Salvation goods and Canonization Logic : On two Popular Cults of Southern Italy

(Summary of the production) The idea that religion has to succeed in a «market», selling «salvation goods», has proved to be extremely attractive to scholars in sociology and the study of religion. Max Weber used the term «salvation good» to compare different religious traditions. Pierre Bourdieu employed the term in order to analyze «religious economy». And recently, an American group of researchers advocating «rational choice of religion» put the theme at the forefront of current debates. This book - the fruit of an International Congress in Lausanne in April 2005 - brings together leading specialists in the fields of sociology and the study of religion who discuss the terms «salvation goods» (or religious goods) and «religious market». The authors test the applicability of these concepts by using specific examples and they either deliberately advocate or criticize Weberian, Bourdieusian or rational-choice perspectives.

Mètodes algebraics i de teoria de la prova per a la formalització del raonament vague

Projecte de recerca elaborat a partir d’una estada a la Università degli studi di Siena, Italy , entre 2007 i 2009. El projecte ha consistit en un estudi de la formalització lògica del raonament en presència de vaguetat amb els mètodes de la Lògica Algebraica i de la Teoria de la Prova. S'ha treballat fonamental en quatre direccions complementàries. En primer lloc, s'ha proposat un nou plantejament, més abstracte que el paradigma dominant fins ara, per l'estudi dels sistemes de lògica borrosa. Fins ara en l'estudi d'aquests sistemes l'atenció havia recaigut essencialment en l'obtenció de semàntiques basades en tnormes contínues (o almenys contínues per l'esquerra). En primer nivell de major abstracció hem estudiat les propietats de completesa de les lògiques borroses (tant proposicionals com de primer ordre) respecte de semàntiques definides sobre qualsevol cadena de valors de veritat, no necessàriament només sobre l'interval unitat dels nombres reals. A continuació, en un nivell encara més abstracte, s’ha pres l'anomenada jerarquia de Leibniz de la Lògica Algebraica Abstracta que classifica tots els sistemes lògics amb un bon comportament algebraic i s'ha expandit a una nova jerarquia (que anomenem implicacional) que permet definir noves classes de lògiques borroses que contenen quasi totes les conegudes fins ara. En segon lloc, s’ha continuat una línia d'investigació iniciada els darrers anys consistent en l'estudi de la veritat parcial com a noció sintàctica (és a dir, com a constants de veritat explícites en els sistemes de prova de les lògiques borroses). Per primer cop, s’ha considerat la semàntica racional per les lògiques proposicionals i la semàntica real i racional per les lògiques de primer ordre expandides amb constants. En tercer lloc, s’ha tractat el problema més fonamental del significat i la utilitat de les lògiques borroses com a modelitzadores de (part de) els fenòmens de la vaguetat en un darrer article de caràcter més filosòfic i divulgatiu, i en un altre més tècnic en què defensem la necessitat i presentem l'estat de l'art de l'estudi de les estructures algèbriques associades a les lògiques borroses. Finalment, s’ha dedicat la darrera part del projecte a l'estudi de la complexitat aritmètica de les lògiques borroses de primer ordre.

The philosophical foundations of classical "rDzogs chen" in Tibet : investigating the distinction between dualistic mind (sems) and primordial knowing (ye shes)

While the syncretistic Tibetan tradition known as rDzogs chen ("Great Perfection") has attracted considerable attention over the past few decades, its philosophical foundations remain largely unknown to those unacquainted with its primary sources. This thesis looks at the essentials of rDzogs chen philosophy through the lens of two principal distinctions that the tradition has considered indispensable for understanding its distinctive views and practices: dualistic mind (sems) versus primordial knowing (ye shes) and dharmakâya versus the 'ground of all' (kun gzhi) conditioned experience. Arguing that the distinctions provided classical rDzogs chen scholars with a crucial framework for (a) articulating the necessary conditions of nondual primordial knowing, the conditio sine qua non of rNying ma soteriology, and (b) schematizing the relationship between the exoteric and esoteric vehicles of Indian Buddhism within a unifying conception of the Buddhist path as the progressive disclosure of primordial knowing, the thesis shows how the rDzogs chen philosophy of mind has been integral to the tradition's complex soteriology. The thesis consists of two parts: (1) a detailed philosophical investigation of the distinctions and (2) an anthology of previously untranslated Tibetan materials on the distinctions accompanied by critical editions and introductions. The first part systematically invesigates the nature and scope of the distinctions and traces their evolution and complex relationships with Indian Buddhist Cittamâtra, Madhyamaka, Pramàriavàda, and Vajrayâna views. It concludes with an exploration of some soteriological implications of the mind/primordial knowing distinction that became central to rDzogs chen path hermeneutics in the classical period as authors of rDzogs chen path summaries used this distinction to reconcile progressivist sutric and non-progressivist tantric models of the Buddhist path. The translations and texts included in part two of the thesis consist of (a) a short treatise from Klong chen pa's Miscellaneous Writings entitled Sems dang ye shes kyi dris lan (Reply to Questions Concerning Mind and Primordial Knowing), (b) selected passages on the distinctions from this author's monumental summary of the rDzogs chen snying thig system, the Theg mchog mdzod (Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle), and (c) an excerpt on rDzogs chen distinctions taken from 'Jigs med gling pa's (1729-1798) 18th century Klong chen sNying thig path summary entitled Treasury of Qualities (Yon tan mdzod) along with a word-by- word commentary by Yon tan rgya mtsho (b. 19th c.).

A Classification of Tools for Learning Logic

A table showing a comparison and classification of tools (intelligent tutoring systems) for e-learning of Logic at a college level.

The Decision on Turkish EU accession in December 2002: The logic of anarchy, collective action problems and rhetorical action

Studies of the EU accession of the East and Central European Countries have stressed the importance of neo-liberal institutionalism as an explanation for Member State preferences. In this paper it is argued that Member States’ preferences over Turkish EU accession are better explained by power politics and neo-realism. It seems therefore that Turkey’s way to the EU follows another path than the East and Central Countries. Turkish accession raises the question of the EU’s role in a uni-polar world order – whether the EU should develop into an independent actor on the world stage or not. However, when it comes to the interaction among the Member States in order to decide on when to open accession negotiations with Turkey the constitutive values of the EU seriously modify the outcome that pure power politics would have let to.

Identification concept and the use of probabilities in forensic odontology--an approach by philosophical discussion.

This paper questions the practitioners' deterministic approach(es) in forensic identification and notes the limits of their conclusions in order to encourage a discussion to question current practices. With this end in view, a hypothetical discussion between an expert in dentistry and an enthusiastic member of a jury, eager to understand the scientific principles of evidence interpretation, is presented. This discussion will lead us to regard any argument aiming at identification as probabilistic.

Elaboració d'indicadors sobre SAGE Logic Class

El treball desenvolupat ha consistit en analitzar el sistema d'informació Logic Class sota la perspectiva de la necessitat de construir un sistema d'indicadors (quadre de comandament operatiu) que integri informació de les diferents fonts de dades.