«Sophia» XVII (2025)

Abstract: This paper discusses the recent experiments by Jones and Bergen that showed ChatGPT-4 passed the Turing test. To this end, the game proposed by Turing is placed in the proper philosophical dimension by showing how it tries to answer a well-formulated and circumscribed question. The details of the experiment are then investigated. Finally, some important consequences are drawn regarding the problem of explainability of neural networks.

Keywords: Turing Test – ChatGPT-4 – spiegabilità delle reti neurali – gioco dell’imitazione – filosofia della psicologia

Read full article in Italian: «Sophia» XVII (2025-1) 13-25

Abstract: Over seventy years after its publication, Alan Turing’s article Computing Machinery and Intelligence still fuels debate on the meaning and structure of the test it introduces, the limits of answering “Can machines think?”, and the validity of that question itself. Widely seen as the first visionary manifesto on artificial intelligence, the article anticipated many ideas that became foundational in AI research. At a time when computers were mainly tools for high-speed calculation – first in military contexts and then in science – Turing used the concept of a computational machine to pose philosophical questions about human intelligence, the link between computation and thought, and the possibility of algorithmically modeling cognition. This essay reconstructs the test’s structure and assumptions (§§ 1-3), explores the link between Turing’s and Leibniz’s views on thinking machines (§ 4), and examines major criticisms of the mental model in Turing’s work (§ 5).

Keywords: Turing Machine – Functionalism – Imitation Game – Wittgenstein – Gödel

Read full article in Italian: «Sophia» XVII (2025-1) 27-39

Abstract: The pervasive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the contemporary scientific method raises a crucial question: can AI provide a scientific understanding of the world? In this paper, we will answer this question by interpreting the concept of scientific understanding as an intellectual virtue inherent to the person. This interpretation is fruitful, as it allows us to transcend the conceptual horizons of science, offering a fertile ground for discussion for all those areas in which AI is used for epistemic purposes.

Keywords: Machine Learning – Intellectual Virtues – Scientific Understanding – Interpretability – Modal relations

Read full article in Italian: «Sophia» XVII (2025-1) 41-54

Abstract:  The technological innovation of AI will be able to help the human person in various aspects of his personal and social life. But it will also cause problems already intrinsic to the innovation and that will be amplified by the marked cultural context of the domain of technology. This essay proposes the search for a line of thought to support an ethically responsible strategy for the advent of technological innovations.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence – Technological Innovation – Technique – Wisdom – Speculative Rationality

Read full article in Italian: «Sophia» XVII (2025-1) 55-68

Abstract: The essay addresses the challenges posed by artificial intelligence to the production of knowledge, highlighting the limits of machines in understanding and generating meaning. Starting from these considerations, transdisciplinarity is proposed as an epistemological and formative paradigm capable of preserving the specificity of human intelligence. Finally, the decisive role of universities in promoting generative knowledge, capable of orienting and transforming, is shown.

Keywords: Transdisciplinarity – Artificial Intelligence – Knowledge – Epistemology – Philosophy of Science

Read full article in Italian: «Sophia» XVII (2025-1) 69-94

Abstract: The contribution explores the relationship between artificial intelligence and the human condition, questioning how AI challenges contemporary anthropology. It introduces the notion of creative vulnerability as a key to understanding what is unique to the human being in contrast to the increasingly sophisticated capabilities of artificial systems. The essay thus investigates the in-between – the relational and intersubjective space – in which the human subject is constituted through the capacity to feel, create, fail, and respond to otherness. It ultimately invites a rethinking of thinking and creating as ethical and existential practices, in which vulnerability is not merely a limitation, but also a generative resource.

Keywords: Vulnerability – Creativity – Relationality – Otherness – Intelligence

Read full article in italiano: «Sophia» XVII (2025-1) 95-107

Abstract: This paper explores the intricate relationship between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and gender inequality. It analyses the uncritical adoption of AI, highlighting how existing societal biases are often embedded within algorithms and data sets, leading to discriminatory outcomes. By examining how AI can perpetuate gender stereotypes in various domains, from recruitment processes to language models, we also discuss the potential for AI to exacerbate existing digital divides between men and women. It argues for a more ethical and inclusive approach to AI development, emphasizing the need for diverse perspectives and a critical awareness of the biases that can undermine fairness and equality. By addressing these challenges, AI can be harnessed as a tool to promote a more equitable and just society.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Gender Inequality – Stereotypes – Bias – Technology

Read full article in Italian:  Sophia» XVII (2025-1) 109-121

Abstract: This article explores the differences between artificial and human intelligence, focusing on algorithmic bias and epistemological neutrality in AI systems. It argues that AI, while capable of complex tasks, lacks true understanding and adaptability inherent in human intelligence. The article discusses challenges like algorithmic bias, the limitations of AI’s knowledge processing, and the difficulty of achieving epistemological neutrality. It concludes that a multidisciplinary approach is essential to address these biases and their societal impacts.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence – Human Intelligence – Algorithmic Bias – Epistemological Neutrality – Machine Learning

Read full article in English: «Sophia» XVII (2025-1) 123-131

Abstract: This paper conducts a qualitative, interdisciplinary literature review to investigate the concept of meaningful work in the context of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its intersection with gender dynamics. It draws on insights from economics, philosophy, social studies, and gender studies to analyze how AI could deepen existing gender inequalities in the workforce, particularly through job displacement and the undervaluation of roles traditionally held by women. A significant concern is the increasing role of private sector interests in AI development, where a focus on profit may overshadow the societal importance of care work. The analysis emphasizes the importance of recognizing the limitations of current AI technologies while advocating for a humancentered approach that values meaningful work. By promoting the development of AI that enhances human well-being, the paper advocates for a recognition of the intrinsic value of care work and ensures its responsibility is shared across all genders.

Keywords: Women – AI – Automation – Meaningful Work – Care Work

Read full article in English: «Sophia» XVII (2025-1) 133-146

Abstract: This work presents a metaphysics of polarity inspired by Franz von Baader’s thought and the tradition of Niccolò Cusano. Unlike Hegelian logic, being is not based on identity, nor is it based on constant oscillation, as in Schelling’s philosophy. Instead, it is based on a creative tension between distinct yet united opposites, as set out in the model of the analogy of being. In the concluding section, the author addresses the problem of evil in light of von Baader’s metaphysics of positive polarity and love, relating it to the visions of Kant and Schelling.

Keywords: Franz von Baader – Analogical Polarity – Love as Creativity – Mediation – Evil 

Read full article in English: «Sophia» XVII (2025-2) 187-214

Abstract: The “infancy gospels” of Matthew and especially Luke, as well as a second-century apocryphal work called the Protoevangelium of James, are the starting point for traditional Mariology. The “infancy gospels,” as confirmed by the differences between them, are essentially testimonies of faith in narrative form, not historical recollections, written for the purpose of presenting the messianic function and divine identity of the protagonist.

Keywords: Revelation – Two-font theory – Faithfulness – History – Narrative introduction – Bethlehem

Read full article in Italian: Sophia» XVII (2025-2) 215-226

Abstract:

The present paper aims at reviving a recent critique that has been neglected in the general discussion regarding values in science. The Ontological Choices Argument (OCA) proposed by David Ludwig (2016) claims for a rejection of the Value-Free Ideal (VFI). In a nutshell: since the truth of scientific statements is dependent on the ontological choice made, and this, in turn, is dependent on non-epistemic values, then these kinds of values are an integral part of scientific practice (Sect. 1.1). For the ontological level could be beneficial for scientific practice. At the same time, this will open up the possibility to reconsider the map of knowledge fields as it has been built so far. Multidisciplinarity and inclusion will be proposed as the keys to get rid of the soft/hard distinction among the sciences and overcome the concept of epistemic purity.

Keywords: Values – Science – Ontology – Dermatology – Choice

Read full article in English: «Sophia» XVII (2025-2) 227-241

Abstract:

This essay explores the relationship between jouissance and love in Lacan’s Seminar XX, where the impossibility of sexual relation grounds a new logic of the hétéros. Jouissance is understood as auto-erotic and monological, closed to alterity, while love represents an opening toward the Other and the acceptance of its irreducible difference. Through the notions of a-mur and “what ceases not to be written,” Lacan redefines love as a contingent encounter that disrupts the repetition of jouissance, affirming the ethical value of separation and the excess of the feminine Autre jouissance beyond phallic logic.

Keywords: Lacan – Jouissance – Love – Otherness – hétéros

Read full article in French: «Sophia» XVII (2025-2) 243-256

Abstract: This article reconsiders Aquinas’ claim in ST I-II, q.4, a.8 that friendship contributes only to the bene esse of beatitude. By analysing the metaphysical tension of this notion and the “supposed neighbour” (supposito proximo), it argues that a trinitarian-christological ontology discloses relationality as intrinsic to eschatological beatitude. Love of neighbour thus emerges not as a mere concomitant, but as inseparably united to the perfected
love of God.

Keywords: Thomas Aquinas – Friendship – Beatitude – Eschatology – Trinitarian Ontology

Read full article in Italian: «Sophia» XII XVII (2025-2) 257-273

Abstract:

This article introduces the Bamberg School of triadic ontology and Erwin Schadel’s philosophical perspective, outlining his interpretation of being as in-ek-con-sistence. It reconstructs his Neoplatonic and Augustinian sources and shows how triadic ontology provides a rational framework for conceiving being as dynamic relational unity, later echoed in the metaphysical syntheses of Comenius and Leibniz.

Keywords: Triadic ontology – Erwin Schadel – Heinrich Beck – Trinitarian metaphysics – In-ek-con-sistence

Read full article in English: «Sophia» XVII (2025-2) 275-288

Abstract:

This contribution seeks to offer a few reflections toward a possible Spinozist theory of contemporary labor, taking as its point of departure the stimulating analyses and arguments developed in a recent article. Among the many issues that define our contemporary condition, several have been examined through a Spinozist lens, attesting to the richness and ongoing relevance of Spinoza’s philosophy. If labor itself does not occupy a central place in Spinoza’s corpus, can it nonetheless be considered possible – and philosophically legitimate – to approach it within a Spinozist framework or grammar of thought? Moreover, could such an undertaking prove theoretically and practically fruitful, given the complexity of today’s challenges? In other words, what does it mean to attempt to think about labor from within the philosophical system of Baruch Spinoza?

Keywords: Spinozism – Philosophy of Labor – Political Thought – Affect and Power – Work and Agency

Read full article in Italian: «Sophia» XVII (2025-2) 289-301