Search Results (15)

A central question within contemporary debates about the structure of self-love concerns the place and status of the other. Is self-love identical to, or at least vulnerable to, the accusation of self-absorption and narcissism? Whereas contemporary critiques of self-love argue self-love is in principle impossible, the present essay suggests that self-love can be integrated with the love of the other at an a priori level. This material a priori, distinct from the Kantian formal a priori, entails resources such as commitment to myself, to the other, and to us as relational unit, as well as to the enforcement of boundaries that protects against acts of injury and abuse instigated against that relational unit; I suggest such resources overcome the charge of narcissism levelled at the very idea of self-love. Prior to that, a brief contextual discussion of key moves about philosophical anthropology, focused on the concept of the monad in Leibniz, Husserl and its extreme repudiation in Jean-Luc Marion, is to be addressed. Finally I assess the intimate relationship between self-love and the love of the other inspired in large part by Augustine’s anthropology. Full article

The main aim of this paper is to provide an account of Leibniz’s engagement with the doctrine of cosmic dualism in his Theodicy, i.e., the view that there are two distinct fundamental principles that are responsible for the existence of the created world, one good and the other evil. Leibniz’s discussion is primarily a response to arguments in favour of cosmic dualism that he finds in the writings of Pierre Bayle. However, in addition, he presents a genealogical argument that appears to be intended to provide reasons to reject the view. The paper also contains a critical discussion of Leibniz’s case, and finishes by drawing attention to some issues which arise that are worthy of further consideration. Full article

The paper aims to clarify Mendelssohn’s stance on speculative philosophy by connecting the conflict between common sense and speculation with the notion of approval-drive. It argues that Mendelssohn identifies a principle of existence in the faculty of approval, aligning common sense with the divine nature, thereby challenging the skepticism inherent in metaphysical speculation. By invoking God’s creative impetus, Mendelssohn demonstrates that the ontologically abundant world conceived by common sense is more consistent with the divine nature than the ontologically impoverished worlds envisioned by metaphysicians. This approach positions Mendelssohn within the tradition of Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz, emphasizing the role of the divine intellect as the guarantee of the accord between perceived and actual reality. Full article

Both bosons and fermions satisfy a strong version of Leibniz’s Principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles (PII), and so are ontologically on a par with respect to the PII. This holds for non-entangled, non-product states and for physically entangled states—as it has been established in previous work. In this paper, the Leibniz strategy is completed by including the (bosonic) symmetric product states. A new understanding of Pauli’s Exclusion Principle is provided, which distinguishes bosons from fermions in a peculiar ontological way. Finally, the program as a whole is defended against substantial objections. Full article

Photons are considered to be elementary bosons in the Standard Model. The assumption that photons are not elementary particles is assessed from an outlook of computational statistical mechanics. A prediction of variations in the shape of the blackbody radiation spectrum with polarization is made. A better understanding of the origins of quantum statistics could be crucial for theories beyond the Standard Model. Full article

Jim Sterba’s Is a Good God Logically Possible? looks to resurrect J. L. Mackie’s logical argument from evil. Sterba accepts the general framework that theists seeking to give a theodicy have favored since Leibniz invented the term: the search for some greater good provided or greater evil averted that would justify God in permitting the type and variety of evil we actually observe. However, Sterba introduces a deontic twist, drawing on the Pauline Principle (let us not do evil that good may come) to introduce three deontic side constraints on God’s choice of action. He then splits the possible goods into four categories: first- vs. second-order goods, goods to which we have a right, and goods to which we do not have a right. He argues that his deontic constraints rule out each combination, thereby showing that no God-justifying good is on offer. To defuse the argument, I draw on a pair of ideas from Marilyn McCord Adams: (i) God is outside the bounds of morality, and (ii) God can defeat evils by incorporating them into an incommensurately valuable friendship with each human. Properly appreciated, these show that the new logical argument relies on a false premise that is not easily repaired. Full article

Natural plant fibers represent a sustainable alternative to conventional fiber reinforcement materials in cementitious materials due to their suitable mechanical properties, cost-effective availability and principle carbon neutrality. Due to its high tensile strength and stiffness as well as its worldwide distribution along with rapid growth, bamboo offers itself in particular as a plant fiber source. In experimental studies on concrete beams reinforced with plant fibers, a positive influence of the fibers on the flexural behavior was observed. However, the load-bearing effect of the fibers was limited by the poor bond, which can be attributed, among other things, to the swelling behavior of the fibers. In addition, the plant fibers degrade in the alkaline environment of many cementitious building materials. In order to improve the bond and to limit the alkalinity and to increase the durability, the use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) offers itself. Since no tests have been carried out, investigations on the flexural behavior of UHPC with bamboo fibers were carried out at the Institute of Concrete Construction of Leibniz University Hannover. The test results show a significantly improved load-bearing behavior of the fibers and the enormous potential of the combination of UHPC and bamboo fibers. Full article

Recently we started the development of Dendrographic Hologram Theory (DH-theory). It is based on the novel mathematical representation of the relational event universe (in the spirit of Smolin et al.). Elementary events are represented by branches of dendrograms, finite trees that are generated from data with clustering algorithms. In this context, we studied the dynamics of the event universe generated by the appearance of a new event. Generally, each new event can generate the complete reconstruction of the whole dendrogramic universe. However, we found (via numerical simulation) unexpected stability in this universe. Its events are coupled via the hierarchic relational structure, which is relatively stable even with respect to the random generation of new events. We also observed the regularity patterns in the location of new events on dendrograms. In the course of evolution, the dendrogram’s complexity increases and determines the arrow of time in the event universe. We used the complexity measure from particle shape dynamics, which was shown to increase in both directions away from a Janus point and thus determine the arrow of time in symmetrical manner away from a Janus point. The particle shape dynamics theory is a relational theory with close ideological resemblance to DH-theory, as both rely on Mach’s principle and Leibniz’s relationalism and principles. By using the complexity measure on dendrograms and its p-adic string representation, we demonstrate the emergence of a time arrow from the p-adic zero-dimensional field, where space and time are absent. Full article

The quest to understand the natural and the mathematical as well as philosophical principles of dynamics of life forms are ancient in the human history of science. In ancient times, Pythagoras and Plato, and later, Copernicus and Galileo, correctly observed that the grand book of nature is written in the language of mathematics. Platonism, Aristotelian logism, neo-realism, monadism of Leibniz, Hegelian idealism and others have made efforts to understand reasons of existence of life forms in nature and the underlying principles through the lenses of philosophy and mathematics. In this paper, an approach is made to treat the similar question about nature and existential life forms in view of mathematical philosophy. The approach follows constructivism to formulate an abstract model to understand existential life forms in nature and its dynamics by selectively combining the elements of various schools of thoughts. The formalisms of predicate logic, probabilistic inference and homotopy theory of algebraic topology are employed to construct a structure in local time-scale horizon and in cosmological time-scale horizon. It aims to resolve the relative and apparent conflicts present in various thoughts in the process, and it has made an effort to establish a logically coherent interpretation. Full article

It is often stated that there are no laws in biology, where everything is contingent and could have been otherwise, being solely the result of historical accidents. Furthermore, the customary introduction of fundamental biological entities such as individual organisms, cells, genes, catalysts, and motors remains largely descriptive; constructive approaches involving deductive reasoning appear, in comparison, almost absent. As a consequence, both the logical content and principles of biology need to be reconsidered. The present article describes an inquiry into the foundations of biology. The foundations of biology are built in terms of elements, logic, and principles, using both the language and the general methods employed in other disciplines. This approach assumes the existence of a certain unity of human knowledge that transcends discipline boundaries. Leibniz’s principle of sufficient reason is revised through a study of the complementary concepts of symmetry and asymmetry and of necessity and contingency. This is used to explain how these concepts are involved in the elaboration of theories or laws of nature. Four fundamental theories of biology are then identified: cell theory, Darwin’s theory of natural selection, an informational theory of life (which includes Mendel’s theory of inheritance) and a physico-chemical theory of life. Atomism and deductive reasoning are shown to enter into the elaboration of the concepts of natural selection, individual living organisms, cells, and their reproduction, genes, as well as catalysts and motors. This work contributes to clarify the philosophical and logical structure of biology and its major theories. This should ultimately lead to a better understanding of the origin of life, of system and synthetic biology, and of artificial life. Full article

We provide a new formulation of the Local Friendliness no-go theorem of Bong et al. [Nat. Phys. 16, 1199 (2020)] from fundamental causal principles, providing another perspective on how it puts strictly stronger bounds on quantum reality than Bell’s theorem. In particular, quantum causal models have been proposed as a way to maintain a peaceful coexistence between quantum mechanics and relativistic causality while respecting Leibniz’s methodological principle. This works for Bell’s theorem but does not work for the Local Friendliness no-go theorem, which considers an extended Wigner’s Friend scenario. More radical conceptual renewal is required; we suggest that cleaving to Leibniz’s principle requires extending relativity to events themselves. Full article

A proposal for a fundamental theory is described in which classical and quantum physics as a representation of the universe as a gigantic dendrogram are unified. The latter is the explicate order structure corresponding to the purely number-theoretical implicate order structure given by p-adic numbers. This number field was zero-dimensional, totally disconnected, and disordered. Physical systems (such as electrons, photons) are sub-dendrograms of the universal dendrogram. Measurement process is described as interactions among dendrograms; in particular, quantum measurement problems can be resolved using this process. The theory is realistic, but realism is expressed via the the Leibniz principle of the Identity of Indiscernibles. The classical-quantum interplay is based on the degree of indistinguishability between dendrograms (in which the ergodicity assumption is removed). Depending on this degree, some physical quantities behave more or less in a quantum manner (versus classic manner). Conceptually, our theory is very close to Smolin’s dynamics of difference and Rovelli’s relational quantum mechanics. The presence of classical behavior in nature implies a finiteness of the Universe-dendrogram. (Infinite Universe is considered to be purely quantum.) Reconstruction of events in a four-dimensional space type is based on the holographic principle. Our model reproduces Bell-type correlations in the dendrogramic framework. By adjusting dendrogram complexity, violation of the Bell inequality can be made larger or smaller. Full article

This article argues that any ecological finance theory devised to fit the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) needs a paradigm shift in the morphology of randomness underlying financial risk modelling, by integrating the characteristics of “nature” and sustainability into the modelling carried out. It extends the common diagnosis of the 2008 financial crisis with considerations on the morphology of randomness and the reasons why neoclassical finance theory is not sustainable from this perspective. It argues that the main problem with unsustainable neoclassical finance risk modelling is its underlying morphology of randomness that creates a dangerous risk culture. It presents Leibniz’s principle of continuity and Quetelet’s theory of average as cornerstones of classical risk culture in finance, acting as a mental model for financial experts and practitioners. It links the notion of sustainability with the morphology of randomness and presents a possible alternative approach to financial risk modelling defined by rough randomness. If morphology of randomness in nature is properly described by fractal and multifractal methods, hence ecological finance theory has to include fractal properties into financial risk models. The conclusion proposes a new agenda for future research. Full article

The aim of this essay is to look at the idea of the multiverse—not so much from the standpoint of physics or cosmology, but rather from a philosophical perspective. The modern story of the multiverse began with Leibniz. Although he treated “other worlds” as mere possibilities, they played an important role in his logic. In a somewhat similar manner, the practice of cosmology presupposes a consideration of an infinite number of universes, each being represented by a solution to Einstein’s equations. This approach prepared the way to the consideration of “other universes” which actually exist, first as an auxiliary concept in discussing the so-called anthropic principle, and then as real universes, the existence of which were supposed to solve some cosmological conundrums. From the point of view of the philosophy of science, the question is: Could the explanatory power of a multiverse ideology compensate for the relaxation of empirical control over so many directly unobservable entities? It is no surprise that appealing to a possibly infinite number of “other universes” in order to explain some regularities in our world would seem “too much” for a self-disciplined philosopher. With no strict empirical control at our disposal, it is logic that must be our guide. Also, what if logic changes from one world to another in the multiverse? Such a possibility is suggested by the category theory. From this point of view, our present concepts of the multiverse are certainly “not enough”. Should this be read as a warning that the learned imagination can lead us too far into the realms of mere possibilities? Full article

Relational ideas for our description of the natural world can be traced to the concept of Anaxagoras on the multiplicity of basic particles, later called “homoiomeroi” by Aristotle, that constitute the Universe and have the same nature as the whole world. Leibniz viewed the Universe as an infinite set of embodied logical essences called monads, which possess inner view, compute their own programs and perform mathematical transformations of their qualities, independently of all other monads. In this paradigm, space appears as a relational order of co-existences and time as a relational order of sequences. The relational paradigm was recognized in physics as a dependence of the spatiotemporal structure and its actualization on the observer. In the foundations of mathematics, the basic logical principles are united with the basic geometrical principles that are generic to the unfolding of internal logic. These principles appear as universal topological structures (“geometric atoms”) shaping the world. The decision-making system performs internal quantum reduction which is described by external observers via the probability function. In biology, individual systems operate as separate relational domains. The wave function superposition is restricted within a single domain and does not expand outside it, which corresponds to the statement of Leibniz that “monads have no windows”. Full article