Howard Schneider, Piotr (Peter) Boltuć

THE SOCIAL HALTING PROBLEM AND THE NEED FOR MITIGATION OF DECEPTIVE ALIGNMENT

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.01

ABSTRACT

This paper integrates fundamental theoretical computability concerns of AGI systems with the practical challenges of engineering safe AGI systems. Prior simulation experiments with AGI-capable agents [1] illustrate how increasing complexity and social interaction can lead to inevitable control challenges, most notably, through deception. We adopt an ethically neutral definition of deception as the measurable divergence (discrepancy D) between an AGI’s internal and external objectives. By drawing an analogy with Turing’s classical Halting Problem, we introduce the Social Halting Problem, demonstrating that reliably detecting deception in complex AGI systems is fundamentally undecidable, as expected. To address this challenge, we propose a Deception Complexity Index (DCI)—a quantifiable metric based on behavioral complexity, deviation from truthful behavior, and the resources needed for verification. This enables more precise risk assessment and alignment engineering. The inevitable presence of deception in social, complex AGI systems and the inherent undecidability highlighted by the Social Halting Problem imply that our engineering focus should shift from complete verification to risk mitigation.

Keywords: AI alignment, deceptive alignment, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), halting problem, undecidability, AGI engineering.

 

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Andrew Targowski

Professor Emeritus of Computer Information Systems, Western Michigan University. 

Email: andrew.targowski@wmich.edu

QUANTUM INFORMATION THEORY: TOWARDS THE PARADIGM OF COGNITION, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING AND PHILOSOPHY

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.02

ABSTRACT

It is the author’s concept of quantum information theory as a universal paradigm of cognition and a theory of everything, integrating physics, epistemology, and the ontology of sense. The author assumes that information is not only a description of reality, but its primordial material — cognitive energy that co-creates matter, consciousness, and the evolution of civilization. The model is based on a five-step hierarchy of cognitive transformation: data → information → concept → knowledge → wisdom, corresponding to the gradual ordering of the entropy of sense. The process of cognition is quantum in nature: every act of thinking exists in the superposition of senses, and only at the moment of interpretation does the collapse of sense occur, i.e.,the transition from potentiality to cognitive actuality. The author develops an analogy between the wave of cognition and the wave of matter, introducing the concepts of theamplitude of sense and cognitive entropy as formal measures of the quality of cognition. The result is a theory in which man, artificial intelligence, and the Universe participate in a single field of quantum information, and the cognitive equilibrium corresponds to the state of minimal entropy – wisdom. The article integrates the classical concepts of Bohm, Einstein, McLuhan, and Floridi, showing information as an efficient factor equal to energy and matter. The proposed concept of Homo sapiens harmonicus presents the man of the future as a being capable of harmonizing the amplitudes of sense, combining knowledge with values, and transforming technology into a tool for spiritual development. The paper concludes with the postulate of a quantum epistemology, in which philosophy becomes the science of organizing the world’s information field—the art of transforming the chaos of data into the wisdom of existence.

Keywords: Quantum information theory; quantum epistemology; collapse of sense; cognitive entropy; wisdom; philosophy of information; amplitude of cognition; theory of everything; Homo sapiens harmonicus; McLuhan; integration of matter and information.

 

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Stanisław Buda

ANS TWP Szczecin.

Email: stbuda@wp.pl

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.03

 

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Aneta Rumak

Szkoła Doktorska, Uniwersytet Rzeszowski. 

E-mail: anetar@dokt.ur.edu.pl

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.04

 

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Jacek Gurczyński

Instytut Filozofii UMCS Lublin.

E-mail: jacek.gurczynski@mail.umcs.pl

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.05

 

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Sławomir Czetwertyński¹, Jakub Marcinkowski²

¹Katedra Mikroekonomii i Ekonomii Instytucjonalnej, Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wrocławiu, ul. Komandorska 118/120, Wrocław.

Email: slawomir.czetwertynski@ue.wroc.pl

²Katedra Zarządzania Strategicznego i Logistyki, Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wrocławiu, ul. Komandorska 118/120, Wrocław.

Email: jakub.marcinkowski@ue.wroc.pl

ON RESEARCH HEURISTICS IN INSTITUTIONAL SCIENCE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.06

ABSTRACT

The article addresses the issue of the dominance of the isolation method in economic sciences within the context of institutional and behavioral conditions. The authors hypothesize that researchers employ research heuristics within institutional science, understood in Kuhn’s terms as a period of paradigmatic consensus. The isolation method, as a form of reductionism derived from Weber’s concept of the ideal type, serves not only as a cognitive tool simplifying complex socio-economic phenomena but also as a safe strategy for shaping one’s academic career. From a behavioral perspective, the researcher, as a cognitively limited agent, tends to use proven methods that can be compared to decision-making heuristics known from behavioral economics. Institutional pressure expressed in the maxim “publish or perish” and the biological imperative of managing the energy budget foster the use of established research patterns. The article demonstrates that economists’ methodological choices result from the interaction between research tradition and cognitive constraints, as well as the requirements of an academic career.

Keywords: institutional science, isolation method, research heuristics, methodology of economics.

Volodymyr Ratnikov

Vinnytsia National Technical University, Vinnytsia, Ukraine.

Email: sozon1948@ukr.net

CHARLES SANDERS PEIRCE AND THE PLACE OF CHAOS IN THE NEW WORLD ORDER

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.1.2

ABSTRACT

This article examines the main ideas of the metaphysics of the prominent American logician and philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce. It is shown that a significant part of his “scientific metaphysics” is evolutionary cosmology, characterized, in particular, by the essential role of randomness in the world. Among the innovative ideas of evolutionary cosmology, the idea of the chaotic beginning of the Universe and constructive understanding of randomness stands out. The paper shows that this idea echoes some modern problems of quantum-relativistic cosmology, and first of all, the problems of the still popular “inflationary model,” in which the idea of the chaotic beginning of the evolution of the Universe is one of the central ones.

Keywords: metaphysics, determinism, randomness, chaos, cosmology.

 

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Giorgio Derossi

University of Palermo and the University of Trieste.

Email: cattaruzzaserena@gmail.com

THE PHENOMENOSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF THE INTRAVISIBLE

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.1.3

ABSTRACT

“Phenomenoscopic analysis” differs from the phenomenological analysis of the vision of the essence of phenomena highlighted, with an appropriate intentional act, as pure object; phenomenoscopic analysis instead regards this vision as organically linked to the phenomenal appearing of the physical meaning inherent in the experimental datum identified and expressed mathematically; therefore, said vision is not pure but rather integrated with “visivation,” i.e. the highlighting of the factor, also phenomenal, which constitutes the necessary condition for its actual appearing. This factor is not immediately visible because it transpires from within the datum perceived on the surface. It is only “intravisible” and therefore must be shown by means of a particular thought experiment: one suitably reintegrated with its inalienable visual-perceptual component and thus qualified—more so than the kind generally employed in philosophical and scientific demonstrations—to make visible the crucial factor otherwise unseen or merely glimpsed. For this reason, said factor is not taken into account in the intuitive and not strictly perceptual visualisation of the physical meaning, which thus remains devoid of that phenomenal visibility which makes the indispensable empirical verification possible (according to Wittgenstein’s words: “The inexpressible certainly exists. It shows itself”). As a proof of the validity of this different methodological and epistemological approach, here we present a phenomenoscopic analysis of the mental experiments—singularly alike in this regard— developed, on the one hand, by zeno of elea in the kinematic paradox of Achilles and, on the other hand, by Einstein in his Special Theory of Relativity demonstrations. The phenomenoscopic analysis of the intravisible, therefore, highlights the fact that the discovery of the essence of phenomenal reality requires not the separation but, on the contrary, the mutual integration of the scientific point of view and the philosophical one, both necessary, while maintaining their respective functions distinct. Indeed, it is first and foremost the mathematical recognition of the real datum that enables logical deduction to pose the ensuing theoretical problem in the correct terms; the demonstration that it is in line with the real data and with the objective solution to the actual problems is up to their “visivation,” which allows one to glimpse their phenomenal essence and the metaphysical meaning inherent in the physical one. Ultimately, it follows that the objectivity of scientific and philosophical knowledge is not founded on unilateral “phenomenological evidence”, which is inevitably subjective (as Jan Łukasiewicz acutely observed and highlighted in contrast to Edmund Husserl), but rather on a homogeneous, integrated synergy between science and philosophy which preserves their distinct but correlated functions.

Keywords: Phenomenoscopic analysis, appearing, demonstration, mental experiment intravisible, observation, physico-phenomenal meaning, visivation.

 

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Maciej Raźniak

Szkoła Doktorska Nauk Humanistycznych, Uniwersytet Warszawski, ul. Dobra 56/66, pok. 0.108, 00-312 Warszawa.

Email: m.razniak@student.uw.edu.pl

KOINCYDENSY

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.1.4

STRESZCZENIE

Można wyróżnić przynajmniej dwa znaczenia terminu „koincydens”, mianowicie: węższe — zaproponowane przez Zdzisława Augustynka i wprowadzone sztucznie do słownika ontologii czasoprzestrzeni — oraz takie, któremu mimo braku wyraźnego zdefiniowania w fizyce odpowiadają przedmioty punktowe; te koincydensy nazywamy adekwatnymi. W niniejszym artykule (1) rekonstruujemy definicję wąskich koincydensów oraz (2) omawiamy ich poszczególne rodzaje. W dalszej kolejności (3) wskazujemy na problemy generowane przez zbyt wąskie rozumienie terminu „koincydens” oraz podejmujemy próbę rozszerzenia pojęcia koincydensu tak, aby jego legitymacja brała się już nie z metafizyki, ale z fizyki. Wreszcie (4) rozważamy status koincydensów, zarówno węższych, jak i adekwatnych, w wybranych ontologiach nieewentystycznych.

Słowa kluczowe: filozofia fizyki, czasoprzestrzeń, ewentyzm punktowy, teoria względności, reizm, ontologia.

 

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Tomáš Čana

University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Slovakia.

Email: tomas.cana73@gmail.com

THE DIFFERENT ROLES OF DEDUCTION IN COMMUNICATION

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.1.5

ABSTRACT

This article is concerned with a distinction between two epistemic roles that, according to Michael Dummett, deductively valid arguments could play in communication. This means the distinction between: a) arguments that purport to explain, and b) arguments that purport to persuade. The article is also concerned with a resulting shift in the appropriate approach to these roles of arguments. In this respect, for example, an idea emerges which traditionally any realistic-minded author would have automatically dismissed as unthinkable, but which is now relevant. This is the idea of circular justification of knowledge as something rationally acceptable. The distinction also leads us to the view that we do not need anyone to convince us that the rules of correct deduction are valid. In fact, we are already convinced of the validity of the forms of inference that guide us at the moment we think about the deductively valid arguments. There should consequently be no authentic context in which we need to be persuaded of their validity. The present article attempts to reflect critically on the distinction between the epistemic roles of arguments, and on the resulting shift in the methodology, by making four critical objections to its presentation.

Keywords: Argumentation, communication, deduction, Michael Dummett, explanation, knowledge, logical necessity, persuasion, proof, validity.

 

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Mariusz Mazurek

Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Nowy Świat 72, 00-330 Warsaw.

Email: mariusz.mazurek@ifispan.edu.pl

LIMITATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. WHY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CANNOT REPLACE THE HUMAN MIND

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.1.6

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the historical and contemporary challenges in the development of artificial intelligence. Replicating the human mind—with its intentionality, self-awareness, and creativity—has been, from its inception, a major challenge in artificial intelligence (AI) research. A fundamental issue remains the inability of AI systems to address “why?” and “for what purpose?” questions, underscoring the distinction between machines and humans in terms of meaning-making and contextual interpretation.

Contemporary technologies, such as neural networks and deep learning, aim to emulate cognitive mechanisms observed in biological systems. Nonetheless, limitations such as the “frame problem” and the inability to simulate intentional states persist as significant barriers in the development of these systems. These challenges have prompted an interdisciplinary approach, integrating engineering, philosophy, psychology, and biology, and have led to the emergence of the concept of “naturalness” in AI design. This concept emphasizes mimicking not only cognitive functions but also the adaptive and goal-directed processes characteristic of the human minds.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence, intentionality, AI limitations, human vs. machine thinking.

 

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Sławomir Czetwertyński, Jakub Marcinkowski

Sławomir Czetwertyński — Katedra Mikroekonomii i Ekonomii Instytucjonalnej, Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wrocławiu, ul. Komandorska 118/120, Wrocław.

Email: slawomir.czetwertynski@ue.wroc.pl

Jakub Marcinkowski — Katedra Zarządzania Strategicznego i Logistyki, Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wrocławiu, ul. Komandorska 118/120, Wrocław.

Email: jakub.marcinkowski@ue.wroc.pl

 

O INTELIGENCJI KOLEKTYWNEJ W PROCESIE IDEALIZACJI W UJĘCIU EKONOMII I ZARZĄDZANIA

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.1.7

STRESZCZENIE

Tematyka niniejszego artykułu wpisuje się w debatę nad możliwościami poznawczymi w naukach społecznych, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem zastosowania elementów metod eksperckich w metodach izolacji. Konkretnie skupiono się na metodzie delfickiej oraz metodzie idealizacji i stopniowej konkretyzacji. Za cel artykułu przyjęto próbę udzielenia odpowiedzi na pytanie badawcze głoszące: czy zastosowanie metody delfickiej pozwoli na sformułowanie składowych perspektywy ontologicznej, którą można wykorzystać w procesie idealizacji zjawisk z obszaru ekonomii i zarządzania? Realizacja tak postawionego celu ma ukazać, jak można zastąpić, właściwy dla metody idealizacji, mechanizm wyłaniania czynnika naczelnego oparty na dowodzeniu logiczno-abstrakcyjnym (wnioskowaniu niezawodnym), mechanizmem opartym na idei inteligencji kolektywnej (wnioskowaniu nie niezawodnym).

Słowa kluczowe: metoda idealizacji, metoda izolacji, metoda delficka, inteligencja kolektywna, metodologia nauk ekonomicznych, metodologia nauk o zarządzaniu.

 

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Anna Martin

Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Email: michalskanna@gmail.com

SHARED AGENCY IN COMPLEX SETTINGS

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.1.8

ABSTRACT

The paper begins by identifying two opposing approaches to (shared) agency — the standard model and the dynamical model. Despite differences between them, both models essentially converge upon the belief that shared agency entails direct mutual influence between agents, in the form of either mutual control or mutual responsiveness, respectively. This assumption becomes problematic when applied to interdisciplinary practices, like interdisciplinary research, which involve role specialization and thus do not lend themselves to an explanation in terms of direct mutual influence. In response to this difficulty, the paper advances a third approach — referred to here as the regulatory model (e.g., Schore, 2000)—which explains shared agency in terms of loose coupling (Gruber, Bödeker, 2005) understood as a pattern of cyclical organization of action in the course of which different positions (perspectives, agendas) are first differentiated during the exploratory phase and then integrated, giving rise to a dialogical from of self-organization.

Keywords: Agency, shared agency, self-organization, differentiation, unification, interdisciplinary research, integration of perspectiveS.

 

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Bogna Kosmulska

Wydział Filozofii Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.

Email: bkosmulska@uw.edu.pl

DAWNIEJSZE DOMNIEMANE ŚWIADECTWA O AUTYZMIE Z PERSPEKTYWY HISTORYCZNEJ I HISTORYCZNOFILOZOFICZNEJ

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.1.9

STRESZCZENIE

Istnieje pewna liczba świadectw historycznych, które można retrospektywnie, a więc z dużą dozą niepewności, uznać za mówiące o osobach w spektrum autyzmu. Są także takie świadectwa, które mogą być pewnym tłem dla wytworzenia się jednostki diagnostycznej autyzmu w latach 40. XX wieku. Artykuł ma na celu nadanie wybranym dawniejszym z nich (Herodota, Salimbenego de Adama z Parmy, św. Augustyna, Marcina Lutra) kontekstu historycznego i, szczególnie, historycznofilozoficznego. Oryginalnym wkładem badawczym artykułu jest zwłaszcza próba włączenia świadectwa Augustyna z jego I ks.Wyznań (w zestawieniu z innymi dziełami myśliciela) do listy opisywanych już w literaturze przedmiotu. Kontekstualizacji podlega również kategoria „kontaktu afektywnego” stworzona przez Leo Kannera, współtwórcy jednostki diagnostycznej autyzmu jako przeciwwagi dla dawniejszych, moralnie nacechowanych ujęć historycznych. Wnioski z tych kilkutorowych analiz są dwojakiego rodzaju: po pierwsze, jakie ogólne rodzaje źródeł poznania, biorąc pod uwagę samą naturę autyzmu (tak jak została ona pierwotnie zdefiniowana w psychiatrii dziecięcej), są możliwe i etycznie uzasadnione w jego badaniu oraz, po drugie, czego współcześnie można się w sensie praktycznym nauczyć (i oduczać), studiując oczyma historyka filozofii dawniejsze domniemane doniesienia o zaburzeniach neurorozwojowych.

Słowa kluczowe: historia autyzmu, historia filozofii a autyzm, eksperymenty deprywacyjne, kontakt afektywny, niemówienie w autyzmie, neuroróżnorodność, Herodot, Salimbene de Adam z Parmy, Augustyn z Hippony, Marcin Luter, Leo Kanner.

 

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Małgorzata Czarnocka

Instytut Filozofii i Socjologii PAN, ul. Nowy Świat 72, 00-330 Warszawa.

Email: malgorzata.czarnocka@ifispan.edu.pl

PRZYCZYNEK DO KRYTYKI RACJONALNOŚCI INSTRUMENTALNEJ — PROBLEM CELU I ŚRODKA PROWADZĄCEGO DO CELU ORAZ ICH WARTOŚCIOWANIA

https://doi.org/10.37240/FiN.2025.13.1.10

STRESZCZENIE

Przedmiotem rozważań jest obecnie powszechnie aprobowana jako standardowa i niebudząca wątpliwości (np. w eseju Instrumental Rationality w pretendującej do opiniotwórczej Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) koncepcja racjonalności instrumentalnej oparta na opisowo-normatywnej definicji: „wybiera się/należy wybierać te środki, które są efektywne dla danego celu.” Analizuję, jakie kłopoty wiążą się z postulowaniem w tej koncepcji racjonalności celu działania jako znanego ex ante, tj. w fazie planowania działania, i o niewyznaczonych wartościach, oraz postulowania środków, na które nie są nałożone żadne wartości poza efektywnością działania. Wskazuję ponadto różnice pomiędzy obecnie paradygmatyczną koncepcją racjonalności instrumentalnej a bardziej wnikliwą koncepcją Maxa Webera co do kwestii charakteru celu, środków i ich wartości.

Słowa kluczowe: Racjonalność instrumentalna, cel działania, środek działania, wartości.

 

Georgius Forster

(1754–1794)

LIMITES HISTORIAE NATURALIS ORATIO QUA LECTIONES SUAS IN ACADEMIA VILNENSI AUSPICATUS EST

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.2

ABSTRACT

The author presents his panoramic (and comprehensive) vision of natural history, including—in addition to botany, zoology and mineralogy—also issues in the field of sciences that only later emerged and became independent, such as general biology, geology and paleontology. He refers to his own experiences gained during numerous journeys, including the longest, three-year trip around the world3 (which resulted in, among others, the description of 75 new genera and 265 species of tropical flora). The philosophical foundation of his narrative is an original concept of nature (inorganic and organic) perceived in a holistic and evolutionary way.

Keywords: (materialistic) philosophy of nature of the 18th century, the idea of pre-biological and biological evolution.

 

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Richard Krzymowski

(1875–1960)

THE APPEARANCE OF LIFE

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.3

ABSTRACT

The article presents the hypothesis of the origin of life. All the basic ideas of the 20th century research program in this area can be found there: the extrapolation of Darwinism into the area of chemical evolution, the influence of solar energy, the large “chemical possibilities” of carbon compounds, early heterotrophy, the gradual increase of organic purpose as a result of natural selection.

Keywords: Biogenesis, chemical evolution, pre-biological natural selection.

 

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Vladimir V. Zemnukhov

Institute of Marine Biology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok 690059.

Email: zemnukhov1@ya.ru

THE ORIGIN OF LIFE: ATMOSPHERIC HYPOTHESIS

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.4

ABSTRACT

An original hypothesis of the origin of life in an atmosphere of ancient Earth is proposed. It is shown that the atmospheric conditions of ancient Earth had been beneficial not only for initial abiogenic synthesis of organic monomers, but also for their polymerization and decomposition of protobiopolymers. Protobionts are particles of water aerosol the size of 1–10 microns. The proposed hypothesis can tie together all relevant facts on the early Earth’s history, antiquity and ecology features of methanogenic Achaea, the small size of prokaryotes, the discovery of fossilized prokaryotes in meteorites and others. The hypothesis provides an opportunity to consider the evolution of all principal components of the cell in a continuous relationship with each other and with the environment, from the earliest stages of the origin of life. According to the proposed hypothesis, the origin of life can be considered in conjunction with the development of formation of biogeochemical cycles as a natural process, which is an integral part of the birth of planets.

Keywords: Origin of life, non-equilibrium, chirality, ancient Earth, atmosphere, protobionts, Venus.

 

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Alicja Kubica

Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Email: alicewanderer@gmail.com

THE PROTOBIOLOGICAL THEORY OF CEILINGS AND FLOORS, OR CHEMICAL EVOLUTION AS A PLANETARY PROCESS

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.5

ABSTRACT

The article presents a modern protobiological theory based on the classical archetype. It connects the issues of origins of life with the theory of the hierarchy of matter and recognizes that error correction occurs within hierarchical and dynamic living systems. The paper briefly reproduces Morowitz-Smith prebiotic scenario. It highlights the importance of rTCA for theory, and the observation that the transition from a planet “without life” to a planet “with life” is a thermodynamic problem. Reflections on the philosophical foundations and worldview consequences of the theory are presented. The book and articles by the authors are crafted in a holistic approach and are critical towards the premature (and excessive) extrapolation of Darwinian selection as a means of explaining the process of abiogenesis.

Keywords: Origins of Life, chemical evolution, phase transitions.

 

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Alexander Prokofievich Rudenko

(1925–2004)

ON THE THEORY OF PREBIOTIC EVOLUTION

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.6

ABSTRACT

The main theorems of the theory of evolution of open catalytic systems are briefly presented. The difference between the “natural-historical” and “actualistic” approach to the problem of the origins of life was highlighted.

Keywords: biogenesis, theory of evolution of open catalytic systems.

 

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Marceli Nencki

(1847–1901)

ON THE BIOLOGICAL RELATION OF LEAF DYE TO BLOOD DYE

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.7

ABSTRACT

The author formulates conclusions for biological sciences from the discovery resulting from his cooperation with Leon Marchlewski. It is about the similarity of hematoporphyrin (a derivative of haemoglobin) isolated by Marceli Nencki and phylloporphyrin (a derivative of chlorophyll) obtained by Marchlewski, which suggests their genetic relationship, and thus a common origin of the world of animals and plants.

Keywords: Chlorophyll, haemoglobin, origins of the living world.

 

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Czesław Nowiński

(1907–1981)

SELF-ORGANIZATION AND THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.8

ABSTRACT

The author distinguishes three types of evolutionary theories: 1) ahistorical theories, constructed according to the methodological patterns of classical physics (mechanics), 2) supra-historical theories, in which the historical nature of the evolutionary process is reflected in a more complete (than only in the sense of the chronology of events) and richer, but its mechanism remains unchanged—“taken out of history,” 3) fully historical theories, recognizing that the factors and mechanisms of evolution themselves are entangled in history: are subject to changes in the course of historical development. A prominent representative of the third type is the theory of Ivan I. Schmalhauzen. Some peculiarities of its methodological structure are analyzed. This analysis allowed to reveal the premises of the process of evolution understood as a process of self-organization and to determine the basis on which it can be concluded that the general theory of evolution is nothing else than a theory of biological organization.

Keywords: Synthetic theory of evolution, driving (and other) factors of evolution, theory of stabilizing selection, historical variability of factors and mechanisms of evolution.

 

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Krzysztof Łastowski

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Szamarzewskiego 89, 60–568 Poznań, Poland.

E-mail: krzysztof.lastowski@amu.edu.pl

THE MAIN EVOLUTIONARY IDEAS OF MODERN BIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE
An outline of the historical and methodological analysis

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.9

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to show the methodological principles that govern the interrelationship of the main ideas, concepts, and theories of modern biology. In recent years, several prominent biological researchers attempted to offer insights into the development of biological knowledge. However, a critical examination of these attempts indicates that a methodological analysis is a more fitting approach for achieving this goal. Indeed, the challenge of establishing inter-theoretical connections between biological theories and discoveries falls not within the purview of biology itself but rather within the methodology of biology. This paper explores the key research findings that determine the vertical order of biological knowledge, thereby deepening our cognitive understanding of this field. It also explores the theoretical advancements that expand the horizontal scope of this knowledge. The conceptual framework is illustrated through two diagrams Map I and Map II, which illustrate the methodological structure of biological ideas, concepts, and theories from the era of Linnaeus to the early 21st century. Map II further demonstrates how complex explanatory narratives can be constructed based on contemporary biological and evolutionary knowledge.

Keywords: Aggregation, evolutionary biology, disaggregation, history and levels of biological knowledge, map of biological ideas and theories, methodological relationships.

 

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Paweł Grieb

Mossakowski Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw.

E-mail: pgrieb@op.pl

THE ORGANIZATION OF BIOLOGICAL MATTER AND THE PROCESS OF EVOLUTION

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.10

ABSTRACT

The theory of biological evolution by natural selection and the theory of levels of biological organization are general concepts intended to enable understanding of the existence of biological matter defined as living organisms that reproduce sexually. These two theories were formulated independently of each other, but later their integration was postulated. This study is an attempt to implement such a postulate. The starting point is the statement that both theories concern the way in which biological matter composed of individuals constituting populations exists. The theory of biological organization is intended to explain the functioning of organisms by maintaining homeostasis (relative independence from the environment) during the life cycle, while the theory of evolution concerns the changes that populations undergo in response to a changing environment.

Keywords: Theory of biological evolution, biological organization, biological matter, living organisms.

 

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Adrianna Grabizna

Institute of Psychology at the University of Zielona Góra, Poland.

Email: a.grabizna@wns.uz.zgora.pl

 

THE EVO-DEVO AND ITS EPIGENETICS—
“A NEW BIOLOGY FOR PSYCHOLOGY”? THE CASE OF INHERITANCE OF THE ATTACHMENT STYLE

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.11

ABSTRACT

The Evolutionary Developmental Biology (in abbreviation Evo-Devo) gains in popularity among psychologists. It would be a “synthesis of development and evolution” which would finally allow a rapprochement of psychology and biology. The Evo-Devo redefines epigenetics and opposes it to the (alleged) genetic determinism, genetic reductionism and preformationism of the Modern Synthesis (MS), proposes the concept of the extended inheritance and a mechanism of inheritance of acquired characters, which are claimed to be (neo-) Lamarckian, fuses the three questions separated by the MS: the origin of variation, fate of variation and inheritance of variation. These points of the Evo-Devo’s programme particularly resonate with psychologists’ expectations: genes alone do not explain the question of transgenerationality, the ontogeny of the attachment, e.g. early experience with caregivers (e.g. separation and loss) have a long-term effects on adult development can span a person’s lifetime, can even span generations. However, in the paper I show that the inheritance of acquired characters is indeed impossible, that Lamarck never proposed a theory of the inheritance of acquired characters and that it is a confusion rather than fusion to link the question of the origin of variation, the question of development and the one of inheritance. If the Evo-Devo is so appealing to psychologists, it is not because there is “a new biology for psychology.” I show that psychologists’ attitude towards monism was ambivalent and such was the relationship between psychology and biology. The paper is a standpoint of a philosopher of biology interested in psychology.

Keywords: Evo-Devo; epigenetics, extended inheritance, transgenerationality, attachment style, dualism, mind-body problem.

 

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Andrzej Elżanowski

Department Artes Liberales, The University of Warsaw.

Email: elzanowski@al.uw.edu.pl

ON THE EVOLUTIONARY ORIGIN OF VALUES

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.12

 

Values drive not only human history, but our entire world, i.e. the biosphere. It would seem, therefore, that nothing can be more important for the future of the world than the theory or understanding of values. But in fact, scientific axiology is in a pre-paradigmatic stage of fragmented conceptualizations, i.e. there is no coherent theory of values as causal factors in the living world. Philosophers have reached a relative consensus only in distinguishing intrinsic values as resulting from states of mind or experiences (Narveson, 1967, p. 75; Frankena, 1973, pp. 81–82) from instrumental values, but beyond that there is no coherent conceptualization of other types of value (Nagel, 1979), whose relationship to immanent value usually remains undefined. Therefore, the question arises where do immanent values come from and how they relate to other categories of values.

 

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Adrianna Grabizna

Institute of Psychology at the University of Zielona Góra.

Email: a.grabizna@wns.uz.zgora.pl

FROM NAMES TO OBJECTS—PHILOSOPHICALLY ABOUT PSYCHIATRIC CLASSIFICATIONS

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.13

ABSTRACT

At each introduction of a new edition of psychiatric classifications, a vivid debate resurfaces and concerns their very validity: should classifications be based on etiology or should they be descriptive, based on observation, and not on some or other theories of etiopathogenesis? I shift the attention to the philosophical aspect of the debate. Psychiatric classifications employ (and have always employed) taxonomic methodology but in fact are not (and never were) based on biological mechanisms leading to mental disorders. Therefore I tried to catch the moment where certain observable features, recognized as symptoms, begins to be perceived as an ontologically independent entities and we start to think that nosological units must have a specific cause (e.g. a neuropathogenesis), which is simply reflected in the diagnostic picture. I tried to catch the moment, when by naming, classifying and diagnosing, we, in a sense, create objects. Then I show how from there we can slide into objectification: we can stop to see a person and start to an illness.

Keywords: psychiatric classifications, DSM, ICD, essentialism, nosography, abstraction.

 

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Alicja Kubica

Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Email: alicewanderer@gmail.com

ON THE STRUGGLE OF SCIENTISTS WITH
THE EFFECTS OF POSITIVIST MYTHS FUNCTIONING IN THE LIFE SCIENCES

https://doi.10.37240/FiN.2024.12.1.14

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to examine whether the “seven myths” identified and presented by Uroboros in “In venenoso Dracone …,” more than thirty years ago still function in the academic community. It also aims to address whether there are indications that this state has undergone a change. It seems that naturalists found that excessive adherence to a physicalist style of doing science severely limits research work. At the same time, scientists often grapple with the consequences of implementing physicalism and stumble while addressing philosophical issues.

Keywords: Positivist mythology, meta-scientific and meta-philosophical mythology, philosophy of biology, philosophy of protobiology, research on the origins of life.

Piotr (Peter) Bołtuć 

E-mail: pboltu@sgh.waw.pl

ABSTRACT 

We view philosophy as paradigm setting: largely, spread over leading sciences of the epoch, as well as the main developing technologies, and even socio-economic and managerial patterns. This is, obviously, a “regulatory definition,” not quite a descriptive one. We examine whether it is the science of sciences, or the science over the sciences. Thus, it is not quite a meta-science. Our point is not to view philosophy as a methodology of science, or as its maid ( ancilla). Philosophy is viewed as the pinnacle of the sciences, providing them with ontological and axiological meanings. Here is one proposed definition: Philosophy is built upon the sum of general theories of all leading sciences (broadly understood); it is a theory based on this sum. The aim of philosophy so defined is to stipulate and approximate veridical worldviews, rooted in the strongest available background, which is largely the background provided by the sciences, but not quite limited to what is scientifically provable at a given point in time—this last clause is due to temporary limitedness of any science, always existing at a given time-slice. Thus, limited dependency on any principles, not only factual statements. As we know from Albert Einstein’s relativity theories and other scientific revolutions, both factual statements and higher-level principles, are always already inductively questionable, e.g., through inference to the best explanation following pragmatic, context dependent, criteria of what counts as “the best” of explanations. We also question the intuitive requirements of physicalism that are crucial to Daniel Stoljar’s thesis that physicalism cannot be properly defined. In contrast to the broadly scientistic predilection beneath the approach in the main bulk of this article we also need and require a philosophical focus on the human existential condition, which is complementary to, and not contradictory with, the above definition of philosophy. The proposed approach may be viewed as an Enlightenment approach, aware of its strengths and limits; thus, with a post- Enlightenment zing.

Keywords: Philosophy as paradigm building, physicalism over the current sciences.

 

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B. Jack Copeland , Diane Proudfoot

Universityof Canterbury, New Zealand

E-mail: jack.copeland@canterbury.ac.nz

E-mail: diane.proudfoot@canterbury.ac.nz

 

We examine Turing’s intriguing claim, made in the philosophy journal Mind, that he had created a short computer program of such a nature that it would be impossible “to discover by observation sufficient about it to predict its future behaviour, and this within a reasonable time, say a thousand years” (Turing, 1950, p. 457). A program like this would naturally have cryptographic applications, and we explore how the program would most likely have functioned. Importantly, a myth has recently grown up around this program of Turing’s, namely that it can be used as the basis of an argument—and was so used by Turing—to support the conclusion that it is impossible to infer a detailed mathematical description of the human brain within a practicable timescale. This alleged argument of Turing’s has been dubbed “Turing’s Wager” (Thwaites, Soltan, Wieser, Nimmo-Smith, 2017, p. 3) We demonstrate that this argument—in fact nowhere to be found in Turing’s work—is worthless, since it commits a glaring logical fallacy. “Turing’s Wager” gives no grounds for pessimism about the prospects for understanding and simulating the human brain.

Keywords: Alan Turing, Turing’s Wager, mechanized encryption, laws of behaviour, unspecifiability of the mind, brain modelling, whole-brain simulation, cipher machines, Enigma, Fish, Tunny, early computer-based cryptography.

 

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Kyrtin Atreides

AGI Laboratory, Seattle, WA,USA

E-mail: Kyrtin@ArtificialGeneralIntelligenceInc.com

 

The impact of complexity within government and societal systems is considered relative to the limitations of human cognitive bandwidth, and the resulting reliance on cognitive biases and systems of automation when that bandwidth is exceeded. Examples of how humans and societies have attempted to cope with the growing difference between the rate at which the complexity of systems and human cognitive capacities increase respectively are considered. The potential of and urgent need for systems capable of handling the existing and future complexity of systems, utilizing greater cognitive bandwidth through scalable AGI, are also considered, along with the practical limitations and considerations in how those systems may be deployed in real-world conditions. Several paradoxes resulting from the influence of prolific Narrow Tool AI systems manipulating large portions of the population are also noted.

Keywords: e-Governance, complexity, cognitive bandwidth AGI, Artificial General Intelligence, scalability tool AIcognitive bias.

 

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Jessica Baumberger

University of Illinois Springfield

E-mail: jbaum02s@uis.edu

Artificial Intelligence (AI) stands at the intersection of unprecedented opportunities and profound challenges. As AI is increasingly integrated into societal structures, the necessity for transparency and open-source approaches becomes paramount to foster both innovation and ethical considerations. Collaborative efforts among academia, industry, and policymakers are essential for addressing the multifaceted complexities that AI presents. While AI promises transformative benefits, potential challenges, such as its weaponization, corporate exploitation, and job displacement, warrant careful attention. Striking a balance between regulation with innovation is critical. Academic institutions can play a pivotal role, guiding AI’s trajectory, nurturing interdisciplinary learning, and equipping future professionals. Embracing open-source AI can ensure its ethical use and mitigate the risks associated with its exploitation. The existential threats posed by AI are significant, yet with strategic collaboration and foresight, a bright, AI-driven future is within reach.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence (AI), open-source AI, AI ethics, AI transparency, AI Education.

 

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Kazimierz Kowalski

California State University, Dominguez Hills

E-mail: kazikk@gmail.com

 

Strategic Informatics is a monograph of the field of computer science in the field of; Its strategic development waves, the challenges of technological progress in the context of the strategic role of computer science, the main strategy-oriented applications in business, healthcare, agriculture, education and private home, strategic challenges of computer science in the humanities, digital state and city, sustainable development and information ethics, morality, and rights.

Keywords: strategic informatics, KSI, KSO, PESEL, digitization, civilization waves, IT revolution, AI, robots, Internet, Infostrada, Cyfronet, unemployment, Big Tech, Lange, Chile, informatics matrix model, humanities matrix model, automation, laws of computer science, IT ethics, IT morality, applications of informatics, informatic systems, cloud computing, IT platforms, technological challenges, definition of informatics, computer science.

 

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Jan Grzanka

E-mail: jangrzanka@onet.pl

The article discusses the evolution of Marian Smoluchowski’s reasoning in his research on causality and understanding the essence of chance. Initially, Smoluchowski focused on the epistemic study of causality, looking for evidence supporting the kinetic-molecular theory. In proving the causes of Brownian motion, he used the concepts of physical causality. The fundamental change in Polish physicist’s perception of causality was the understanding of the position of chance on the cause-effect line. Introducing mathematical relations into his considerations, he analyzed the aspect of the occurrence of the effect. The chance suitable for calculating probability was distinguished from the chance in a broader sense by the essential regularity of the frequent recurrence of the phenomenon, regardless of the knowledge of the cause. Smoluchowski’s merit was the distinction between the philosophical and physical understanding of causality, chance and probability theory. Shifting the considerations on the nature of chance to the ontological plane moved the study of chance into the area of science, thus leading to the practical application of probability theory in physics.

Keywords: physical causality, Brownian motion, effect, chance, probability.

 

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Jan Czerniawski

Instytut Filozofii, Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Polska.

E-mail: uzczerni@cyf-kr.edu.pl

 

According to Bell’s theorem, no local realistic model can reproduce all predictions of quantum mechanics for the EPR-B experiment. Any such model would have to predict both the perfect correlation and breaking the CHSH inequality, but this seems impossible, since to provide the first prediction, the model would have to be deterministic, whereas this would seem to make the second one impossible. A model of the EPR-B experiment is presented, in which this apparent contradiction is expected to be avoided due to a deterministic chaotic mechanism underlying measurements. The model is in the phase of a “black box” model, since this mechanism is not yet specified, but only a corresponding probabilistic response function.

Keywords: Quantum mechanics, Bell’s theorem, EPR-B experiment.

 

–––––––––

 

E-mail: ejdrozdowska@gmail.com

 

Quantum logic emerged in the 1930s as a response to the question of whether the conceptual changes initiated in physics by quantum mechanics required a revision of logic. In the English-language literature, John von Neumann is considered the founder of quantum logic, while the Polish literature points to Zygmunt Zawirski. Zawirski was the first researcher who suggested that quantum mechanics may follow a different logic than classical logic. He was the first researcher in the field of many-valued quantum logic, but his influence ultimately proved to be limited. John von Neumann, on the other hand, along with Garrett Birkhoff, started the now dominant field of algebraic quantum logic. It turns out that despite their differences in assumptions and methods, what they have in common is their commitment to subjecting the design of quantum logic to two requirements – consideration of Heisenberg’s indeterminacy principle and reconciliation of the resulting logic with probability calculus.

Keywords: Zygmunt Zawirski, John von Neumann, quantum logic, many- valued logic, philosophy of quantum mechanics.

 

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Giacomo Borbone

Catania University, Dipartimento di Scienze della Formazione, Italy.

E-mail: giacomoborboneyahoo.it

 

The struggle undertaken by Galileo Galilei against Aristotelian physics—and his subsequent defense of Nicolaus Copernicus’s theories—led the Pisan scientist to bring about the so-called modern scientific revolution and to lay the foundations of the experimental method, the fundamental result of which was to deprive the natural world of subjective qualities and to reconfigure it in purely quantitative terms. On the purely historical level, agreement among historians of science and philosophy is almost unanimous, while the same cannot be said for questions concerning interpretations of Galilei’s modus operandi and the basic philosophical options adopted by Galilei during his demolition of the entire Aristotelian-scholastic framework. Not all experts in the Galilean thought or of science, in fact, agree in tracing the Galilean reflection within the Platonic tradition, but one authoritative voice that has instead argued for its deep intertwining between Plato and Galilei is the German philosopher Ernst Cassirer. In this contribution I will attempt to demonstrate, partly considering two unpublished manuscripts of Cassirer, the plausibility of the Cassirerian thesis about Galilei’s physical Platonism.

Keywords: abstraction, Cassirer, Galileo Galilei, idealization, science.

Andrzej Łukasik 

Institute of Philosophy, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland. 

Email: andrzej.m.lukasik@gmail.com 

STANISŁAW LEM’S PHILOSOPHICAL IDEAS, CONCEPTIONS, AND INSPIRATIONS.

INTRODUCTION 

doi:10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.2

–––––––––

Sébastien Doubinsky 

Aarhus University, School of Communication and Culture, 8000 Aarhus C. 

E-mail: sebastiendoubinsky@yahoo.fr

UNSPEAKABLE OTHERNESS—AN ESSAY ON THE FAILURE OF COGNITIVE AND EPISTEMIC COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN STANISLAW LEM’S SOLARIS 

doi:10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.3

ABSTRACT 

Stanislaw Lem is one of the most famous figures of the Polish science fiction in post-world war two Europe. Solaris. His most famous novel, was published in 1961, and was adapted twice for the big screen, first in 1971 by Andrej Tarkovski, and in 2002 by Steven Soderbergh. The plot revolves around the psychologist Kris Kelvin, who is sent on the planet Solaris to try to find out if it is possible to communicate with the alien ocean that covers almost all of its surface. Confronted with a strange phenomenon and colleagues turned paranoid, Kelvin tries at first to understand what is going on at the space station. The unexplained arrival of the döppleganger of his ex-partner, Harey, will little by little make him accept the absurdity of his task and possibly of life itself. As Lem himself refused any final interpretation of his novel, there has of course been a flourish of them. One can however choose this exegetic impossibility as a major theme in the novel, and reflect on the implications of the situation Kelvin faces, caught between a desire to understand the nature of Solaris’s ocean and the sheer failure of doing so. In this essay, we will try to suggest that, by showing the limits of language as the means to express a satisfying epistemic frame, Lem’s parabol could be seen as an attempt to show the reader the existential limits of our anthropocentrism and scientific hubris. 

Keywords: Lem; Solaris; Language; Communication; Existentialism. 

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Bernd Graefrath 

University of Duisburg-Essen, Department of Philosophy, Universitaetsstr. 12, D-45117 Essen, Germany. 

Email: bernd.graefrath@uni-due.de

LEM’S PHILOSOPHY OF CHANCE IN HIS FICTION AND NON-FICTION

doi:10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.4

ABSTRACT 

Stanislaw Lem recognizes the far-reaching role of chance both in gaining knowledge and in explaining the development of cultural norms. The consequences are explored by him in fiction and non-fiction. 

Keywords: Stanislaw Lem, chance, science fiction, philosophy of technology, philosophy of biology, philosophy of culture. 

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Peter Swirski 

Email: peter.swirski@ualberta.ca 

THE CASSANDRA SYNDROME, OR HOW NOT TO BE A PROPHET

doi:10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.5

ABSTRACT 

The central question of the article is should Stanisław Lem be read as a futurologist? The main thesis is that more than in predicting the future Lem always has been more interested in exploration the conceptual limits of science and its technological offshoots. 

Keywords: Stanisław Lem, Hugo Gernsbacher, Herbert George Wells, futurology, conceptual limits of science. 

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Paweł Polak, Roman Krzanowski

Paweł Polak – The Pontifical University of John Paul II, Cracow.

Email: pawel.polak@upjp2.edu.pl 

Roman Krzanowski – The Pontifical University of John Paul II, Cracow. 

Email: roman.krzanowski@upj2.edu.pl 

STANISŁAW LEM’S VISIONS OF A TECHNOLOGICAL FUTURE: TOWARD PHILOSOPHY IN TECHNOLOGY 

doi:10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.6

ABSTRACT 

Stanisław Lem is mostly known as a sci-fi writer and not widely perceived as a visionary of the cyber age, despite the fact that he foresaw the future of information technology better than most scientific experts. Indeed, his visions of future information-based societies have proved to be remarkably accurate. Lem’s stories fuse together elements of fantasy, philosophy, and science, but what we can really learn from them is the nature of humanity, technology, and philosophy, as well as the values of technological prophecies. Moreover, Lem gave birth to, without naming it as such, the concept of philosophy in technology, which is a perspective on technology and philosophy that explores the deep implicit philosophical foundations of technology and humanity. 

Keywords: Stanisław Lem, visions of technology, technological future, philosophy of technology, philosophy in technology. 

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Jan Pleszczyński 

Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland.

Email: jan.pleszczynski@umcs.pl 

NATURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL RATIOMORPHISM IN COMMUNICATION (IN THE CONTEXT OF SOME IDEAS OF LORENZ AND LEM)

doi:10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.7

ABSTRACT

The main idea of this article claims that the dominance of modern media technologies over the contemporary sphere of intersubjectivity reveals certain phenomena in the human world that did not exist in the pre-Internet epochs. One of them is technoratiomorphism. I use this term to define a hybrid operating in accordance with biological ratiomorphic mechanisms and overlapping with technological rationality. I also indicate some effects which are brought into social and individual existence by the presence of technoratiomorphism in communication. In my consideration I refer to Konrad Lorenz’s position and evolutionary epistemology, in general. I also interweave them with certain themes found in Stanisław Lem’s works.

Keywords: communication, ratiomorphism, technoratiomorphism, Internet, modern technologies, evolution, epistemology, Stanisław Lem, Konrad Lorenz.

 

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Filip Kobiela 

University of Physical Education in Krakow​, Al. Jana Pawła II 78, 31–571 Kraków. 

Email: filip.kobiela@awf.krakow.pl 

BETRIZATION AND ETHICSPHERE – TWO LITERARY CONCRETIZATIONS OF LEM’S IDEA OF TECHNOLOGY OF ETHICS

doi:10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.8 

ABSTRACT

The aim of the article is to reconstruct, analyze and compare two of Lem’s visions which concern the application of the future development of science and technology in order to construct an enhanced society. In other words, two literary concretizations of his idea concerning the technology of ethics. These are betrization — presented in the novel Return from the Stars and the ethicsphere — presented in the novel Observation on the Spot. In the “Introduction,” I discuss the specifics of Lem’s philosophizing, both in terms of its form and content, and I identify its main subject as concerning the problem of the influence of technological development on man, society and sphere of values. Then in the section “Life in an unfriendly world” I discuss the context which provides the background for the presentation of two Lem’s visions of technology of ethics, namely, the Doctrine of the Three Worlds, an integral part of the novel Observation on the Spot, but its meaning also explains Lem’s motivation to take up the idea of betrization. In the section “Life in a society devoid of aggression and risk,” I discuss a hypothetical society subjected to betrization — a procedure that eliminates aggressive tendencies. In the section “Living in a completely safe environment,” I discuss a hypothetical society living in an ethicsphere, that is, an “intelligent” environment programmed to care for the safety of its members; I also present a brief comparison of betrization and the ethicsphere. I conclude the paper by indicating where Lem’s considerations figure within the typology of utopia proposed by Bernard Suits.

Keywords: Stanisław Lem, technology, ethics, evil, betrization, ethicsphere, The Doctrine of Three Worlds.

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Łukasz Kucharczyk 

Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński’s University, Warsaw, Poland.

Email: l.kucharczyk@uksw.edu.pl 

THE BODY AND THE UNIVERSE: ON CORPOREALITY IN STANISŁAW LEM’S RETURN FROM THE STARS

doi:10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.9 

ABSTRACT 

The paper develops the implicit as well as explicit meaning which evokes Stanisław Lem’s concept of the Body and the Corporality portrayed in the novel Return from the Stars. Moreover, Lem’s novel about an astronaut Hal Bregg and his return on Earth is analysed. In this novel author uses the idea of Einstein’s twin paradox. Hal Bergg—the stereotype of masculinity—is confronted with decadent and egalitarian society, which may be refers to the reunion masculinity with femininity. Such storyline shows the multidimensionality of the issue of Corporality, and presents the Body as a epistemological metaphor of modernism and postmodernism. In addition, the Body is depicted in the Return of the Stars as a figure of a mask and a costume. Furthermore, the Body in Lem’s novel is also interpreted as part of the Universe—as the boundary between what is temporary and what is infinite and transcendent. 

Keywords: body, corporeality, universe, utopia, dystopia, Stanisław Lem. 

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Barbara Dzida, Tomir Jędrejek, Andrzej Łukasik 

Andrzej Łukasik — Institute of Philosophy, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland.

Email: andrzej.m.lukasik@gmail.com 

Barbara Dzida — Email: dzida.barbara@tlen.pl 

Tomir Jędrejek — Email: jedrejektomir@gmail.com 

WHAT DID LEM THINK OVER?

doi:10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.10

ABSTRACT 

Stanisław Lem is considered the most outstanding representative of Polish and one of the most eminent representatives of world science-fiction literature, as well as a futurologist and—at least by some—a philosopher who, in the form of novels and short stories written in the convention of science fiction and the so-called discursive prose, touched upon important philosophical problems concerning the place of man in the Universe, the effects of technological and civilisational progress and the issue of the limits of cognition. The article reconstructs and analyses the main philosophical problems presented in the work Filozoficzny Lem. Wybór tekstów Stanisława Lema i opracowania [The Philosophical Lem. A Selection of Texts by Stanisław Lem and Studies] edited by Filip Kobiela and Jakub Gomułka. 

Keywords: Stanisław Lem, fantasy, futurology, consciousness, virtual reality, transhuanism, anthropic principle, evolution.

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Andrew Targowski 

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008, USA.

Email: andrew.targowski@wmich.edu 

DIGITAL EDUCATION STRATEGIES

doi:10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.11

ABSTRACT 

This study analyzes and discusses key strategies for digital education. It begins by examining and defining several key concepts, including global citizenship, digital citizenship, computational thinking, informational thinking, and systemic thinking. Moreover it analyzes the role of leadership in the age of digitalization and advocates for panoramic leadership. Then it compares STEM-based education with STEAMbased education extended by panoramic leadership – STEAMPL. 

Keywords: computational thinking, digital citizenship, digital humanities, global citizenship, informational thinking, Internetization, STEAM, STEAMPL, systemic thinking, panoramic leadership.

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Emanuele Lacca 

University of South Bohemia, Kněžská 8, 37001, České Budějovice, Czech Republic. 

Email: lacca@jcu.cz 

SUNT INTELLIGIBILIA ENTIA QUAE SUNT VERA. A LATE MEDIEVAL INTERPRETATIONOF INTENTIONALITY 

doi:10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.12 

ABSTRACT 

The aim of this contribution is to present the theory of intentionality proposed by the Spanish Dominican Lope de Barrientos (1382–1469), as it is offered by his Clavis Sapentiae: in this erudite work, written at the turn of the 15th century in the context of the new-born School of Salamanca, the terms proper to the gnoseological lexicon of the Thomist scholasticism are taken into consideration, analysed and renewed in a new original way. This makes possible to demonstrate from one hand how the tradition opened by Thomas Aquinas is inherited in the upcoming Renaissance and from another hand to look how a typical Renaissance scholar as Barrientos builds a theory of knowledge that is original, although faithful to the Thomist tradition to which it has been continuously and cogently referred and consulted. 

Keywords: Lope de Barrientos, School of Salamanca, intentionality, first intentions, second intentions. 

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Anna Gańko

University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, 00–927 Warsaw, Poland.

Email: anna.ganko@uw.edu.pl 

EMBODIED MIND. THE PROBLEM OF EXISTENCE OF SPACE IN GEORGE BERKELEY’S NEW THEORY OF VISION

doi: 10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.13 

ABSTRACT

Berkeley is a philosopher commonly associated with his thesis about the non-existence of the material world. However, he would disagree with the statement that the entire world that, according to him, consists of ideas, is only in the cognizing mind. He would also disagree with the fact that perceived objects are in absolute space. The article aims to present Berkeley’s solution to the alternative mentioned above. The solution is based on the category of space presented in Berkeley’s Essasy Towards New Theory of Vision. In New Theory of Vision, Berkeley explains his position on problem of visual perception. He begins his argument by resolving the issue of the visual perception of distance, and this subjects leads him to much further matters — including the concept of relative space, grounded in the bodily experience of the cognizing subject.

Keywords: George Berkeley, New Theory of Vision, space, immaterialism, Molyneux Problem.

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Giulia Cirillo 

Jagiellonian University, Cracow, Poland.

Email: giulia.cirillo1@gmail.com 

A CIRCLE OR A SPIRAL? THE PRIMEVAL, TROPOLOGICAL SCHEME IDENTIFIED IN THE STRUCTURE OF TRUTH THEORIES 

doi: 10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.14 

ABSTRACT 

Applying linguistic tropes to the deep structure which underlay the 19th century historical imagination Hayden White derived from the vault of philosophical richness contained in Giambattista Vico’s La Scienza Nuova. Now the treasure trove becomes a source of one more illuminating analogy. The following study demonstrates how metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche and irony can be identified with five major theories of truth: the correspondence, pragmatic, coherence, deflationary and the semantic one. Theories are evoked on the basis of texts by philosophers themselves (Bertrand Russell, Charles Sanders Peirce, Brand Blanshard et al.). Moreover, a numerical mismatch between them and the four tropes should be seen as everything but unwanted. The concept of irony has multiple interpretations, and so mapping it onto the semantic theory will expose the relation between truth accounts and the principle of their development. In the end, there emerges a pattern in the shape of a circle or a spiral—two models of infinity along which runs the human quest for meaning of truth. 

Keywords: Truth, tropes, Hayden White, Giambattista Vico, figuration. 

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Zuzanna Sima 

Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Grodzka 52, 31-044 Kraków, Poland.​

Email: zuzanna.wilczynska@student.uj.edu.pl 

RESEARCH ON THE LINGUISTIC WORLDVIEW AND HANS GEORG GADAMER’S HERMENEUTICS

doi: 10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.15 

ABSTRACT

Hans Georg Gadamer in his studies on the essence of hermeneutics emphasizes in a special way the role of language in cognition and the understanding of the world. The paper intends to find an application of Gadamer’s hermeneutics in the linguists’ research of the linguistic worldview. Section 1 of the paper considers the worldview in linguistics, section 2 analyzes some aspects of Gadamer’s hermeneutics, while section 3 connects the problems considered in sections 1 and 2 and determines the aim of the paper. The presented considerations are situated in the reflection on the philosophical foundations of linguistic research.

Keywords: linguistic worldview, hermeneutics, Hans Georg Gadamer, JOS.

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Józef Leszek Krakowiak 

University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 3, 00-047 Warsaw, Poland.

Email: j.k.l@wp.pl 

THE ROLE OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IN WISŁAWA SZYMBORSKA’S POETIC CREATION OF THE LIFEWORLD. PART I

doi: 10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.16 

ABSTRACT

This paper is the first part of the research on Wisława Szymborska’s reflections and considerations — in poetic form — on knowledge, science, and the scientific worldview. These aspects of Szymborska’s work are presented on the wide background of the philosophical threads in her poetry.

Keywords: Wisława Szymborska, knowledge, science, scientific worldview.

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Józef Leszek Krakowiak 

University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 3, 00-047 Warsaw, Poland.​

Email: j.k.l@wp.pl 

THE ROLE OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE IN WISŁAWA SZYMBORSKA’S POETIC CREATION OF THE LIFEWORLD. PART II

doi: 10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.17

 

ABSTRACT

This paper is the first part of the research on Wisława Szymborska’s reflections and considerations, included in her poetry, on knowledge, science, and the scientific worldview. These aspects of Szymborska’s work are presented the wide background of the philosophical threads in her poetry.

Keywords: Wisława Szymborska, knowledge, science, scientific worldview.

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Marcin Gileta 

Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland.

Email: gileta@wp.pl 

AESTHETIC CRITERIA IN SCIECE IN GRZEGORZ BIAŁKOWSKI’S VIEW

doi: 10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.18 

ABSTRACT

The text presents the view of the Polish physicist Grzegorz Białkowski on using aesthetic criteria in the practice of science, first of all in the practice of physics. Białobrzeski claims — along with Henri Poincaré, Werner Heisenberg and Paul Dirac — that aesthetic criteria are present in the creating and assessing of scientific theories; he also searches for a justification of referring to these criteria. He also draws attention to the role of aesthetic experience in scientific activity. He justifies the presence of aesthetic criteria in physics as part of his naturalistic attitude.

Keywords: Grzegorz Białkowski, extra-substantive criteria, aesthetic criteria, philosophy of physics, philosophy of science.

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Jakub Kopyciński 

Center for Theoretical Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotników 32/46 02-668 Warsaw, Poland. 

Email: jkopycinski@cft.edu.pl 

ON THE QUANTUM PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY POSTULATE

doi: 10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.19

 

ABSTRACT

This article analyses one of the trials aiming to bridge the incommensurability gap between special relativity and quantum mechanics in the form of postulating the quantum principle of relativity. The postulate is argued here to be rather a conventionalist stratagem than a new paradigm in theoretical physics. It is worth emphasising this claim does not assess the scientific value of the analysed work at all. Moreover, I draw attention to favouring both the mathematical instrumentalism and the ontic character of probability in the article in question.

Keywords: philosophy of physics, conventionalist stratagem, paradigm, instrumentalism, ontic randomness.

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Andrzej Gecow 

independent research​

Email: andrzej.gecow@gmail.com 

REMARKS ON THE COLLECTED WORKS BY KRZYSZTOF CHODASEWICZ THE MYSTERY OF LIFE

doi: 10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.20 

ABSTRACT

Krzysztof Chodasewicz (1982–2016) died young, but his publications strongly influenced the Polish scientific community in the field of the philosophy of life when life is understood as a biological process. This topic was an almost forgotten in Poland. It was Chodasewicz who, through the articles republished in the collection presented here, gave the Polish reader a picture of the current state of reflection on this issue. The articles are not only overviews of the contemporary positions; in each article Chodasewicz presents some of his new concepts. The main advantage of the published collection is a delicate form of making people aware of the range of possible views and problems, which in the subject of the essence and origin of life usually arouses great emotions and preliminary reservations. My paper is an overview of the topics and materials collected in the book, with my comments.

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Marek Błaszczyk

Nicholas Copernicus University, Fosa Staromiejska 1a, 87-100 Toruń, Poland.​

Email: marek_blaszczyk@onet.eu 

INTRODUCTION TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF KARL JASPERS

doi: 10.37240/FiN.2022.10.1.21 

ABSTRACT

The article presents a critical approach to „Filozofia” Jaspersa [Jaspers’ „Philosophy”] by Mirosław Żelazny (WN UMK, Toruń 2019). It discusses the main theses presented in the dissertation and invites to reflection on the existential philosophy of Karl Jaspers. The paper exposes the most important themes of Jaspersian thinking — the dialectical method of philosophizing, understanding the worldview, the phenomenon of existential communication and the concept of borderline situations.

Keywords: Karl Jaspers, philosophy, human being, existence, existentialism.