Williamson on Defining Knowledge

Episteme ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Manuel Pérez Otero
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract In his outstanding book Knowledge and its Limits (2000), Williamson (a) claims that we have inductive evidence for some negative theses concerning the prospects of defining knowledge, like this: knowing cannot be defined in accordance with a determinate traditional conjunctive scheme; (b) defends a theory of mental states, mental concepts and the relations between the two, from which we would obtain additional, not merely inductive, evidence for this negative thesis; and (c) presents an alternative (non-traditional-conjunctive) definition of knowledge. Here I consider these issues and extract two relevant conclusions: (i) Williamson's theory of states and concepts only supports the negative thesis because this theory would explain too much, since it imposes implausible necessary limitations on possible uses of concepts and linguistic expressions. So, there is no appropriate non-inductive evidence for the negative thesis. (ii) Williamson's own definition of knowledge is at risk.

scholarly journals Definitions and Concepts for Quantitative Rockfall Hazard and Risk Analysis

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 158
Author(s):  
Didier Hantz ◽  
Jordi Corominas ◽  
Giovanni B. Crosta ◽  
Michel Jaboyedoff
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Failure Probability ◽  
Rockfall Hazard ◽  
Process Failure ◽  
Failure Propagation ◽  
Element At Risk ◽  
Hazard And Risk ◽  
Hazard And Risk Assessment ◽  
Definition Of

There is an increasing need for quantitative rockfall hazard and risk assessment that requires a precise definition of the terms and concepts used for this particular type of landslide. This paper suggests using terms that appear to be the most logic and explicit as possible and describes methods to derive some of the main hazards and risk descriptors. The terms and concepts presented concern the rockfall process (failure, propagation, fragmentation, modelling) and the hazard and risk descriptors, distinguishing the cases of localized and diffuse hazards. For a localized hazard, the failure probability of the considered rock compartment in a given period of time has to be assessed, and the probability for a given element at risk to be impacted with a given energy must be derived combining the failure probability, the reach probability, and the exposure of the element. For a diffuse hazard that is characterized by a failure frequency, the number of rockfalls reaching the element at risk per unit of time and with a given energy (passage frequency) can be derived. This frequency is relevant for risk assessment when the element at risk can be damaged several times. If it is not replaced, the probability that it is impacted by at least one rockfall is more relevant.

scholarly journals Neonatal Hypoglycaemia: A Never-Ending Story?

Neonatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Nestor E. Vain ◽  
Florencia Chiarelli
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Neonatal Period ◽  
Newborn Infants ◽  
Neonatal Hypoglycaemia ◽  
Rational Decision Making ◽  
Weak Evidence ◽  
Universal Approach ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Therapeutic Alternatives ◽  
Current Guidelines

Neonatal hypoglycaemia is a common metabolic disorder presenting in the first days of life and one potentially preventable cause of brain injury. However, a universal approach to diagnosis and management is still lacking. The rapid decrease in blood glucose (BG) after birth triggers homeostatic mechanisms. Most episodes of hypoglycaemia are asymptomatic, and symptoms, when they occur, are nonspecific. Therefore, neonatologists are presented with the challenge of identifying infants at risk who might benefit from a rapid and effective therapy while sparing others unnecessary sampling and overtreatment. There is much controversy regarding the definition of hypoglycaemia, and one level does not fit all infants since postnatal age and clinical situations trigger different accepted thresholds for therapy. The concentration and duration of BG which cause neurological damage are unclear. Recognizing which newborn infants are at risk of hypoglycaemia and establishing protocols for treatment are essential to avoid possible deleterious effects on neurodevelopment. Early breastfeeding may reduce the risk of hypoglycaemia, but in some cases, the amount of breast milk available immediately after birth is insufficient or non-existent. In these situations, other therapeutic alternatives such as oral dextrose gel may lower the risk for NICU admissions. Current guidelines continue to be based on expert opinion and weak evidence. However, malpractice litigation related to neurodevelopmental disorders is frequent in children who suffered hypoglycaemia in the neonatal period even if they had other important factors contributing to the poor outcome. This review is aimed to help the practicing paediatricians and neonatologists to comprehend neonatal hypoglycaemia from physiology to therapy, hoping it will result in a rational decision-making process in an area not sufficiently supported by evidence.

scholarly journals A retrospective case-control service evaluation of CAARMS scores of patients with autism in York EIP, compared to age matched controls

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S59-S60
Author(s):  
Daniel Whitney ◽  
Stephen Wright
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Mean Difference ◽  
Autism Spectrum Conditions ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Early Intervention In Psychosis

AimsStudies show the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Conditions in Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) populations is 3.6-3.7%, compared to approximately 1-1.5% in the general population. The CAARMS (Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental States) is a national tool used by EIP services as a screening tool to bring patients into services and stratify their symptoms to determine what pathway may be most appropriate (First Episode Psychosis pathway (FEP) or At Risk Mental State pathway (ARMS)). As far as we are aware the CAARMS has not been validated in an autistic population. It is our view that several of the questions in the CAARMS may be interpreted differently by people with autism, thus affecting the scores. The aim of this evaluation was to identify whether CAARMS scores differ between patients diagnosed with autism and matched controls in York EIP.MethodFrom their mental health records, we identified all patients in the service with a diagnosis of autism. We then compared the CAARMS scores, at the time of referral, to those of age matched controls (matched by being in the age range 16-30) without an autism diagnosis, using continuous sampling by date of referral.Result14 patients in the service had a diagnosis of autism and had completed a CAARMS. CAARMS domains are all scored between 0 and 6 (indicating increasing severity or frequency). Compared to the age matched controls, autistic patients had a higher mean difference in their scores for ‘Non-Bizarre Ideas’ (mean difference of 0.86 for severity and 0.57 for frequency) and ‘Disorganised Speech’ (mean difference of 0.28 for severity and 0.57 for frequency). These results did not reach statistical significance which was unsurprising given the sample size. The gender split between groups was similar.ConclusionOur evaluation suggests a difference in CAARMS scores between patients in our service with a diagnosis of autism and those without. A larger study would be needed to confirm a statistically significant difference and multicentre results would be needed as evidence of generalisability. However, if such a difference were confirmed it might question the validity of CAARMS in autistic patients or suggest that modifications, perhaps in the form of reasonable adjustments to the questions or scoring, were needed to increase the validity in this population. We would suggest that spending extra time checking the patient has understood the intended meaning of the questions in the CAARMS may increase validity, particularly in the ‘Non-Bizarre Ideas’ domain.

scholarly journals Negative psychotic symptoms and impaired role functioning predict transition outcomes in the at-risk mental state: a latent class cluster analysis study

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 2311-2325 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. R. Valmaggia ◽  
D. Stahl ◽  
A. R. Yung ◽  
B. Nelson ◽  
P. Fusar-Poli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Role Functioning ◽  
Latent Class Cluster Analysis ◽  
At Risk Mental State

BackgroundMany research groups have attempted to predict which individuals with an at-risk mental state (ARMS) for psychosis will later develop a psychotic disorder. However, it is difficult to predict the course and outcome based on individual symptoms scores.MethodData from 318 ARMS individuals from two specialized services for ARMS subjects were analysed using latent class cluster analysis (LCCA). The score on the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) was used to explore the number, size and symptom profiles of latent classes.ResultsLCCA produced four high-risk classes, censored after 2 years of follow-up: class 1 (mild) had the lowest transition risk (4.9%). Subjects in this group had the lowest scores on all the CAARMS items, they were younger, more likely to be students and had the highest Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score. Subjects in class 2 (moderate) had a transition risk of 10.9%, scored moderately on all CAARMS items and were more likely to be in employment. Those in class 3 (moderate–severe) had a transition risk of 11.4% and scored moderately severe on the CAARMS. Subjects in class 4 (severe) had the highest transition risk (41.2%), they scored highest on the CAARMS, had the lowest GAF score and were more likely to be unemployed. Overall, class 4 was best distinguished from the other classes on the alogia, avolition/apathy, anhedonia, social isolation and impaired role functioning.ConclusionsThe different classes of symptoms were associated with significant differences in the risk of transition at 2 years of follow-up. Symptomatic clustering predicts prognosis better than individual symptoms.

Comprehensive Assessment of at-Risk Mental States--Arabic Version

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amel Braham ◽  
Ahmed Souhail Bannour ◽  
Asma Ben Romdhane ◽  
Barnabay Nelson ◽  
Iheb Bougumiza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Comprehensive Assessment ◽  
Arabic Version ◽  
At Risk Mental States

Psychopathology

2016 ◽  
pp. 147-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Fonseca Pedrero ◽  
Diane C. Gooding ◽  
Martin Debbané ◽  
José Muñiz
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
At Risk ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Psychological Process ◽  
Cognitive Symptoms ◽  
Need For Care ◽  
Measurement Instruments ◽  
Psychosis Risk ◽  
Higher Cognitive Functions

This chapter reviews the assessment of psychopathology, with a focus on psychosis and clinically related phenomena and conditions, such as prodromal phases and at-risk mental states of psychosis. The psychosis syndrome, which is characterized by a disruption of higher cognitive functions, can be found when any basic psychological process (e.g., memory, attention, etc.) is altered. It is used here as an example of psychopathological disorder. The chapter begins with an overview of the psychosis syndrome as a model of psychopathological disorder, emphasizing its core domains (i.e., positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms). It discusses the main psychological tests and procedures for psychosis assessment and provides an overall review of measurement instruments for psychosis risk assessment from both clinical and psychometric high-risk paradigms, where psychological testing plays a crucial role in terms of detecting people at risk for psychosis prior to developing serious mental disorder and need for care.

scholarly journals Neuroanatomical correlates of different vulnerability states for psychosis and their clinical outcomes

2009 ◽  
Vol 195 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Koutsouleris ◽  
Gisela J. E. Schmitt ◽  
Christian Gaser ◽  
Ronald Bottlender ◽  
Johanna Scheuerecker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Clinical Outcome ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Grey Matter ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Grey Matter Volume ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Imaging Data ◽  
Matter Volume ◽  
At Risk Mental State

BackgroundStructural brain abnormalities have been described in individuals with an at-risk mental state for psychosis. However, the neuroanatomical underpinnings of the early and late at-risk mental state relative to clinical outcome remain unclear.AimsTo investigate grey matter volume abnormalities in participants in a putatively early or late at-risk mental state relative to their prospective clinical outcome.MethodVoxel-based morphometry of magnetic resonance imaging data from 20 people with a putatively early at-risk mental state (ARMS–E group) and 26 people with a late at-risk mental state (ARMS–L group) as well as from 15 participants with at-risk mental states with subsequent disease transition (ARMS–T group) and 18 participants without subsequent disease transition (ARMS–NT group) were compared with 75 healthy volunteers.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, ARMS–L participants had grey matter volume losses in frontotemporolimbic structures. Participants in the ARMS–E group showed bilateral temporolimbic alterations and subtle prefrontal abnormalities. Participants in the ARMS–T group had prefrontal alterations relative to those in the ARMS–NT group and in the healthy controls that overlapped with the findings in the ARMS–L group.ConclusionsBrain alterations associated with the early at-risk mental state may relate to an elevated susceptibility to psychosis, whereas alterations underlying the late at-risk mental state may indicate a subsequent transition to psychosis.

scholarly journals Political terrorism and affective polarization in “black” and “red” terrorists in Italy during the years 1968–1988

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-157
Author(s):  
Matteo Pacini ◽  
Icro Maremmani
Keyword(s):  
Mental States ◽  
Legal Responsibility ◽  
Mixed States ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Political Crime ◽  
Political Terrorism ◽  
To Come ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
High Level ◽  
Case Basis

Psychiatric evaluations of violent political crime were mostly performed on a case-by-case basis in a forensic environment, which made them unduly dependent on categories of presumed dangerousness and legal responsibility, rather than on a clinical definition of their mental status. In referring to such “clinical” definitions, the disorder we have in mind is not limited to the major, agitated psychotic manias or mixed states. The presence of a dominant temperament, or protracted hypomania, is enough by itself to explain an individual’s engagement in a wide range of activities, not necessarily sociopathic or violent. We put forward the hypothesis that formal and transpolitical radical choices, either in favor of an illegal lifestyle or of activities involving a high level of risk, may be linked with certain mental states, especially when considering small clandestine groups showing a high level of internal ideological consensus, and a no-return attitude toward a commitment to radical choices. Available data about the psycho(patho)logical profile of terrorists are still hard to come by. The only available studies are those on identified living terrorists (judging by the trials of those who personally admitted to having been terrorists), and statistical data imply a number of documented cases belonging to the same terrorist organization. In Italy, the period often called the “years of lead [bullets]” displays an interesting viewpoint for the study of terrorist psychology, for two main reasons: first of all, it is a historically defined period (1968–1988), and second, the number of ascertained participants in terrorist activities was quite large.

scholarly journals Promotion, prevention and treatment interventions for mental health in low- and middle-income countries through a task-shifting approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianna Purgato ◽  
Eleonora Uphoff ◽  
Rakesh Singh ◽  
Ambika Thapa Pachya ◽  
Jibril Abdulmalik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Task Shifting ◽  
Treatment Interventions ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Prevention And Treatment ◽  
Prevention Interventions ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract Recently, mental health and ill health have been reframed to be seen as a continuum from health to ill health, through the stages of being asymptomatic ‘at risk’, to experiencing ‘mental distress’, ‘sub-syndromal symptoms’ and finally ‘mental disorders’. This new conceptualisation emphasised the importance of mental health promotion and prevention interventions, aimed at reducing the likelihood of future disorders with the general population or with people who are identified as being at risk of a disorder. This concept generated discussion on the distinction between prevention and treatment interventions, especially for those mental health conditions which lie between psychological distress and a formal psychiatric diagnosis. The present editorial aims to clarify the definition of promotion, prevention and treatment interventions delivered through a task-shifting approach according to a global mental health perspective.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document