The alleged proof of the non-mechanical, or non-computational, character of the human mind based on Gödel’s incompleteness theorem is revisited. Its history is reviewed. The proof, also known as the ...Lucas argument and the Penrose argument, is refuted. It is claimed, following Gödel himself and other leading logicians, that antimechanism is not implied by Gödel’s theorems alone. The present paper sets out this refutation in its strongest form, demonstrating general theorems implying the inconsistency of Lucas’s arithmetic and the semantic inadequacy of Penrose’s arithmetic. On the other hand, the limitations to our capacity for mechanizing or programming the mind are also indicated, together with two other corollaries of Gödel’s theorems: that we cannot prove that we are consistent (Gödel’s Unknowability Thesis), and that we cannot fully describe our notion of a natural number.
Epilepsy is a common consequence of brain tumors, occurring in 35 to 75% of cases. Here we evaluated the influence of epilepsy on the quality of life (QoL) of patients with malignant brain tumors ...(primary and metastatic) and assessed which areas of function are most affected by epilepsy and brain tumors. Sixty patients undergoing brain tumor surgery at the Neurosurgery Clinic of the 10th Military Research Hospital, Bydgoszcz, Poland (30 with epilepsy and 30 without epilepsy) were studied. Relationships between categorical variables were determined with Pearson’s chi-squared test, while continuous data were analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U-test. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. A multiple regression model was used for multivariate analysis of QoL. Patients with epilepsy more frequently reported memory disorders as a problem in their daily life. There were trends towards greater impairments in social, professional, and family life, sports and recreational activities, and daily physical activities in brain tumor patients with epilepsy rather than those without epilepsy. Higher frequency and generalized seizures significantly and adversely influenced the ability of patients to leave home and drive vehicles, but a proportion of patients with frequent, generalized seizures continued to drive regardless. Patients with generalized seizures considered the adverse effects of taking medicines as significantly disruptive. Memory disorders significantly affect the QoL of patients with epilepsy, and the importance of stopping driving must be emphasized by all healthcare professionals.
Repeat surgery is often required to treat brain tumor recurrences. Here, we compared the functional state and rehabilitation of patients undergoing initial and repeat surgery for brain tumors to ...establish their individual risks that might impact management. In total, 835 patients underwent operations, and 139 (16.6%) required rehabilitation during the inpatient stay. The Karnofsky performance status, Barthel index, and the modified Rankin scale were used to assess functional status, and the gait index was used to assess gait efficiency. Motor skills, postoperative complications, and length of hospital stay were recorded. Patients were classified into two groups: first surgery (
= 103) and repeat surgery (
= 30). Eighteen percent of patients required reoperations, and these patients required prolonged postoperative rehabilitation as often as those operated on for the first time. Rehabilitation was more often complicated in the repeat surgery group (
= 0.047), and the complications were more severe and persistent. Reoperated patients had significantly worse motor function and independence in activities of daily living before surgery and at discharge, but the deterioration after surgery affected patients in the first surgery group to a greater extent according to all metrics (
< 0.001). The length of hospital stay was similar in both groups. These results will be useful for tailoring postoperative rehabilitation during a hospital stay on the neurosurgical ward as well as planning discharge requirements after leaving the hospital.
Brain tumor location is an important factor determining the functional state after brain tumor surgery. We assessed the functional state and course of rehabilitation of patients undergoing surgery ...for brain tumors and assessed the location-dependent risk of loss of basic motor skills and the time needed for improvement after surgery. There were 835 patients who underwent operations, and 139 (16.6%) required rehabilitation during the inpatient stay. Karnofsky Performance Scale, Barthel Index, and the modified Rankin scale were used to assess functional status, whereas Gait Index was used to assess gait efficiency. Motor skills, overall length of stay (LOS) in hospital, and LOS after surgery were recorded. Patients were classified into four groups: cerebral hemisphere (CH), ventricular system (VS), and cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumors; and a control group not requiring rehabilitation. VS tumor patients had the lowest scores in all domains compared with the other groups before surgery (
< 0.001). Their performance further deteriorated after surgery and by the day of discharge. They most often required long-lasting postoperative rehabilitation and had the longest LOS (35 days). Operation was most often required for CH tumors (77.7%), and all metrics and LOS parameters were better in these patients (
< 0.001). Patients with CPA tumors had the best outcomes (
< 0.001). Most patients (83.4%) with brain tumors did not require specialized rehabilitation, and LOS after surgery in the control group was on average 5.1 days after surgery. VS tumor patients represent a rehabilitation challenge. Postoperative rehabilitation planning must take the tumor site and preoperative condition into account.
Theological Discourse and Logic Krajewski, Stanisław; Trepczyński, Marcin
Logica universalis,
11/2019, Letnik:
13, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The 2nd World Congress on Logic and Religion, held in Warsaw, Poland, in 2017, is summarized. Then the connective “and” is analyzed; we focus on its meaning in the title of the congress and the title ...of the present volume. Finally, all the eleven papers included here are briefly introduced; we indicate whether logic or theology is the primary topic of the given paper.
Context is essential in virtually all human activities. Yet some logical notions seem to be context-free. For example, the nature of the universal quantifier, the very meaning of “all”, seems to be ...independent of the context. At the same time, there are many quantifier expressions, and some are context-independent, while others are not. Similarly, purely logical consequence seems to be context-independent. Yet often we encounter strong inferences, good enough for practical purposes, but not valid. The two types of examples suggest a general problem: how to characterise the context-free logical concepts in their natural environment, that is, in the field of their context-dependent associates. A general Thesis on Quantifiers is formulated: among all quantifiers, the context-free ones are just those definable by the universal quantifier. The issue of inferences is treated following the approach introduced by Richard L. Epstein: valid ones are an extreme case, the result of the disappearance of context-dependence. This idea can be applied to an analysis of a form of abduction, called “reductive inference” in Polish literature on logic. A tentative Thesis on Inferences identifies the validity of a strong inference that is context-independent.
One cannot think of Judaism without taking some stance relating
to Israel's special status, its election. The present collection
highlights the challenges that Judaism faces, as it continues to
...uphold a sense of chosenness and as it seeks to engage the world
beyond it-nations, as well as religions. The challenge is captured
by the dual implication of election: divine love on the one hand
and enmity with others on the other. Israel's election, mission and
vocation are played out within this tension of love, grounded in
God and extending to humanity, and the opposite of love, as this
finds expression in Israel's relations with others. Israel must
work out the purpose of its election and its realization in history
in the tension between these two extremes. This challenge takes on
great urgency in the context of advances in interfaith relations.
These lead us to reflect on the meaning of Israel's election as
part of developing a contemporary Jewish theology of world
religions.
New philosophical insights are suggested by our experience with computer simulation of human qualities. In an attempt to overcome the division between analytic and “continental” philosophy, both the ...philosophy of mathematics and the philosophy of dialogue are used to extend the Turing Test, a famous operational way of checking whether robots can pretend to be in some respects indistinguishable from human beings. A thought experiment, conceived as the ultimate strengthening of the Turing Test, is proposed: Can sufficiently developed robots without human help bring up a child so that the child can acquire all human qualities such as genuine personal subjectivity, the understanding of numbers, etc.?
We have designed short peptides composed of two functional domains, one a tumor blood vessel 'homing' motif and the other a programmed cell death-inducing sequence, and synthesized them by simple ...peptide chemistry. The 'homing' domain was designed to guide the peptide to targeted cells and allow its internalization. The pro-apoptotic domain was designed to be nontoxic outside cells, but toxic when internalized into targeted cells by the disruption of mitochondrial membranes. Although our prototypes contain only 21 and 26 residues, they were selectively toxic to angiogenic endothelial cells and showed anti-cancer activity in mice. This approach may yield new therapeutic agents.
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