This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. When one thinks--knows, believes, imagines--that something is the case, one's thought has a topic: it is about something, towards which one's mind is directed. What is the logic of thought, so understood? This book begins to explore the idea that, to answer the question, we should take topics seriously. It proposes a hyperintensional account of the propositional contents of thought, arguing that these are individuated not only by the set of possible worlds at which they are true, but also by their topic: what they are about. The book then builds epistemic, doxastic, probabilistic, and conditional logics based on this view. It applies them to issues ranging from dogmatism, scepticism, and epistemic fallibilism, to imagination and suppositional reasoning, belief revision, framing effects, and the acceptability of indicative conditionals.
Ontology and Metaontology: A Contemporary Guide is a clear and accessible survey of ontology, focusing on the most recent trends in the discipline. Divided into parts, the first half characterizes metaontology: the discourse on the methodology of ontological inquiry, covering the main concepts, tools, and methods of the discipline, exploring the notions of being and existence, ontological commitment, paraphrase strategies, fictionalist strategies, and other metaontological questions. The second half considers a series of case studies, introducing and familiarizing the reader with concrete examples of the latest research in the field. The basic sub-fields of ontology are covered here via an accessible and captivating exposition: events, properties, universals, abstract objects, possible worlds, material beings, mereology, fictional objects. The guide's modular structure allows for a flexible approach to the subject, making it suitable for both undergraduates and postgraduates looking to better understand and apply the exciting developments and debates taking place in ontology today.
Berto's highly readable and lucid guide introduces students and the interested reader to Gödel's celebrated Incompleteness Theorem, and discusses some of the most famous - and infamous - claims arising from Gödel's arguments. Offers a clear understanding of this difficult subject by presenting each of the key steps of the Theorem in separate chapters Discusses interpretations of the Theorem made by celebrated contemporary thinkers Sheds light on the wider extra-mathematical and philosophical implications of Gödel's theories Written in an accessible, non-technical style
This profound exploration of one of the core notions of philosophy—the concept of existence itself—reviews, then counters (via Meinongian theory), the mainstream philosophical view running from Hume to Frege, Russell, and Quine, summarized thus by Kant: “Existence is not a predicate.” The initial section of the book presents a comprehensive introduction to, and critical evaluation of, this mainstream view. The author moves on to provide the first systematic survey of all the main Meinongian theories of existence, which, by contrast, reckon existence to be a real, full-fledged property of objects that some things possess, and others lack. As an influential addition to the research literature, the third part develops the most up-to-date neo-Meinongian theory called Modal Meinongianism, applies it to specific fields such as the ontology of fictional objects, and discusses its open problems, laying the groundwork for further research. In accordance with the latest trends in analytic ontology, the author prioritizes a meta-ontological viewpoint, adopting a dual definition of meta-ontology as the discourse on the meaning of being, and as the discourse on the tools and methods of ontological enquiry. This allows a balanced assessment of philosophical views on a cost-benefit basis, following multiple criteria for theory evaluation. Compelling and revealing, this new publication is a vital addition to contemporary philosophical ontology.
The Mathematics of the Models of Reference is a detailed exposition of the modeling of physical and informational reality pursued by iLabs Milan ( www.ilabs.it ), a private research lab in applied Artificial Intelligence. Based on an original approach to cellular automata theory, this book includes an array of axiomatic formal theories, ranging from a discrete, mereological model of the structure of space-time, to non-standard computation and recursion theory. The appendices to the volume explain the applications of the theory in the algorithmic recapture of a variety of physical, biological, and cognitive phenomena. Francesco Berto Logic & Formal Modeling @ iLabs PhD in Philosophy, has studied at the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA), at the Sorbonne-Ecole Normale Superieure of Paris, and is currently lecturer at the University of Aberdeen. He has published various papers and monographs in ontology and the philosophy of logic. Gabriele Rossi Director of iLabs A.I. Department @ iLabs Has a degree in Economic and Social Disciplines at the Bocconi University in Milan and is CEO of Diagramma, a leading company in insurance software applications. Expert in Artificial Intelligence, in 2007 he has co-authored with Antonella Canonico the book Semi-Immortality, a manifesto of European transhumanism. Jacopo Tagliabue Chief Scientist for Qualitative Modeling @ iLabs A PhD student with a degree in Philosophy at the University San Raffaele of Milan, has studied Economics at LSE, Statistics at New York University, and Complex Systems at the Santa Fe Institute. He has published papers in ontology and non-standard computation.
Berto's highly readable and lucid guide introduces students and the interested reader to Gödel's celebrated Incompleteness Theorem, and discusses some of the most famous - and infamous - claims arising from Gödel's arguments. Offers a clear understanding of this difficult subject by presenting each of the key steps of the Theorem in separate chapters Discusses interpretations of the Theorem made by celebrated contemporary thinkers Sheds light on the wider extra-mathematical and philosophical implications of Gödel's theories Written in an accessible, non-technical style
This profound exploration of one of the core notions of philosophy—the concept of existence itself—reviews, then counters (via Meinongian theory), the mainstream philosophical view running from Hume to Frege, Russell, and Quine, summarized thus by Kant: “Existence is not a predicate.” The initial section of the book presents a comprehensive introduction to, and critical evaluation of, this mainstream view. The author moves on to provide the first systematic survey of all the main Meinongian theories of existence, which, by contrast, reckon existence to be a real, full-fledged property of objects that some things possess, and others lack. As an influential addition to the research literature, the third part develops the most up-to-date neo-Meinongian theory called Modal Meinongianism, applies it to specific fields such as the ontology of fictional objects, and discusses its open problems, laying the groundwork for further research. In accordance with the latest trends in analytic ontology, the author prioritizes a meta-ontological viewpoint, adopting a dual definition of meta-ontology as the discourse on the meaning of being, and as the discourse on the tools and methods of ontological enquiry. This allows a balanced assessment of philosophical views on a cost-benefit basis, following multiple criteria for theory evaluation. Compelling and revealing, this new publication is a vital addition to contemporary philosophical ontology.
The book approaches the conceptual background of Avicenna's account of efficient causality, outlining the positions held by him and his early interpreters (eleventh and twelfth centuries), as well as the arguments that support those positions. The first aim of the book is to show the systematic unity of the Avicennian doctrines on ontology and aetiology, highlighting the threads connecting the two. The second aim is to investigate Avicenna’s influence over his interpreters, assessing continuities and discontinuities.
Based on previously unexplored archival documentation, this book offers the first general overview of the history of Italian eugenics, not limited to the decades of Fascist regime, but instead ranging from the beginning of the 1900s to the first half of the 1970s. The Author discusses several fundamental themes of the comparative history of eugenics: the importance of the Latin eugenic model; the relationship between eugenics and fascism; the influence of Catholicism on the eugenic discourse and the complex links between genetics and eugenics. It examines the Liberal pre-fascist period and the post-WW2 transition from fascist and racial eugenics to medical and human genetics. As far as fascist eugenics is concerned, the book provides a refreshing analysis, considering Italian eugenics as the most important case-study in order to define Latin eugenics as an alternative model to its Anglo-American, German and Scandinavian counterparts. Analyses in detail the nature-nurture debate during the State racist campaign in fascist Italy (1938–1943) as a boundary tool in the contraposition between the different institutional, political and ideological currents of fascist racism.
The racism and antisemitism of Fascist Italy have often been described as ‘mild’, ‘cultural’, ‘spiritual’, and essentially non-violent, especially in comparison with the racial ideology of Nazi Germany. This book challenges this simplistic interpretation with a thorough analysis of the texts and images of the magazine La Difesa della razza (Defence of the race), the principal public voice of Fascist biological racism, which appeared fortnightly between 1938 and 1943 under the editorship of Telesio Interlandi, Mussolini’s ‘unofficial mouthpiece’, with governmental financial support. A negative icon of the propaganda of Fascist racism, La Difesa della razza first appeared in August 1938 shortly before the passing of Italy’s Racial Laws, but had a long gestation. It was the expression of a Fascist cultural milieu – journalists, writers, artists, and architects – headed by Interlandi, whose racism and antisemitism dated back to the end of the First World War. By placing the magazine’s emergence in this longer timescale, and exploring the interrelationships of political action, ideological discourse, and imagery, this book also demonstrates how the project of ‘anthropological revolution’ – building the New Man – was a central element of Italian Fascism, from the very beginning to the deportation of Italian Jews. This new English edition has been thoroughly revised and updated.
With more than 180 films during a career spanning several decades, Jesus Franco (1930-2013) was an extraordinarily prolific and chameleon-like Spanish director, covering virtually every genre from horror to film noir, adventure and erotic, and adapting to all kinds of productions. A one-of-a-kind filmmaker, he was boldly original in the themes, style, and in his idea of cinema. This book examines his life and career between his first short film to the moment he cut his ties with his home country and became an "international" director, with a detailed production history and critical analysis of his films, placing his work within the social and political context of Spanish culture, politics, and cinema. Franco's most critically praised works are covered, namely such cult horror classics as The Awful Dr. Orlof and The Diabolical Dr. Z, as well as his working relationship with Orson Welles, whom he was to direct in a 1964 unfinished adaptation of Treasure Island. Detailed production history and critical analysis of his films are provided, placing his work within the context of Spanish culture, politics, and film industry. The book also includes plenty of never-before-seen bits of information and in-depth discussion of Franco's previously uncovered scripts, essays, and short films, as well as his unmade projects of the period.
These memories, handwritten by Elmo Cermaria (Nonno Peppe) for his grandson Checco (Francesco Nicolini), tell of when, as a young man of 20, he found himself hurled into the inferno of the First World War. In those days, you could cry your heart out for a bread roll denied, then miraculously regained thanks to the compassion of a German soldier, “the hated enemy”. These recollections are terse, without a trace of rhetoric and devoid of recriminations. Nonno Peppe tells the facts just as he experienced them first hand, without expressing any condemnation of those responsible for them, even though an awareness of the large-scale massacre he witnessed transpires from his account. When Nonno Peppe delivered the manuscript to his grandson on his wedding day, he asked him to make a promise: “Let the President of the Republic know what we did for Italy.” A hundred years ago, whole generations of young Italian men were stripped of human honor and dignity. Only a few of these young men would live on and become our grandfathers; and only a few of us would be fortunate enough to become “grandchildren of the Great War” and bear witness to their ordeal.
The recapture of Jerusalem, the siege of acre, the fall of Tripoli, the effect in Baghdad of events in Syria; these and other happenings were faithfully recorded by Arab historians during the two centuries of the Crusades. First published in English in 1969, this book presents 'the other side' of the Holy War, offering the first English translation of contemporary Arab accounts of the fighting between Muslim and Christian. Extracts are drawn from seventeen different authors encompassing a multitude of sources: The general histories of the Muslim world, The chronicles of cities, regions and their dynasties Contemporary biographies and records of famous deeds. Overall, this book gives a sweeping and stimulating view of the Crusades seen through Arab eyes.
A solarpunk masterpiece from a writer who champions a positive, inclusive and deep-thinking version of future possibilities. The Pulldogs leave Rome to embrace a new condition: leaving no trace of their passage, they shape a new challenging lifestyle: wandering around the world as neo-nomads to spread their solarpunk way of living and to engage on a never-ending mission to save endangered human cultures with nanites. But the vision of Alan and Nicolas about how the Pulldogs should live collide, and as a consequence, they split in two groups: one goes North to live in the beautiful wilderness of Siberia and Mongolia, while the other goes South to save the Dogon tribe from a possible extinction due to climate change in Central Africa. But at the end everybody - including a new generation of Pulldogs - will have to come back to Rome, where their incredible transformation started many years before. Sequel to the celebrated The Roamers. FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress.
Tiki torches, cocktails, la dolce vita, and the music that popularized them—Mondo Exotica offers a behind-the-scenes look at the sounds and obsessions of the Space Age and Cold War period as well as the renewed interest in them evident in contemporary music and design. The music journalist and radio host Francesco Adinolfi provides extraordinary detail about artists, songs, albums, and soundtracks, while also presenting an incisive analysis of the ethnic and cultural stereotypes embodied in exotica and related genres. In this encyclopedic account of films, books, TV programs, mixed drinks, and above all music, he balances a respect for exotica’s artistic innovations with a critical assessment of what its popularity says about postwar society in the United States and Europe, and what its revival implies today. Adinolfi interviewed a number of exotica greats, and Mondo Exotica incorporates material from his interviews with Martin Denny, Esquivel, the Italian film composers Piero Piccioni and Piero Umiliani, and others. It begins with an extended look at the postwar popularity of exotica in the United States. Adinolfi describes how American bachelors and suburbanites embraced the Polynesian god Tiki as a symbol of escape and sexual liberation; how Les Baxter’s album Ritual of the Savage (1951) ushered in the exotica music craze; and how Martin Denny’s Exotica built on that craze, hitting number one in 1957. Adinolfi chronicles the popularity of performers from Yma Sumac, “the Peruvian Nightingale,” to Esquivel, who was described by Variety as “the Mexican Duke Ellington,” to the chanteuses Eartha Kitt, Julie London, and Ann-Margret. He explores exotica’s many sub-genres, including mood music, crime jazz, and spy music. Turning to Italy, he reconstructs the postwar years of la dolce vita, explaining how budget spy films, spaghetti westerns, soft-core porn movies, and other genres demonstrated an attraction to the foreign. Mondo Exotica includes a discography of albums, compilations, and remixes.
Italian Dominance On The Dance Culture Of 80's. The only book in the world that tells the true story of Italian disco music through the artistic events of the most representative characters, with interviews, statements and news unpublished.
Ontology and Metaontology: A Contemporary Guide is a clear and accessible survey of ontology, focusing on the most recent trends in the discipline. Divided into parts, the first half characterizes metaontology: the discourse on the methodology of ontological inquiry, covering the main concepts, tools, and methods of the discipline, exploring the notions of being and existence, ontological commitment, paraphrase strategies, fictionalist strategies, and other metaontological questions. The second half considers a series of case studies, introducing and familiarizing the reader with concrete examples of the latest research in the field. The basic sub-fields of ontology are covered here via an accessible and captivating exposition: events, properties, universals, abstract objects, possible worlds, material beings, mereology, fictional objects. The guide's modular structure allows for a flexible approach to the subject, making it suitable for both undergraduates and postgraduates looking to better understand and apply the exciting developments and debates taking place in ontology today.
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