Stanislaw Lem, a philosopher and futurologist, in his many works devoted much attention to the condition of human and the relation between human and technology. He coined the term ‘autoevolution’ in the course of forecasting unlimited technological augmentation of human abilities. Nowadays, the term may be associated with the conceptions presented by transhumanism, a 20th-century-born philosophical movement which advocates radical transformation of Homo sapiens by means of the achievements of scientific and technological progress. Lem’s attitude towards such a transformation of human is complicated yet ultimately critical due to the fact that it poses a threat to human culture as such. The phenomenon of autoevolution undermines existing values and raises a question of authenticity of a future posthuman. We examine dependence between technology and culture, present Lem’s conception of autoevolution and his philosophy of culture, then we sketch a post-metaphysical dispute about authenticity, and finally show that Lem’s thought belongs to one of the arguing sides.
{"title":"Człowiek jako wytwór siebie samego. Lem, transhumanizm i dwie koncepcje autentyczności","authors":"J. Gomułka, M. Klimas, Jakub Palm","doi":"10.15633/ss.3515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15633/ss.3515","url":null,"abstract":"Stanislaw Lem, a philosopher and futurologist, in his many works devoted much attention to the condition of human and the relation between human and technology. He coined the term ‘autoevolution’ in the course of forecasting unlimited technological augmentation of human abilities. Nowadays, the term may be associated with the conceptions presented by transhumanism, a 20th-century-born philosophical movement which advocates radical transformation of Homo sapiens by means of the achievements of scientific and technological progress. Lem’s attitude towards such a transformation of human is complicated yet ultimately critical due to the fact that it poses a threat to human culture as such. The phenomenon of autoevolution undermines existing values and raises a question of authenticity of a future posthuman. We examine dependence between technology and culture, present Lem’s conception of autoevolution and his philosophy of culture, then we sketch a post-metaphysical dispute about authenticity, and finally show that Lem’s thought belongs to one of the arguing sides.","PeriodicalId":30875,"journal":{"name":"Semina Scientiarum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43762664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article concentrates on the analysis of the Enlightenment periods vision of science by Josef Soltykowicz. His theories are examples of philosophical reflection of the Cracow Science Society. The starting point was the outline of the political and scientific situation from the second part of the XVII century to the first part of the XIX century also referring to the author’s biography. The main part of the article is the analysis of two Dissertations by Soltykowicz published by the Cracow Science Society their yearly publication, in 1818 and 1820. The following points were taken into account: The roots of the society’s activities, the relationship between science and faith, popularizing knowledge, criticism of Rousseau and anthropological analysis of the roots, of the negative view of knowledge. These theories are worth analysing, unfortunately so far the philosophical thought of the members of CSS, has not encouraged work on them as they deserved. At the same time we can expect that the work of the scientists from the CSS significantly impacted on the progress of the philosophical reflection in Cracow, and also the wider picture of modern polish scientific culture.
{"title":"Oświeceniowa wizja nauki w ujęciu Józefa Sołtykowicza, jako przykład refleksji filozoficznej z kręgu Towarzystwa Naukowego Krakowskiego","authors":"Sylwia Psica","doi":"10.15633/ss.3518","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15633/ss.3518","url":null,"abstract":"The article concentrates on the analysis of the Enlightenment periods vision of science by Josef Soltykowicz. His theories are examples of philosophical reflection of the Cracow Science Society. The starting point was the outline of the political and scientific situation from the second part of the XVII century to the first part of the XIX century also referring to the author’s biography. The main part of the article is the analysis of two Dissertations by Soltykowicz published by the Cracow Science Society their yearly publication, in 1818 and 1820. The following points were taken into account: The roots of the society’s activities, the relationship between science and faith, popularizing knowledge, criticism of Rousseau and anthropological analysis of the roots, of the negative view of knowledge. These theories are worth analysing, unfortunately so far the philosophical thought of the members of CSS, has not encouraged work on them as they deserved. At the same time we can expect that the work of the scientists from the CSS significantly impacted on the progress of the philosophical reflection in Cracow, and also the wider picture of modern polish scientific culture.","PeriodicalId":30875,"journal":{"name":"Semina Scientiarum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44159287","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article is an attempt to answer the question about possible philosophical (non-mathematical) sources of antinomies revealed in mathematics at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Mathematical Platonism seems to be one of such sources. Is it possible, in Plato’s way of thinking, to really find the problem of the existence of objects, which in the context of the infinite set theory was mentioned by Georg Cantor? And if so, how does this problem solve Plato himself?
{"title":"Krytyka Platona przyjmowania uczestniczenia (ei;dh) rzeczy w postaciach () jako przyczynek do dyskusji na temat źródeł antynomii w podstawach matematyki","authors":"Kondrad Dydak Rycyk","doi":"10.15633/ss.3514","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15633/ss.3514","url":null,"abstract":"This article is an attempt to answer the question about possible philosophical (non-mathematical) sources of antinomies revealed in mathematics at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Mathematical Platonism seems to be one of such sources. Is it possible, in Plato’s way of thinking, to really find the problem of the existence of objects, which in the context of the infinite set theory was mentioned by Georg Cantor? And if so, how does this problem solve Plato himself?","PeriodicalId":30875,"journal":{"name":"Semina Scientiarum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45112017","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The question of the beginning of the world, it’s first rule, genesis and structure followed humanity since the dawn of time, becoming a source for philosophy and science. Search for a rational answer to that question lead, throughout the ages, to a creation of many cosmogonic concepts which referenced various philosophical traditions. While they currently hold only historical value, in many cases they contained ideas, sometimes still very inarticulate, which revolutionized the science in later years. One of such concepts was proposed by Michael Sendivogius, a Renaissance polish alchemist. In his approach, creation of world is dynamic and multiphase. In his vision, the world is something, which is subject to evolution (though he does not use this term), inevitably changes, and thus undergoes a permanent creation. In this creation of the world, as Sendivogius describes it, one can distinguish three fundamental stages, responsible for which are three factors: God, Nature and man. The goal of this article is to present how, according to Sendivogius, the world is created, what tasks in this continuous process are carried out by God, Nature or the man, and in what relations they remain, in regards to themselves and the world they create.
{"title":"Potrójna kreacja świata w ujęciu Michała Sędziwoja","authors":"Milena Cygan","doi":"10.15633/ss.3519","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15633/ss.3519","url":null,"abstract":"The question of the beginning of the world, it’s first rule, genesis and structure followed humanity since the dawn of time, becoming a source for philosophy and science. Search for a rational answer to that question lead, throughout the ages, to a creation of many cosmogonic concepts which referenced various philosophical traditions. While they currently hold only historical value, in many cases they contained ideas, sometimes still very inarticulate, which revolutionized the science in later years. One of such concepts was proposed by Michael Sendivogius, a Renaissance polish alchemist. In his approach, creation of world is dynamic and multiphase. In his vision, the world is something, which is subject to evolution (though he does not use this term), inevitably changes, and thus undergoes a permanent creation. In this creation of the world, as Sendivogius describes it, one can distinguish three fundamental stages, responsible for which are three factors: God, Nature and man. The goal of this article is to present how, according to Sendivogius, the world is created, what tasks in this continuous process are carried out by God, Nature or the man, and in what relations they remain, in regards to themselves and the world they create.","PeriodicalId":30875,"journal":{"name":"Semina Scientiarum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49458460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
To create an astronomical software, one should use the most effective method to produce the quickest hardware calculation. However, the not so effective object oriented paradigm seems to have bigger influence on the astronomical domain. We discuss the status quo of its methodology. The traditional, Turing computation model does not have so distinct influence on knowledge creation because it is hardware-oriented. An object oriented programming language is more influential on discovery, because it works directly in the scientific domain.
{"title":"Paradygmat obiektowy w oprogramowaniu astronomicznym","authors":"R. Janusz","doi":"10.15633/ss.3516","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15633/ss.3516","url":null,"abstract":"To create an astronomical software, one should use the most effective method to produce the quickest hardware calculation. However, the not so effective object oriented paradigm seems to have bigger influence on the astronomical domain. We discuss the status quo of its methodology. The traditional, Turing computation model does not have so distinct influence on knowledge creation because it is hardware-oriented. An object oriented programming language is more influential on discovery, because it works directly in the scientific domain.","PeriodicalId":30875,"journal":{"name":"Semina Scientiarum","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43557248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Richard Feynman, one of the greatest physicists became famous for his discoveries concerning quantum electrodynamics and for his lectures. His views on science appear to be very simple, common-sense, but they present the essence of the problem. What he values in science the most is the freedom of thinking and a sort of reasonable courage, which enable one to oppose earlier authorities. When it comes to education, the most important is to teach the ability to observe the nature around.
{"title":"Filozofia nauki według Richarda Feynmana","authors":"G. Ślósarek","doi":"10.15633/ss.3513","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15633/ss.3513","url":null,"abstract":"Richard Feynman, one of the greatest physicists became famous for his discoveries concerning quantum electrodynamics and for his lectures. His views on science appear to be very simple, common-sense, but they present the essence of the problem. What he values in science the most is the freedom of thinking and a sort of reasonable courage, which enable one to oppose earlier authorities. When it comes to education, the most important is to teach the ability to observe the nature around.","PeriodicalId":30875,"journal":{"name":"Semina Scientiarum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47545044","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The article discusses the problem of the christian concept of the human person in theological and philosophical context, and with reference to evolutionary sciences. It was pointed out that the naturalistic evolutionism undermines the most important assumptions (especially thesis proclaiming the unique status of human in nature), which is based on christian anthropology. In this paper it was also an attempt to justify that philosophical reflection can be important in the analysis of problems located between science and religion (among others the issue of the origin, nature and destiny of man). The question about new type of christian philosophy is a challenge in theology, which will be obliged – because of the changing image of the world and man – to modify its foundations, rooted mainly in the Thomistic metaphysics so far. Besides, in the context of issues relating to the meaning of human life it indicates that there is a need to develop such a philosophy, which is based on the achievements of natural science, and would be in dialogue with the contemporary humanities.
{"title":"Wyjątkowy status człowieka w przyrodzie? Nauki ewolucyjne a chrześcijańska antropologia","authors":"Kamil Trombik","doi":"10.15633/ss.3517","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15633/ss.3517","url":null,"abstract":"The article discusses the problem of the christian concept of the human person in theological and philosophical context, and with reference to evolutionary sciences. It was pointed out that the naturalistic evolutionism undermines the most important assumptions (especially thesis proclaiming the unique status of human in nature), which is based on christian anthropology. In this paper it was also an attempt to justify that philosophical reflection can be important in the analysis of problems located between science and religion (among others the issue of the origin, nature and destiny of man). The question about new type of christian philosophy is a challenge in theology, which will be obliged – because of the changing image of the world and man – to modify its foundations, rooted mainly in the Thomistic metaphysics so far. Besides, in the context of issues relating to the meaning of human life it indicates that there is a need to develop such a philosophy, which is based on the achievements of natural science, and would be in dialogue with the contemporary humanities.","PeriodicalId":30875,"journal":{"name":"Semina Scientiarum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46952540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The aim of the paper is to present the underlying reason of the unsolved symbol grounding problem. The Church-Turing Thesis states that a physical problem, for which there is an algorithm of solution, can be solved by a Turing machine, but machine operations neglect the semantic relationship between symbols and their meaning. Symbols are objects that are manipulated on rules based on their shapes. The computations are independent of the context, mental states, emotions, or feelings. The symbol processing operations are interpreted by the machine in a way quite different from the cognitive processes. Cognitive activities of living organisms and computation differ from each other, because of the way they act in the real word. The result is the problem of mutual understanding of symbol grounding.
{"title":"Semantics and symbol grounding in Turing machine processes","authors":"Anna Sarosiek","doi":"10.15633/SS.2492","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15633/SS.2492","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of the paper is to present the underlying reason of the unsolved symbol grounding problem. The Church-Turing Thesis states that a physical problem, for which there is an algorithm of solution, can be solved by a Turing machine, but machine operations neglect the semantic relationship between symbols and their meaning. Symbols are objects that are manipulated on rules based on their shapes. The computations are independent of the context, mental states, emotions, or feelings. The symbol processing operations are interpreted by the machine in a way quite different from the cognitive processes. Cognitive activities of living organisms and computation differ from each other, because of the way they act in the real word. The result is the problem of mutual understanding of symbol grounding.","PeriodicalId":30875,"journal":{"name":"Semina Scientiarum","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47822106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In the article the author rejects traditional, logical interpretation of the famous “Is-Ought Paragraph” from David Hume’s A Treatise of Human Nature. He argues that most of the interpreters failed to grasp the wide philosophical background of the IsOP, which is, generally speaking, a passionate discussion between ethical rationalists and ethical anti-rationalists in the 17th and 18th century British philosophy. The author shows that the Hume’s main aim in the IsOP is to strengthen his previous arguments against ethical rationalism and to reinforce (and not subvert at all) the common-sense (vulgar) systems of morality, likewise he did in the first book of the Treatise… in case of the theory of knowledge. The author argues that there is no putative thesis of logic in the IsOP, which some scholars call “Hume’s Law”.
{"title":"In defense of common sense. David Hume on ‘Is’ and ‘Ought’","authors":"Szymon Osmola","doi":"10.15633/SS.2491","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15633/SS.2491","url":null,"abstract":"In the article the author rejects traditional, logical interpretation of the famous “Is-Ought Paragraph” from David Hume’s A Treatise of Human Nature. He argues that most of the interpreters failed to grasp the wide philosophical background of the IsOP, which is, generally speaking, a passionate discussion between ethical rationalists and ethical anti-rationalists in the 17th and 18th century British philosophy. The author shows that the Hume’s main aim in the IsOP is to strengthen his previous arguments against ethical rationalism and to reinforce (and not subvert at all) the common-sense (vulgar) systems of morality, likewise he did in the first book of the Treatise… in case of the theory of knowledge. The author argues that there is no putative thesis of logic in the IsOP, which some scholars call “Hume’s Law”.","PeriodicalId":30875,"journal":{"name":"Semina Scientiarum","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42512441","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}