rss_2.0Sciendo RSS Feed for Studies in Logic, Grammar and Rhetorichttps://sciendo.com/journal/SLGRhttps://www.sciendo.comhttps://sciendo-parsed.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/656e137479f7550bc9e9cba4/cover-image.jpghttps://sciendo.com/journal/SLGR140216https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2023-0003<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The present paper, adopting some of the tools offered by Cognitive Linguistics, namely the mechanisms of conceptual metaphor and metonymy, is a qualitative study of a sociolinguistic nature. Its overall purpose is an attempt at exhibiting a paradigm shift in the representation of women in Anglo-American proverbs. Combining the potential of the cross-fertilisation between Cognitive Linguistics and paremiological studies, the study appertains to the sense-threads embedded in the figurative language of proverbs, with the main focus on a cognitive semantic analysis of selected Anglo-American paremias directed towards women and animals. The main goal of the research is the juxtaposition of the meaning coded in two proverbs of traditional status, as representatives of a larger group of paremiological units (i.e. <italic>A woman, a cat, and a chimney should never leave the house; A whistling girl and a crowing hen always come to no good end</italic>), reflecting the deep-rooted gender-biased ideology in patriarchal Anglo-American society, with the content of the selected anti-proverb (i.e. <italic>The early bird gets up to serve his wife breakfast in bed</italic>) and a contemporary proverb (i.e. <italic>A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle</italic>), serving as sample evidence of the heralds of a paradigm shift in the issue of gender stereotyping stored in paremiological wisdom. The paper shows that the motivation behind the use of the analysed proverbs is to be accounted for by reference to the mechanism of metaphor-metonymy interaction, while the rise of new gender-related proverbs can be regarded as a sign of socio-cultural changes. Specifically, through the medium of modern paremiology, asymmetrical representation of male and female gender, coupled with traditional masculine and feminine characteristics as well as social roles, appears if not endangered then, at least, to be taking a promising path.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2023-00032023-12-01T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2023-0004<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The COVID-19 pandemic brings up unprecedented challenges. Healthcare practitioners find themselves in an extraordinary, wartime-like situation and are obliged to apply triage on a daily basis. In this context, routine procedures prove insufficient and the redefinition of ethical practice guidelines becomes a necessity – leading not only to a shift in procedures, but also reshaping the very value of human life. This, in turn, triggers an axiological crisis, which exacerbates the tension between paradigms of sanctity and quality of life and the conflicting principles of egalitarianism and utilitarianism. Triage should not be limited to healthcare practice only: the concept can be extended to a macro-level where policymakers decide whether to prioritize human lives over livelihoods and economic health, impacting healthcare system capacity. The complexity of the challenges arising from the pandemic uncovers the urgent need to seek solutions from an integrated approach. In this paper, we offer a transdisciplinary view: we first define technical aspects of triage from the perspective of a healthcare professional. In the second part, we further analyze the problem of medical prioritization in the light of doctrinal findings related to the value of human life, and we show how and to what extent this philosophical debate is reflected in the emerging ethical guidelines in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany and Austria. Finally, we broaden the concept of triage, adding the “macro-economic” ingredient in our analysis and we present the results for selected European countries with special emphasis on the case of Poland.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2023-00042023-12-01T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2023-0002<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The idea of automation of reasoning in science, which is extremely high-ranking nowadays in connection with the development of computer technology and research into artificial intelligence has been presented in the history of mind since taking up a cohered with the idea of mechanization of reasoning. It is therefore proper to present the greatest enthusiast every of this idea on the threshold of the contemporary science, who treated the idea of mechanization in reasoning very widely, assuming that every mind process can be expressed in some physical manner – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2023-00022023-12-01T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2023-0001<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Karen Neander’s (1991a, b) Selected Effects (SE) theory of biological proper functions argues that the function of a trait is the action for which it was “caused” to be selected by natural selection. Her life’s work has already left a lasting impact, however SE theory has yet to be more properly formalized as a conceptual analysis of biological functions. Although other SE theories have sought to build upon Neander’s work (e.g., Garson, 2017), there remains an ambiguity in the theory’s use of causal descriptors. For the success of her successors, delineating the function of causality for SE theory is of utmost importance. Here, I systematize Neander’s theory according to the different senses of causation inherent to it. I argue that structuring SE theory in terms of causal transitivity and intransitivity reveals that Neander’s analysis not only supersedes her detractors but likely exposes areas of vulnerability in others’ SE theory derivatives.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2023-00012023-12-01T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2023-0005<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>This article relates to the CJEU’s understanding of the concept of the spouse in Case C-673/16 and its effect on the process of law application by Polish administrative courts. The authors considerations are based on the assumption that the CJEU’s interpretation of EU law in <italic>Coman and Others</italic> is of a dynamic-deliberative nature, based on functional rules, and that at the same it time takes into account a specific legal and socio-cultural context in which one of the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by EU law is implemented. This judgment, as authors underline, confirms that a proper understanding of the current legal context of the concept of a spouse requires that the social and cultural context and the plurality of values arising from different lifestyles be taken into account in the application and interpretation of the law, all with a view to empowering the individual in his or her relationship with the State and raising the level of protection of human rights. Authors observe in the practice od Polish administrative courts that this CJEU’s judgment is important in the argumentative layer, but not decisive for the resolution of the case in specific situations where there is a need to address the effect of same-sex marriage in a case related to the implementation of the EU right to free movement. In this context authors consider whether the justification for rulings of administrative courts may be sought in John Gray’s concept of <italic>modus vivendi</italic> liberalism.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2023-00052023-12-01T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2021-0001ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2021-00012021-04-03T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0022<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Recent increases in inflation rates around the world has lead to many discussions on the causes of such rapid adjustments, some suggesting that higher profits are responsible driving force behind inflation. Here we will focus on the United States case and demonstrate why quantity theory of money is relevant to explain what has been going on with inflation after 2020 rather than profit based theory of inflation. First section introduces the argument. Second section restates quantity theory of money with relevance to the empirical literature. Third section shows why quantity theory despite some suggestions works to explain the current levels of inflation. Fourth section notices why increases in nominal profits during inflation are part of the natural adjustment path. Last section offers concluding comments.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00222022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0001<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The organisational activity of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz fits squarely with the transformations in science and research that took place in the seventeenth-century Europe with the inspiration of the model presented by Francis Bacon in <italic>New Atlantis</italic> (Bacon 1626). This paper is an attempt to assess Leibniz’s efforts aimed at building a new enlightened society within the structures of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. The philosopher’s reformatory projects also had an internationalist dimension for Leibniz saw science as an area free of any political or societal boundaries. Leibniz’s activity in this field should be analysed not only in the context of social and civilisational changes taking place in Europe in the late seventeenth and the early eighteenth century but also take into account a wide spectrum of the philosopher’s research activities and his numerous contributions to diverse fields of knowledge, the value and significance of which could only be appreciated by later generations.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00012022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0006<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The ruling of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal of October 22, 2020 introduced a near-complete ban on abortion in Poland, as it removed from the law the embryopathological condition that allowed abortion when the fetus had an incurable, severe disease. The ruling raises a number of questions regarding the recognition of international protection of human rights, the equal protection status of human rights, and the principle of trust in the state. The Tribunal’s ruling resulted in massive public protests in Poland, the adoption of condemnatory resolutions by the European Parliament, and the submission of a new bill by members of the parliament from the opposition groups. The purpose of the paper is to show the questionable ruling issued by the Constitutional Tribunal from the perspective of protection of human rights and the attempts of opposition MPs to change the legal order. The Tribunal’s ruling violates women’s human rights and is therefore a form of discrimination against women. Attempts by opposition MPs to “civilize” the right to abortion have proved unsuccessful. The jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights may establish a breakthrough, as the Tribunal has received a complaint concerning the prevention of abortion on embryopathological grounds in connection with the ruling of the Constitutional Court of October 22, 2020.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00062022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0008<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>This special issue offers a multidimensional perspective on the recent inquiries into knowledge representation. Multidimensionality exposes the complexity of knowledge representation and helps distinguish between different approaches and research tools. On the one hand, the presented research focuses on the theoretical and empirical aspects of knowledge representation (taking into account cognitive processes and capacities, including linguistic skills needed to generate and express knowledge); on the other, the articles included in the issue discuss the practical discourse, analyzing actions from the point of view of cognitively oriented semantics and the scientific practice broadly understood. The issue consists of five papers that show how certain ideas in the research area of knowledge representation inspired the authors to look for new approaches to modelling concepts and practical reasoning, constructing theory of signs using the tools of data science, and dealing with cognitive artifacts in scientific practice and its dynamics. What these approaches have in common is their attempt at capturing the multidimensionality of knowledge representation in such a way that integrates them. Our goal is to emphasize some innovative aspects of those approaches with respect to the dynamics of knowledge representation in both the cognitive system and scientific practice.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00082022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0026<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The article analyzes the specifics of the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on the public finance system, taking into account the key problems of the theory of fiscal federalism. The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of the pandemic crisis on the fiscal relations taking place between different levels of public authority (<italic>intergovernmental relations</italic> – <italic>IGR</italic>), considered in the context of the decentralization of the public finance system and the associated distribution of public functions and resources. The article refers to the model features of these relationships, as defined in the theory of fiscal federalism. It also examined the responses of European countries to the negative effects of the COVID-19 crisis, taken within the framework of the IGR, in order to limit the negative effects of the pandemic at different stages. An attempt was also made to answer the question of how the current pandemic crisis may change the multilevel governance (MLG) patterns set forth in the doctrine. The Polish public finance system was used as an example for detailed analysis in this regard.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00262022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0020<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The Covid-19 pandemic triggered a crisis affecting many spheres of socio-economic life. Both the authorities and entrepreneurs found themselves in a new and unusual situation. The lockdown introduced in the Polish economy in March 2020 has changed drastically environment and conditions for entrepreneurs and companies in Poland. The article touches on the problem of changes in the system of formal and informal institutions during that period. An attempt was made to answer the question: to what extent was the institutional state order compatible with the spontaneous order during that period, did the paths of entrepreneurs and the government meet and an agreement was reached in the name of setting a common policy direction to support the economy in the difficult period of the pandemic, or did the paths of these parties diverge?</p> <p>The research hypothesis requiring verification was that the institutional crisis in Poland deepened during the Covid-19 pandemic, as reflected in the slow erosion of the principles of institutional governance.</p> <p>The analysis shows that the progressing institutional weakness of the state during the period under review deepened the crisis of institutions. Its symptom was the gradual disappearance of social dialogue and arbitrary decisions taken by the government. The rules of law did not take into account the needs of entrepreneurs. Over time, the trust in the government and the law has declined. In a response to the prolonged lockdown in many sectors of the Polish economy, some desperate entrepreneurs took steps to circumvent the law, and there were active protests of entrepreneurs against the government’s decisions. The government might defend its authority only with ineffective repressions applied to entrepreneurs.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00202022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0028<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The article discusses the determinants of fiscal policy in the times of COVID-19. Most economists share the opinion that fiscal packages are necessary to mitigate the health and economic costs of a pandemic. However, the scale of fiscal intervention and the types of fiscal policy instruments that should be used raise doubts.</p> <p>The aim of the article is to explore the factors determining the size and structure of fiscal packages which have been implemented globally in response to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, attention is drawn to the potential impact of fiscal intervention on public finance sustainability, bearing in mind that most governments have chosen to use fiscal support instruments to enhance consumption and investment following the COVID-19 hit, although the cross-country differences are evident both in the magnitude and composition of fiscal stimulus packages.</p> <p>A descriptive analysis was conducted along with a panel data analysis to examine the determinants of government fiscal support in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The empirical analysis is based on cross-sectional data from the International Monetary Fund, OECD and Eurostat. The sample consists of 40 countries representing advanced and emerging economies. Based on the panel analysis, it was found that the total fiscal stimulus packages depended mainly on the fiscal space. Fiscal intervention in countries with greater tax-collection capacity (such as Germany, United States, United Kingdom and Japan) was greater compared to others. A positive and statistically significant relationship between the average income level and the size of fiscal stimulus was also confirmed. Moreover, it turned out that countries with larger populations and higher fatality rates provided greater fiscal support for the COVID-19 pandemic.The empirical analysis expands the existing knowledge on the determinants of the fiscal policy implemented in response to the COVID-19 crisis under the conditions of low interest rates, when macroeconomic stabilization can only be ensured through fiscal stimulus programs.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00282022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0013<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The paper focuses on knowledge generation, a topic frequently overlooked in the traditional debates in epistemology and philosophy of science. We focus on investigation as the primary process generating knowledge and its products. Investigation is taken as a generalization of the research process that includes similar knowledge-generating practices in aboriginal communities. To characterize the complexity of investigation processes and their products we go beyond traditional epistemological characterization of knowledge in terms of mental states and turn to the concept of routine. Investigation processes share a common symbolic representation form which we call here a <italic>knowledge thread</italic>. The dynamics of the knowledge thread may be characterized by two intertwined tiers: cognitive and institutional. Using examples from our previous studies, especially on the recent discovery of microRNAs in molecular biology, we illustrate the dynamics of threads and claim that it is susceptible to the social network analysis which, however, requires insightful applications and sound interpretation of the results. Such an interpretation, as we suggest, may further be elaborated on the grounds of anthropological theories of distributed agency and distributed cognition.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00132022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0015<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The COVID-19 pandemic is global and affects all countries in the world. The difference in the financial impact assessment of its outbreak concerns, inter alia, the state of preparation of the public sector in the previous period. The article assumes that countries which coordinated the structure of sovereign assets and liabilities before 2020 were less exposed to the negative effects of financial risks resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p>The study uses data and methodology of the International Monetary Fund and the authors’ measures dedicated to the public sector to assess the sovereign asset and liability management (SALM).</p> <p>As part of the results, the negative value of net worth and the national net welfare index for the studied countries, including Poland in the period before the pandemic crisis, were indicated. In addition, the level of the loans mismatch on the public balance sheet and the scale of the increase in financial risk in the first year of COVID-19 are presented. Conclusions of research make it possible to assess the impact of COVID-19 on Sovereign Asset and Liability Management.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00152022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0023<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Main task of the paper is to recall sociologist and philosopher – Zygmunt Bauman’s observations and concepts on the fears, anxieties, and uncertainties that appear in the modern world. Main focus was directed to Europe as Bauman was particularly concerned about its future and its role in the global society. The paper is illustrated using current examples from political, social, and economic life to confirm and/or negate Bauman’s concepts. We ask: are fears stable or changeable? Are they stronger or weaker? Are they constant, coming to an end, or are they replaced by new ones? Additionally, we confront Bauman’s concepts with the ideas of other sociologists who applied the interpretative perspective.</p> <p>We define fear following Bauman’s various proposals, and we distinguish many kinds of fears, giving examples from Western societies and socio-economic realities during the time of globalization. We refer to a few relevant sociological concepts to understand Bauman’s view better, e.g. the strategy of detour or the term of generalized other. In conclusions, we state that most fears remain the same (especially ontological ones). However, in the 21st century, we can observe the emergence of new ones (also artificial ones).</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00232022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0027<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The aim of the article is to analyse the provisions regulating the organisation and principles of financial management of the COVID-19 Counteracting Fund in the context of progressive debudgetisation of public finances. The first part presents the concept, sources and effects of debudgetisation of public finances, with emphasis on earmarked funds as the basic example of this process. The second part assesses the regulations concerning the organisation and tasks of the COVID-19 Counteracting Fund, and presents the sources of financing and the principles of financial management. Using methods according to contemporary legal, economic and financial principles (in particular, a critical review of the literature on the subject, legal acts, and analysis of statistical data), basic features determining the actual nature and role of the COVID-19 Counteracting Fund in the collection and spending of public money were verified. The hypothesis that this institution (despite not having the status of a state earmarked fund in the normative sense) is a kind of para-budget with typical functions of public finances was confirmed. The creation of the COVID-19 Counteracting Fund resulted in the exclusion of some finances of a public nature from the general pool, intended primarily for tasks related to health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The adoption of such a solution is part of a trend of increasing deviations from the principle of completeness of the state budget noticeable in recent years, which has led to excessive debudgetisation of the state budget. This, in turn, is not conducive to maintaining transparency and rationality in the collection and spending of public funds, which are prescribed by the doctrine.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00272022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0010<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Compared to existing classical approaches to semiotics which are <italic>dyadic</italic> (signifier/signified, F. de Saussure) and <italic>triadic</italic> (symbol/concept/object, Ch. S. Peirce), this theory can be characterized as <italic>tetradic</italic> ([sign/semion]//[object/noema]) and is the result of either doubling the dyadic approach along the semiotic/ordinary dimension or splitting the ‘concept’ of the triadic one into two (semiotic/ordinary). Other important features of this approach are (a) the distinction made between <italic>concepts</italic> (only functional pairs of extent and intent) and <italic>categories</italic> (as representations of expressions) and (b) the indication of the need for providing the mathematical passage from the <italic>duality between two sets (where one is a singleton) within systems of sets</italic> to <italic>category-theoretical monoids within systems of categories</italic> while waiting for the solution of this problem in the field of logic.</p> <p>Last but not least, human language expressions are the most representative physical instances of semiotic objects. Moreover, as computational experiments which are possible with linguistic objects present a high degree of systematicity (of oppositions), in general, it is relatively easy to elucidate their dependence on the concepts underlying signs. This new semiotic theory or rather this new research program emerged as the fruit of experimentation and reflection on the application of data science tools elaborated within the frameworks of Rough Set Theory (RST), Formal Context Analysis (FCA) and, though only theoretically, Distributed Information Logic (DIL).</p> <p>The semiotic objects (s-objects) of this theory can be described in tabular datasets. Nevertheless, at this stage of formalisation of the theory, lattices (not trees) can be used as working representation structures for characterizing the components of concept systems and graphs for categories of each layer.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00102022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0007<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>The aim of this article was to prepare a basis for further quantitative research concerning the nutritional knowledge of medical professionals (doctors) and dieticians in view of the accuracy of dietary recommendations given to patients. For this purpose, a review of literature data in this area was performed and logical fallacies were proposed as the ‘tool’ that doctors rely on in cases when they lack the proper knowledge required to be able give an informed and beneficial recommendation. In the course of the study, it was found that nutritional education is neglected in medical curricula, while dieticians are underused as professionals in clinical settings. Furthermore, numerous characteristics of the medical profession and the doctor–patient relationship are conducive to committing several types of logical fallacies, prompted mainly by the need for providing advice without delay and the infallibility traditionally expected from doctors. Hence, the gaps in nutritional knowledge and the fallacious character of recommendations, in addition to the re-valuation of the role of the nutritionist, need to be further investigated in order to improve the quality of patient advice in the area of dietary requirements as well as to propose the necessary changes in curricula.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00072022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-0011<abstract> <title style='display:none'>Abstract</title> <p>Reasoning is not just following logical rules, but a large part of human reasoning depends on our expectations about the world. To some extent, non-monotonic logic has been developed to account for the role of expectations. In this article, the focus is on expectations based on actions and their consequences. The analysis is based on a two-vector model of events where an event is represented in terms of two main components – the force of an action that drives the event, and the result of its application. Actions are modelled in terms of the force domain and the results are modelled with the aid of different domains for locations or properties of objects. As a consequence, the assumption that reasoning about causal relations should be made in terms of propositional structures becomes very unnatural. Instead, the reasoning will be based on the geometric and topological properties of causes and effects modelled in conceptual spaces.</p> </abstract>ARTICLEtruehttps://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/slgr-2022-00112022-12-30T00:00:00.000+00:00en-us-1