hawking-Hartle model and Vilenkin model. Both models appeal to different mathematical frameworks to reconstract of first moments of Universe ewolution. The first one presents wave function of the Universe using Feynman’s formalism of quantum mechanics — path integrals. The other one shows the beginnig of the Universe as quantum tunneling process. The authors of above mentioned approaches to quantum cosmology claims, that these mechanisms describe creation of the Universe ex nihilo. The main aim of tis paper is to show a weakness of such interpretations. Firstly, Gordon McCabe’s criticism is presented. His analyses are based on topological concept of cobordism. In the second step, we show that the concept of ex nihilo should be rather understood as “zero-pointgeometry” with a material field.
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Keywords: Józef Życiński; mathematicity of nature; Platonism
In the article the views of Archbishop Józef "yci*ski on the relationship between nature and mathematics are outlined. "yci*ski states that formal structures create the basic level of nature. This enables him to explain the effectiveness of mathematics in the scientific research of the material world. He therefore accepts Platonism and the thesis of mathematicity of nature. In the article some of the difficulties of this concept are pointed out.
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Keywords: Christian interpretation of Darwinism; Józef Życiński; Church and Evolution
Years ago Archbishop Prof. Józef #yci$ski put forward his own model of cognitive integration that takes into account the sacred, the beauty of nature, modern scientific discoveries as well as philosophical and theological theses. In this intellectual undertaking, bringing together in a single perspective poetic imagery and the Christian affirmation of nature, openness to new ideas of science and the quest for a new metaphysics, an important role was to be played by the Christian interpretation of Darwinism. The task still awaits realization. However, it seems that the Author’s death set in motion contrary tendencies. The article presents a brief overview of contemporary tensions between Darwinism and the Church in the context of the integration model proposed by Józef #yci$ski and signalizes these contrary trends. Outlining, as the title suggests, principles of 23 Tam'e, s. 70; por. F. T e m p l e, The Relations between Religion and Science, London: Macmilian dialogue, it points to modern man’s ambivalent attitude to cognition and nature as well as to the need to take into account the perspective of Fides et ratio, so vital in the teaching of Pope John Paul II, along with the so called criterion of “Christian rationality” that arises from it. Of help in this task may be further search for the truth about the world recorded in two books: the Book of Nature and the Book of Revelation as well as efforts to develop appropriate methodology of reading them.
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Keywords: teleology; scientific explanation; teleological explanation; scientific aims; anthropomorphism
The aim of the article is to present the strategy of rehabilitation of the teleology in the conception of Robert Spaemann, Reinchard Löw and Hans Jonas. That strategy takes into account a few aspects: (1) the analysis of general conception of explanation in which the character of questions activating the process of explanation is taking into consideration, (2) the analysis of the conception of the teleological and causal explanations (according to the Hempel-Oppenheim model), (3) determination of the pragmatic background of the controversies concerning teleology, (4) determination of the domain and aims of teleological and causal interpretations.
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Keywords: eternal present; atemporality; Alfred North Whitehead; Eleonore Stump and Norman Kretzmann
The article is devoted to problems connected with a concept of eternal present. I analyze two such conceptions of maximally extended divine “now”: proposed by Stump and Kretzmann and proposed by Whitehead. Yet the article begins with the presentation Thomas Aquinas’ conception of eternity. On the ground of this theory “eternal now’ has only metaphorical meaning.
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Keywords: the later Wittgenstein; religious faith; fideism; non-cognitivism
The author of “Lectures on Religious Belief” significantly influenced the development of analytic philosophy of religion. His conception of religious belief is regarded by many commentators as controversial and radical. In this article I try to demonstrate that his remarks being the basis for this negative appraisal, are often unclear and inconclusive. I discuss critically, i.a., premises of so-called “Wittgensteinian fideism,” which consists of the following claims: (1) a lack of understanding between a theist and an atheist, (2) the autonomy of religious discourse (independence from a scientific and a common sense world view), (3) non-referential language of religion (it does not depict metaphysical reality), (4) an inability to criticize religion. Regarding the question of the autonomy of religious beliefs, I try to inquire whether, according to Wittgenstein, there are semantic “family resemblance” between the empirical and religious concepts, and also, what is the role of rational arguments in the field of faith: historical evidence, claims of natural science, arguments for the existence of God. As regards the problem of the reference and function of religious beliefs, I explain reasons why Wittgenstein’s position is classified as non-cognitivism.
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Keywords: miracle; laws of nature; extraordinary event; laws of science
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Keywords: modern logic; truth-functional operator; classical propositional calculus; principle of sufficient reason
Some principles of general theory of being have their equivalents in laws of classical logic. For a long time this was not distinctly noticed, as logic was treated rather as technology of discussion, and not as a system of propositions stated in the objective language and concerning connections between facts. It may be generally said that some primary principles of being and some laws of logic state the same most fundamental connections between facts, between states of things. There are also principles of philosophy that do not have such equivalents in laws of logic. These include the principle of sufficient reason. The concept of intuitive truth of propositions that reappeared in modern logic first of all in connection with K. Gödel’s theorem of 1931 formed an intellectual climate that made it possible for classical logicians to accept also those principles of general theory of being that do not have equivalents in laws of standard logic. It may be said that these philosophical principles may be included in the outward basis of modern logic.
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Keywords: religious luck; moral luck; morality; reward; punishment; grace; eternal heaven; eternal hell
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Keywords: sequential assertion; sequential conjunction; von Wright’s And Next and And Then systems
An axiomatic characterisation of the functor of sequential assertion is propsed here. By means of it the functor of sequential conjunction is defined. In the temporal interpretation these functors are respectively read as: next/then and and-next/and-then. It is proved that the proposed system (SAS) and its strenghtening (SAS*) comprise respectively von Wright’s And Next and And Then systems. The consistency and independence of axioms of the richer of the two proposed structures (SAS*) is settled by interpretation in the quadrivalent propositional calculus.
More...![Mordechai Ben-Ari, Logika matematyczna w informatyce [orig. Mathematical Logic for Computer Science], transl. from Eng. by M. Miłkowska, Warszawa 2005](/api/image/getissuecoverimage?id=picture_2007_19246.jpg)
