Modus ponens and the contextualistic solution to the miners paradox

The aim of this talk will be to present my original solution to a famous miners paradox, established by Niko Kolodny and John MacFarlane in their paper “Ifs and Oughts”. The main premise of the paradox is that the miners are trapped in one of the two shafts and we cannot block either one of them to prevent the flood, since we do not know where they are and blocking of the wrong one would lead to unnecessary deaths. However, Kolodny and MacFarlane construct a counterexample that proves that the use of modus ponens will lead not only to a false conclusion, but also a contradictory one. In the case of trapped miners, conclusion will be that we ought to block one of the shafts, which contradicts the first premise that neither of the two shafts ought to be blocked. Kolodny and MacFarlane conclude that modus ponens is the cause of this type of contradictions. I have noticed two fundamental problems with the premises presented by Kolodny and MacFarlane. They claim that the first premise (“We ought to block neither shaft.”) is based on our moral obligations and thus indisputable. However, I shall try to point out that this premise can only be accepted as a conclusion of reasoning – the one already involving modus ponens. I shall claim that Kolodny and MacFarlane need to use modus ponens in order to construct such premise that would allow them further construction of the argument against modus ponens. If the argument is successful in proving that the use of modus ponens is wrong, it is such just because of the previous correct use of modus ponens

Responsible Implementation of AI in the Education of Children and Youth

Široka rasprostranjenost generativne veštačke inteligencije, pre svega velikih jezičkih modela poput ChatGPT, otvorila je niz rasprava o uticaju ove tehnologije na obrazovanje. Paralelno s time, novi razvoji na polju diskriminativne veštačke inteligencije navode nas da očekujemo porast u izradi personalizovanih planova za učenje koji će zadatke prilagođavati potrebama i interesovanjima pojedinačnih učenika, kao i razvoj algoritama koji će pomagati nastavnicima pri ocenjivanju učenika. Ipak postoji rizik da će nove tehnologije perpetuirati postojeće predrasude. Kako bi deca i mladi bili zaštićeni od neproverenih informacija i zloupotrebe podataka, potrebno je da u razvoj edukativnih softvera budu uključeni i roditelji i nastavnici. Iako će ova inkluzivnost dovesti do veće odgovornosti svih onih koji su involvirani u obrazovanje dece i mladih, dugoročna prednost će biti stvaranje bezbednog i pouzdanog virtuelnog prostora. Principi inkluzivnosti i pravičnosti značajni su i na globalnom nivou. Budući da se većina softvera zasnovanih na velikim jezičkim modelima trenutno razvija i proizvodi u zemljama kapitalističkog centra, postoji rizik od nametanja kulturnih vrednosti zapadnih zemalja na ostatak sveta, kao i stvaranja još većih razlika u dostupnosti kvalitetnog obrazovanja. Iz ovih razloga, već danas je potrebno da razmišljamo o inputu za buduće tehnologije, kako bismo sutra mogli da ih implementiramo na odgovoran način koji neće ostavljati prostora za diskriminaciju pojedinaca i grupa.The widespread availability of generative AI - large language models such as ChatGPT in particular - has opened up discussions about the impact of new technologies on education. On the other hand, novel developments in discriminative AI have led us to anticipate an increase in personalized studying programs that will adapt assignments to each student's needs and interests. Furthermore, we can expect the development of algorithms that will assist teachers in evaluating student progress. However, there is a risk that advanced digital solutions could perpetuate existing prejudices. To protect children and youth from exposure to unverified information and data mismanagement, we need to involve parents and teachers in the development process of educational software. Although this inclusion will result in greater responsibility for all those involved in children and youth education, it will contribute to the long-term advantage of a safe and reliable virtual space. The principles of inclusion and fairness are also significant at the global level. Since the vast majority of LLM-based software is currently developed and produced in the countries of the capitalist center, there is a risk of imposing Western cultural values ​on the rest of the world. Moreover, it may lead to further disparities in the availability of quality education. For these reasons, we need to start thinking about the input for future technologies today so that tomorrow, we can implement them responsibly and in a way that will not leave room for discrimination of individuals and groups

Epistemic Normativity and Quine’s Project of Naturalized Epistemology

In his famous article "Epistemology Naturalized" (1969), Quine established a novel take on the position of epistemology in philosophical and scientific discourse. According to his views, epistemological questions are a subset of psychological questions, and psychology in itself is a branch of natural science. Thus, epistemology, as understood in the Quinean sense, threatens the very idea of its normative aspects, as natural science is empiristic and, as a result, relies on purely descriptive claims. Hence, the following question arises: Does the naturalized account of epistemology entail the rejection of epistemic norms? Several philosophers have taken up the task of providing the answer to this question. Kornblith (1993) asserts that Quine's epistemic norms are merely an instrument in the specific field of natural science and, thus, that he gives up the requirement for epistemic justification of beliefs. However, Foley (1994) seems to paint Kornblith's interpretation of Quine's epistemology as somewhat reductionist and argues that Quine has never intended to reduce the whole of epistemology to psychology but only to convey the continuum between epistemology and the rest of the science. Roth (1999) claims that Quine's project of naturalized epistemology entails nothing short of explicit normativity insofar as the Quinean epistemologist relies on standards and norms of scientific inquiry. Houkes (2002) shifts the perspective of the discussion once again and claims that epistemological techniques cannot be understood independently of human nature and that Quine's understanding of them as a mere “technology” in the truth-seeking process is inherently misguided, as it would entail intentionality which Quine rejects. I shall argue that the acceptance (and the rejection) of any of those answers will depend not only on the interpretation of this specific project of epistemology naturalized but also on the variations in understanding Quine's take on naturalism in general. Quine (1986, 1990) did not seem particularly entertained by the idea that his project of naturalized epistemology would entail the complete abandonment of normativity. The problem is, however, that his takes on naturalism (and empiricism as well) have taken different forms in various writings throughout his lifetime, with some being inconsistent with the others. In one of my earlier papers (2016; reference omitted for anonymity), I discussed the distinction between naturalism in a methodological sense and naturalism in an ontological sense and argued that the former aligns better with the rest of Quine's views. In this research, I will explore whether Quinean acceptance of naturalism in a methodological sense withstands the criticism regarding the lack of normativity

Quine's Dilemma between Ecumenical and Sectarian response

Cilj ovog rada je razmatranje Kvajnove dileme u pogledu toga da li u slučaju subdeterminacije treba obe teorije smatrati istinitim (ekumenski odgovor) ili samo jednu od njih (sektaški odgovor). Ova dilema je značajna zbog toga što usvajanje ekumenskog odgovora predstavlja problem za Kvajnov naturalizam, dok usvajanje sektaške protivreči njegovim empirističkim shvatanjima. Videćemo da se Kvajn dugo kolebao između ovih odgovora, kao i to da nije najjasnije za koji se na kraju opredelio. Izložiću i rešenja koja su ponudili Gibson, Dejvidson, Đenova i Severo i nastojaću da pokažem da je Dejvidsonovo rešenje najuspešnije, zbog toga što zahteva najmanje izmene Kvajnovog sistema.The aim of this paper is to investigate Quine’s dilemma whether, in case of underdetermination, both theories should be considered as true (ecumenical view), or just one of them (sectarian view). This dilemma holds signiicance because the acceptance of ecumenical view represents problem for Quine’s naturalism, while the acceptance of sectarian view contradicts his empiristic preferences. For a long time Quine had vacciliated between those views and it is not clear what his inal conclusion was. I will review Gibson’s, Davidson’s, Genova’s and Severo’s solutions and I will argue that Davidson’s is the most successful, since it requires fewer changes in Quine’s system

Употреба великих језичких модела и предиктивних модела у образовању

Циљ овог истраживања је разматрање два облика напредних дигиталних решења у образовању - великих језичких модела и предиктивних модела - и начина на који се они могу начинити доступнијима већем броју ученика. Велики језички модели спадају у домен генеративне вештачке интелигенције и доспели су у жижу јавности захваљујући актуелним расправама о ГПТ-3 и сродним технологијама, које су отвориле многа питања и изазвале (не)оправдане забринутости у вези са употребом вештачки генерисаних текстова у образовању. Иако су неке школе већ забраниле употребу ЧетГПТ-а (ChatGPT) и сличних софтвера, многи научници и наставници сматрају да би велики језички модели, уколико су постепено и одговорно имплементирани, могли да допринесу унапређењу образовања (нпр. као помоћно средство за обуку ученика, а не као „пречица” за решавање домаћих задатака). С друге стране, предиктивни модели могу бити и генеративни и дискриминативни и они већ сада имају двоструку примену у образовању. Пре свега, они помажу самим ученицима тако што прате њихов напредак и у складу са повратним информацијама „предлажу” додатне вежбе и задатке, док с друге стране, могу користити и предавачима при изради наставног плана. Међутим, будући да је машинско учење засновано на већ постојећим подацима, постоји ризик од пресликавања постојећих друштвених предрасуда и нетачних информација и на алгоритме који су намењени за едукацију. Један од примера проблема у које може водити превелико ослањање на вештачку интелигенцију забележен је током пандемије у Великој Британији када су предиктивни модели додељивали оцене ученицима на основу њиховог дотадашњег успеха. Међутим, ни велики језички модели нису „имуни” на пристрасности, будући да подаци на основу којих генеришу одговоре могу бити обојени различитим друштвеним предрасудама. Једна од препрека при одговорној имплементацији вештачке интелигенције је јаз између идеје о образовању као о општем добру и интереса приватних компанија које су тренутно водећи покретач даљег развића великих језичких модела и предиктивних модела. Због тога је потребно размотрити два начина на која би се могла повећати доступност и контрола едукативних софтвера - кроз јавно финансирање и веће улагање у развој апликација отвореног кода (open source)

Towards a More Comprehensive Interpretation of Kant’s Ethics: The Case of Those Who Are Viewed Only as Means

U ovom radu ćemo razmatrati Kantovu etiku u pogledu njegovog odnosa prema životinjama i nastojaćemo da ispitamo da li i na koji način nas Kantova moralna načela obavezuju na dostojanstveno postupanje prema životinjama. Najpre ćemo ukratko izložiti osnovne postulate Kantove etike i razmotriti opravdanost njegovog isključivanja životinja iz domena važenja moralnih zakona. Nastojaćemo da pokažemo da je ovo isključ ivanje neopravdano i da je zapravo posledica jednog šireg inherentnog problema u Kantovoj etici koji je osetljiv na argument zasnovan na graničnim slučajevima. Razmotrićemo rešenje moralnog statusa životinja koje je ponudila Kristin Korsgrad i nastojati da pokažemo da ono s podjednakom uspešnošću rešava i unutrašnju tenziju unutar Kantove etike. Na kraju ćemo, oslanjajući se na rad Donalada Vadevira, bliže odrediti rešenje moralnog statusa životinja koje je dala Korsagard i formulisati nespecistički kriterijum za rešavanje sukoba interesa između pripadnika ljudi i bić a na koje smo navikli da gledamo samo kao na sredstvo.The aim of this paper is to investigate Kant’s ethics regarding his views on non-human animals in order to distinguish whether and in which sense does Kant’s moral principle oblige us to treat animals with dignity. First, we shall provide a review of Kant’s basic moral views in order to consider whether it is justified for non-human animals to be excluded from moral laws. We shall claim that this exclusion is not justified and that it is a consequence of another, inherent problem that makes Kant’s ethics vulnerable to the argument from marginal cases. Christine Korsgaard’s solution to the problem of non-human animal moral status shall be considered and we shall attempt to show that it solves the original inherent problem as well. In conclusion, with a help from Donald VanDeVeer’s distinction, we shall provide a more precise addition to Korsgaard’s solution and formulate a non-speciest criterion for those cases of conflicted interests between humans and those who are traditionally viewed as a means instead of ends-in themselves

Mitigation and Linguistic Epistemic Tolerance as Requirements for Linguistically Inclusive Science: A Dialogue with Vitaly Pronskikh

In our paper “How to Fight Linguistic Injustice in Science: Equity Measures and Mitigating Agents” (2023), we discuss the challenges that non-native English speakers face in communicating their scientific findings. We explored several obstacles they/we encounter, with the most severe leading to epistemic injustice. In his critical reply “Do Scientists Need Mitigating Agents and Who is Responsible for Providing Them? Musings on Vučković and Sikimić’s ‘How to Fight Linguistic Injustice in Science’“, Vitaly Pronskikh raises several riveting questions that need further exploration, which inspired us to approach this topic once again and to further explore the consequences of the solutions we propose.U našem radu "How to Fight Linguistic Injustice in Science: Equity Measures and Mitigating Agents", razgovaramo o izazovima sa kojima se, pri komunikaciji naučnih otkrića, susreću istraživači kojima engleski nije maternji jezik. Istraživale smo nekoliko prepreka sa kojima se oni/mi suočavamo, među kojima su najozbiljnije one koje dovode do epistemičke nepravde. U svom kritičkom odgovoru "Do Scientists Need Mitigating Agents and Who is Responsible for Providing Them? Musings on Vučković and Sikimić's 'How to Fight Linguistic Injustice in Science: Equity Measures and Mitigating Agents'", Vitali Pronski postavlja nekolicinu uzbudljivih pitanja koja iziskuju dalje ispitivanje. To nas je inspirisalo da se još jednom vratimo ovoj temi i da dodatno preispitamo dalje posledice rešenja koja predlažemoNaučna diskusija i polemik

Measures for Fighting Linguistic Injustice: Epistemic Equity and Mitigation

While having English as a shared language within the scientific community contributes to more efficient communication and peer reviews, it also puts non-native speakers in a disadvantaged position. Moreover, we argue that some concepts are inherently untranslatable and, thus, the pluralism of languages can prevent the loss of unique concepts. We use Quine's thesis on the indeterminacy of translation to demonstrate the way the knowledge of marginalized scientists gets lost. We analyze the consequences of linguistic injustice in science and propose two measures for overcoming it: practicing epistemic equity and introducing mitigating agents.The EENPS 2022 Tartu conference is supported by the Estonian Research Council (ERC) grant no. 462 "Philosophical Analysis of Interdisciplinary Research" 2019- 2023, Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics, University of Tartu, Faculty of Humanities and Arts, University of Tartu

Reactions responsible for mass loss during pressure less sintering of Si3N4 ceramics with LiYO2 additive

The reactions were investigated with emphasis on the mass loss during pressureless sintering of Si3N4 ceramics without powder bad. A Si3N4 powder compacts with LiYO2 additive were heat-treated at different temperatures under the pressure of N2 of 0.1 MPa.. The mass loss increased with increasing temperature as well as with increasing additive content. It is expected that the major mass loss should be caused by volatilisation of lithia due to its high vapour pressure. However, the results of the chemical analysis of the samples are in contradiction with this assumption.Physical chemistry 2004 : 7th international conference on fundamental and applied aspects of physical chemistry; Belgrade (Serbia); 21-23 September 200

Total leukocyte count, leukocyte subsets and their indexes in relation to cardiovascular risk in adolescent population

OBJECTIVE: No studies investigated total leukocytes, their subpopulations and novel indexes based on different ratios of leukocyte subsets concerning cardiovascular risk (CV) risk in late adolescents. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore such potential relationships. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 156 adolescents were included. CV risk score was calculated by summarizing each risk factor (i.e., female sex, low high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), high non-HDL-c, smoking, blood pressure, and fasting glycemia). Adolescents were divided into a low CV risk score (i.e., -2≤ CV risk score ≤1) and moderate/ higher CV risk score (i.e., CV risk score ≥ 2). White blood cell count (WBC) and its subsets were analyzed on an automatic device. The indexes were calculated. RESULTS: Total and differential WBC counts except basophil count were higher in moderate/higher CV risk participants. Multivariate binary regression analysis showed that total WBC count independently increased CV risk score by 1.623 times (p=0.001). Neutrophil and eosinophil counts (p=0.027 and p=0.010, respectively) were independently able to increase CV risk score by 1.486 and 1.556 times, respectively. On the contrary, indexes were not independently correlated with CV risk. CONCLUSIONS: WBC, neutrophil, and eosinophil count are the independent predictors of increased CV risk in adolescents. The associations may indicate the different pathways that lead to CV disease in adulthood